fishwraphack's blog: "semi-coherent ramblings"

August seems to be the battleground for low-brow comedies nowadays. As some of you know by now, Pineapple Express -- though it be from the Judd Apatow-Seth Rogen, et al juggernaut - is not exactly a bust-a-gut, "ooohhh my lord" laugh-fest a la The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Superbad or Knocked Up. It has plenty of moments, and definitely a stoner flick. As we all know by now (i.e. Harold and Kumar, Half-Baked, Grandma's Boy), stoner flicks are cool, hilarious as hell and even pretty witty in a sickly subversive way. But Pineapple Express pays tribute to the cheeseball buddy/crime movies of the '70s and '80s. And it works at that. Rogen again plays the stumbling straight man perfectly while James Franco is a revelation as his dope-dealing "pal" and slacker. And hey, Gary Cole just needs to stick with these irreverent comedies. Sure, he made a name for himself in Midnight Caller and American Gothic, but jeez, he just kills it in Office Space, Family Guy, Harvey Birdman, Dodgeball, Talladega Nights...need I say more? With the steady, restrained laughs of Pineapple Express, it's a stark contrast to the near-brillant Tropic Thunder. Or as Robert Downey's aloof character would put it: It's a movie in a movie portraying a movie. As for the lead/writer, this isn't Night at the Museum/There's Something About Mary/Meet the Parents-Fockers Ben Stiller. It's Zoolander/Dodgeball Stiller in overdrive with no holds barred. And for folks whose sensibilities might be offended (and quite a few population segments just might be) should keep it mind: IT'S A FREAKING SPOOF. You aren't supposed to take it seriously. It's about self-absorbed, narcisistic actors struggling to find (or perhaps stumbling upon) substance that connects them to something greater than themselves. In the meantime, enjoy the sharp, hilarious dialogue, action sequences, killer cameos (freakin' McConaughey and Cruise channeling Jerry Maguire) and even the fake trailers (one of which you'd actually want to see as a real movie -- think Brokeback Monastery.) And there are the common links between Tropic and Pineapple: Bill Hader. That Apatow humor. Danny McBride. Good stuff. Oh and Joe Biden is Barack Obama's running mate. Meh, what a shock. It could be worse. Biden does add more intelligence, experience and maturity to the ticket, especially in the realm of foreign affairs/defense. And he's an attack dog. Sure he's had a few gaffes in the past, but he doesn't pull punches. Judging from Saturday's first official rally in Springfield, Illinois, Biden would be one to respect his relationship with John McCain in one moment, and then literally five second later, give McSame the verbal version of a one-two technical knockout. And it's true what he says. As McSame promises to change America, he can't well do that after having voted with Dubya almost 100 percent of the time. And oh puh-leeze, McCain, stop lying. Really. It doesn't become you. You know, the ads about Obama wanting to raise taxes on everyone. And to think experts admit McSame's proposed tax cuts won't be enough to fund his desire for endless war. Want more of the same? Realize that in his two bogus terms in office, Emperor Bush has managed to turn a budget surplus of $236 billion in 2000 into a projected deficit of $482 billion in 2009. Oh yes. That's a way to change America progressively.

I anxiously await the text message. Yes, THAT text message. The one from the Obama campaign, announcing his vice-presidential running mate. The one that will likely dash my hopes for a juggernaut, game-over Obama/Wes Clark ticket. Or even, just to scare the white supremacists, an Obama/Bill Richardson ticket. However, I continue onward and upward with my own presidential campaign. I continue to search the land for the perfect VP running mate. Email me your resume. I might hit you up. Meanwhile, there’s been hubbub that John McSame, er, McCain is rising in the polls. And the now-discredited Zogby polls has him actually leading slightly. Well, so much for his supposed “victory” during the quasi-debate of spirituality and faith between him and Obama at Rick Warren’s church. That was a foregone conclusion to begin with. If Obama had proven himself the second coming of the messiah, conservative mainstream media and evangelicals would still have touted McSame the winner because he has an “R” next to his name instead of a “D.” But then this week gave Obama a neatly-wrapped gift of showing how much of an elitist McCain really is and that, for all his attempts to play to the middle class, McSame is thoroughly out of touch with average America. Forget that he said he pretty much doesn’t care for 21st-century computer technology (i.e. The Internets! Electronic mail!) Answering some questions on the campaign trail, McCain admitted to forgetting how many homes he has owned. At least 7? Wow, John. Think of all the homeless people who have a hard time recalling how many shelters they’ve managed to sleep in. Or how many bridges they’ve slept under. Or how many homes the average working person, who’s struggling to make ends meet, could possibly dream of owning in a lifetime that is now facing the cruel reality of a mortgage crisis, inflation and worsening job prospects. Funny. Robin Leach. Yes, he of “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” fame said this much about McCain’s memory lapse: “"He probably was confused as to which homes are in his name, his wife's name, or corporate names. In his attempt to be honest, he put his foot in his mouth." Uh-huh. Or more recently McCain had to have an aide remind him what car he drives. Oh let’s face it, what car he “owns,” but not necessarily drives. He’s got a driver or two, ya know. So much for the new ad in which he tries to still link Obama as nothing more than a superstar elitist lacking in experience and substance. The ad line is “Celebrities don't have to worry about family budgets. But we sure do." Well, according to a news blog, “the McCains increased their budget for household employees from $184,000 in 2006 to $273,000 in 2007, according to John McCain’s tax returns. That's right. The McCains pay $270,000 per year for butlers and maids--that's $50,000 more than the median value of an American home.” It doesn’t do him favors that one of his key donors happens to be a former member of the infamous “Keating 5” savings-and-loan scandal. And then there’s the fact that McCain, a Republican and former prisoner of war, isn’t exactly shoring up support from those two critical GOP voting bases: evangelicals and veterans. He isn’t polling as high with evangelicals as Dubya did in 2000 and ’04. (The fact that the Demo Party is slowly yet surely rising in popularity with mainline Catholics and Protestants doesn’t help matters.) And that a new report shows that active troops overseas are donating 6:1 to Obama over McCain. Imagine that. Or that some pundits are questioning the total accuracy of his POW stories told at Warren’s church recently. Or that while McSame brags about supporting the armed forces, he voted against an amendment to an emergency appropriations bill for 2006 "to provide an additional $430,000,000 for the Department of Veterans Affairs for Medical Services for outpatient and inpatient care and treatment for veterans," designating large amounts towards post-traumatic stress disorder treatment and readjustment counseling. Heck, take it from a decorated former Naval pilot who is pointed in his criticism of McSame: http://www.military.com/opinion/0,15202,164859,00.html?wh=wh And McCain picking “Mitt” Romney possibly as his VP mate won’t endear him to evangelicals or to the middle class. Mormon. Owns a few houses himself. A nickname that sounds like baseball equipment. Oh yeah. Republican voters will find a few more reasons to go out in droves this November. Eh, maybe not.

As my legion of supporters well knows (all 3 or 4 of you), I am running a strong presidential campaign. The opposition is rather weak ;-) All I require now is an equally strong, qualified, experienced running mate. Someone who also could inspire Americans to – borrowing from Stephen Colbert’s page – greaterness. Someone who could leap into immediate action should I be incapacitated for any reason at any time – such as falling into an extended drunken stupor, all too plausible – to reassure America and the world that leadership remains in capable hands. In the meantime it seems another presidential candidate, someone known as Barack Obama, is not only leading John McSame in many nationwide polls (hence, the electoral college projections), but in many other polls garnering plenty of support to tap one man for the position of his vice-presidential running mate: Wes Clark. Yep, the retired four-star general who gave McSame a smack down on his qualifications some weeks ago. OK, all kidding aside, it would seem that Wes Clark is perhaps THE logical, safe choice for Obama’s VP choice. I like the guy. Albeit he’s a lapsed Republican, Clark has proven his progressive (not exactly flaming liberal) credentials, primarily by forming a political action committee to help fund certain Democratic candidates’ campaigns nationwide. I supported his presidential run in 2004 and wished he had gotten into the race this time around. Alas, he stayed on the sidelines. But if you were to break it all down, Clark is really the top contender, given what could happen in debates, campaigning, Republican ad attacks and their own constituencies if other candidates were to be seriously considered. Candidates such as Jim Webb, Tim Kaine, Joe Biden, Chuck Hagel or even, yes, Hillary Clinton. The following blog is pretty much all you need to know and decide for yourself: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/8/1/151249/6657/583/560803 Sure, Biden or Webb could balance Obama’s lacking on experience in foreign policy/national security/take-no-prisoners-attitude. Hagel or even Colin Powell offers to draw some moderates and independents that may lean GOP. And while Clinton may appease her many hardcore supporters, her name on the ticket definitely would have a stigma attached to it. But Clark pretty much has the qualifications, geographic factor and gravitas to take on McSame and the future Dan Quayle. There’s a grassroots website promoting an Obama/Clark ticket, which could conceivably give the Demos a landslide win: www.obamaclark.com If that’s not enough, there are quite a few Repubs crossing over to the Obama camp, disaffected from the disgusting partisan political atmosphere: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/8/12/113934/558/795/566701 And yes, there is: www.republicansforobama.org In the meantime, donate to my campaign. Because I need the money. I am a writer, after all.

If you think about it, filmmakers have raised the bar on comic book cinematic adaptations. Spider-man 2. X-Men 2. Iron Man. We left it to Christopher Nolan to plunge to the darkest depths of the human psyche to not only determine what makes a modern-day hero, but what determines the development of a flawed, tormented hero who is seen as a pariah to others. And what are the consequences of his/her actions and the ethics behind it all? Nolan (of Memento and Insomnia fame) mined these depths to near perfection in Batman Begins. And he crossed the line with The Dark Knight. Good lord! It's basically a dark, gradual tragedy for all involved. All the main characters not only must make crucial, horrible choices, but their complex ethical dilemmas. Apply to that very solid acting performances by Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and, yes, Heath Ledger. You see, Tim Burton's Batman has a place and purpose. It was a comic book adaptation in a more colorful yet still dark world of amoralism and chaos. Jack Nicholson merely hammed it up as The Joker in that version. Ledger employed a more diabolical attitude toward the belief of Nolan's Joker that anarchy was underrated, rules were made to be broken and that the world deserves to burn. And oh, how diabolical is Ledger's Joker. To see him full of evil glee (and see Eckhart turn Dent into a physically/mentally scarred Two-Face) is both a thrill and a scare. Excellent stuff. Like the aforementioned movies, The Dark Knight does deliver the action goods with stunning stunts and special effects. But ultimately, like in our favorite comic books, the fights and chases merely thrilled us fans for moments. It's the characters and their development (for good or worse) that stay with us for much, much longer._

Ahoy, mateys! Your gracious, modest host has returned from his 10-day tour de force through the Northeast. It was my first real vacation. Yes, that infamous "v" word that has been absent from virtually my entire existence. Yes, moi knows how to relax and have a little fun after all. Mindy and I began the journey with a flight to Washington D.C. Our first stop was at Market Inn, which was featured on the Travel ChannelWe had a pleasant overnight stay at a hotel in Alexandria, Virginia, wherein we entertained by the locals (especially at an Irish bar where cool live music and luscious drinks were thoroughly enjoyed). Then it was off to take in some sights and sounds of D.C. Mindy and I engaged D.C. traffic in our rental PT Cruiser. Then we drove to Mindy's ol' stomping grounds of southern Pennsylvania. I loved spending 4-5 days, meeting some of Mindy's family and friends. More laughs, games, drinkin', eatin' and nostalgia were to be had. A drive and stopovers through Gettysburg and Amish country, and even a train ride in Strausburg, were particular highlights. Then we were off to Baltmore to catch a New York City-bound train. Navigating the backroads of semi-rural southern Pennsylvania was not exactly the easiest long-range driving task I've ever taken, but it was a breeze compared with finding a gas station or the rental car return around the ridiculously sprawling Baltimore airport. Good lord! I am so petitioning the city and the state of Maryland. The train ride itself was okay save for a rather abrupt worker who was lacking for tact in explaining the proper way of changing seats. After a scenic ride through Philly and Jersey (yeah, I could clearly see why Jersey is called the Garden State LOL), Mindy and I finally arrived in New York City. Ooh boy. It was quite fun toting around luggage on foot for several blocks in search of transportation to our Jersey City hotel. Once we were there, for the first night, it was all about ordering in delicious Chinese and a few rum cocktails. The rest of the time, Mindy and I took Manhattan by storm. No non-chain restaurant, bar or museum was safe from our curiosity or our charms. Greenwich Village, Tribeca, Chelsea, Central Park, Financial District, Uptown, Statue of Liberty...it was all for the taking. We didn't get to a few other things. But like Mindy says in her blog, we have no regrets. It was an awesome time. By trip's end, we had taken virtually every mode of transportation conceivable save for a Segway or pedicab. Oh well, there could always be a next time! The day we returned home had a few twists and turns, especially with a long layover in Atlanta and a delayed flight. We didn't get back to the townhouse until after 1 a.m. only to be greeted by a Topaz who was not short on supply of meows and purrs. So now we're recuperating at home, enjoying some more adult beverages (the best kind of beverages) while suffering a case of the sniffles. Who knows how we contracted whatever ails us. I do recall us walking past a dead rat on a sidewalk outside the Jersey City hotel. I suggested that we could perhaps pick up a new strain of the bubonic plague and initiate a new pandemic. Or maybe it's just a simple head cold. In any event, we have plenty of photos to enjoy of our grand adventures (being uploaded soon!) and loads of great memories. Gracias to you, Mindy, for a tremendous (and much-needed/long overdue) vacation. And I look forward to many more with you. West Texas in the late summer is next up, right?! ;-Ps

OK, faster-than-light take on the Indiana Jones 4: It's a good popcorn flick. Just lower your expectations that have mounted over the past 20-27 years and set your brains on neutral. It's certainly not the best in the lot, but more engaging than the Temple of Doom. Think National Treasure meets X-Files via the Cold War. But please, no more Indy. He's surely earned tenure as ass-kicking archaeology professor and accrued some much-deserved vacation time. Onto other things - hah hah hah! Fun watching the far righties squirm as of late. John McSame (err, McCain, as in he who votes 100 percent of the time with Dubya) rejected John Hagee's endorsement. I guess those anti-Catholic and other controversial remarks and sentiments of the past will get conservatives only so far come election time. And then former White House press whore Scott McClellan, having just released a book, says he felt his former boss' administration has been one of denial and deception, especially regarding Iraq and Katrina. No, shit! Really! Props to Scottie. He isn't a satanic minion as I once thought.

WAY too much to cover here, so I'll be semi-relatively brief. First, evangelical king John Hagee apologized for his past harsh criticisms of the Catholic Church and for having "emphasized the darkest chapters in the history of Catholic and Protestant relations with the Jews." Not that mainstream media (which we all know are controlled by conservatives) would have played fair with contrasts in the case of Hagee endorsing John McCain in his idiotic bid to succeed the worst president in North American history versus the whole Barack Obama/Rev. Wright crap. McCain said he "disagreed" with some of Hagee's past remarks (there have been MANY) regarding other religions and denominations, but he didn't reject the pastor's support. Which we all know is critical 'cuz McCain isn't exactly the darling of the religious right. More on that later. Hagee has also called the Inquisition and the Crusades as proof of anti-Semitism within the Catholic Church and even hinted that anti-Semitism, somehow rooted in Catholicism, helped shape Adolf Hitler's views of Jews. According to the Associated Press story, Hagee penned a letter to William Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Civil and Religious Rights, writing: "Out of a desire to advance a greater unity among Catholics and evangelicals in promoting the common good, I want to express my deep regret for any comments that Catholics have found hurtful." Donohue, one of Hagee's critics, said he accepted the apology and planned to meet with Hagee soon. "I got what I wanted. He's seen the light, as they like to say. So for me it's over." That's right, Donohue. You tell Hagee who's boss! LOL Sorry. It's the pious Catholic in me. Speaking of that all-too-precious-to-the-GOP-evangelical vote, there's been talk that the religious righties' presidential preference, Mike (I Don't Heart) Huckabee, is plotting with some hard conservatives to sink McCain's candidacy. This is all being "muttered" while Huckabee - known for playing the political double-face game - publicly "supports" McCain. And how Christian nice, Jesus-is-love of some evangelicals to float the idea that America deserves an Obama presidency because the lanky, tall Illinois senator is helping to realize a Biblical prophecy in their eyes: America is on the eve of plague-like destruction and the tribulation. I wonder if any of that negative nattering is due partially to the fact that Obama is black. Nah, nonsense. How could I be so silly to think that so many Americans would fear an African-American becoming president out of prejudice. Not this wonderful country!! ;-P If Huckabee and his ilk don't secretly undermine McCain, Ron Paul and his ilk might still. The Libertarian is still running for the nomination, if you haven't noticed. He and his forces have been quietly organizing to stage a public revolt against McCain at the national Republican convention. I am soooo DVR-ing that. Lest we forget a former hard-right GOP congressman, Georgian Bob Barr, has entered the presidential race as a Libertarian. He offers himself as a "true conservative alternative" to McCain. Then there's Alan Keyes, yet another hard-right Repub that you want to forget but can't because he won't let you. He's STILL running as an independent. Not that the masses have noticed. Or should care. Any of these rogue candidacies and movements could further cripple a GOP that is reeling and loathed nationwide. The party just lost this week a third special congressional election in a matter of weeks in typically reliably Republican strongholds to Democrats. Polls suggest most voters have a negative view of the GOP, and a record low perception of Emperor Dubya. There's a slight yet real movement of younger Christian evangelicals away from the GOP and - at least somewhat - toward the Democrats. (A seminary student quoted in a Seattle Times article said "I just keep thinking, if Jesus were alive now, he wouldn't necessarily be voting Republican." Hee hee.) Hell, the minority Republican leader in the House of Reps basically told his lame-ass, er, duck troops that branding Obama a liberal (among MANY horrendous and inane labels) has its limits, and that the Repub Party must reshape itself as the party of positive change. Er, too late. Leave it to a retiring Republican congressman, who said in a newspaper story: "When Bush tries to articulate a vision, he will butcher the Gettysburg Address. Obama, he will make an A&P grocery list sing." Exactly. Not to mention, in Bush's mind, Gettysburg sounds more like "jet-tees-bug." Meanwhile, McCain became desperate by floating the gas tax holiday, and suddenly tried to get progressive recently by appealing to moderates and blue-collar Democrats. Hear McCain attempting to offer "solutions" to global climate change or call Obama an "elitist" - when McCain himself is a $100 millionaire who could care less about workers' rights and his own wife refuses to disclose tax records when virtually everyone else does. Hilarious! So, McCain, what was the color of the sky in your prehistoric world when dinosaurs ruled long before they became the fossil fuel for which your buddy Dubya thinks we need to keep ruining nature preserves to find? At last we come to Hillary. Again, I respect her. I do. Really. In another time and world, I could support her whole-heartedly. But we live on a plane of existence in which the mere mention of the name "Clinton" invokes rage on the loopy far right and provokes even dead Republicans to rise from their graves (as I believe Rush "Oxycontin Whore" Limbaugh has suggested) for only the chance to vote against her. Her being on the top of the ticket won't work. Not in this universe. Like, as hopefully the rest of us have learned, neither would a Bush work again on a presidential ticket. Not even Jenna, whom I better preferred as an Austin Sixth Street drunk party chick. I would've done shots with her! (And hey you poor excuse for mainstream press, STOP with the Jenna wedding coverage. It's over. Done. Fin. And no more ludicrous, "campaign-changing" fake "stories" such as whether one presidential candidate's lapse in wearing a particular lapel pin - a fucking lapel pin! - or his extremely complex relationship with his pastor should determine his fate, and therefore, the fate of modern civilization. Apologies, but I've got bigger things to worry about. Yes, Faux News, and so do millions of other voters.) Sorry. Back to Hillary. She's just digging herself into a deeper hole. It's time to save face (same thing for your "hubby"), exit stage right quietly and return to being more effective in the Senate. I leave you with this excerpt by Buzzflash.com Fifth Columnist P.M. Carpenter: "Sexism had nothing to do with it; polishing some perceived glass ceiling had nothing to do with it; falling in wild partisan love with an upstart, virtual unknown from Chicago had nothing to do with it; nor did lampooned rumors of sniper fire or campaign mismanagement or last-ditch demagoguery or anything else so commonly floated. It was, rather, since Iowa -- which was the first and in many respects the final game-changer -- fundamentally about a progressive revulsion against any politician so callous as to trade human lives for mere political advantage. For Hillary, her Corleone-like prowar vote was nothing personal; it was just business. Fine. But in turn, for the vast majority of those who opposed her then and oppose her now, the same can be said: this was, and is, nothing personal toward Hillary. It's just the proper business of progressive politics. And for those still behind Hillary who are thinking of staying at home in November, just remember that that, in effect, is a vote for yet another neocon pol itching for yet another neocon war. It would be like casting a prowar vote yourself." On a more promising note, the Vatican's chief astronomer has just announced that believing in aliens does not contradict faith in God. The Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes, the Jesuit director of the Vatican Observatory, said in an AP story that the vastness of the universe is capable of hosting other forms of life outside life, including intelligent ones. Such "aliens," Funes said would be considered God's creation and that ruling out the existence of life elsewhere in the universe would be like "putting limits" on God's creative freedom. Nooooooooo! Fuck me. Really? Wow. That's a revelation. I only came to that conclusion at age 7. Thank you, Vatican. Now I feel validated! Need a laugh and a blast from the past? Check out one of Bill O' Reilly's legendary meltdowns on "Inside Edition." Yes, he was a prima donna nutzoid self-consumed freak LONG before his Faux News show. And look at that fake rug! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/05/12/bill-oreilly-on-inside-ed_n_101267.html

Some of you know that I've been promoted at work. Which means I actually took advantage of an opportunity. An opportunity that has presented itself time and again over the past eight years. What opportunity, you may ask? It's to edit and lead the North Central News, a weekly newspaper that is published within our same company that produces the paper I have served for nine years – the Northeast Herald. All here in the Alamo City area. Going from staff writer to what a college adviser had half-jokingly called me eons ago ("glorified staff writer) in some respects won't be much of a significant change. Save for the welcome pay increase and slightly altered schedule. And the idea that I no longer must attend so many government meetings week after week after week. And I would actually have to manage a reporter rather than be held accountable to another editor. It's a daunting challenge, no doubt, but nothing with which I'm not familiar. I've edited before in college and even launched my own alternative fishwrap before I crashed and burned in spectacularly glorious fashion. I will miss sitting in the back row of numerous city council and school board meetings in semi-rural suburbia northeast of San Antonio. I will fondly recall the small-town politicking, occasional civil wars, the friends and media contacts I've made out there (and enemies). But I'll miss perhaps most of all – my sweet cubicle. Entrenched in the back corner of our newsroom, my desk – stowed away from the rest of the world it seemed at times – has been my home away from home. Farewell, most precious workstation. I shall remember our good and bad times. Such as that one time my Herald editor simply walked past me into his office at such a speed he had failed to notice my presence there the entire day. Oh wait. That has happened numerous times. All year. Every year. The novelty wore out in 2001. Woe, woe is the disconnect between me and my cubicle. Alas, do not worry. For I will operate a mere eight feet away, building a shelter upon my new desk. But it will never feel the same as before. As for becoming an editor once more, it's a role for which I am fully ready. I had rejected previous chances to edit my own publication within my current employer. Initially I had felt simply burned out from the managing job. Loyalty to the Herald and its coverage area developed. Then came life's other whirlwinds – personal struggles to which I had to attend. I had no choice but to give up past opportunities at editing. So now, it's better late than never. I'm ready for a professional change. It comes at a time of exciting happenings in my personal life. I've paid my dues. It's time to rock 'n' roll.

The dust is settling over the flap involving Barack Obama and his pastor at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. The presidential hopeful delivered a rather stirring and generally well-received speech last week in response to the Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s rather intriguing comments about race relations made during a sermon. Most of you should know the story by now: Of course, mainstream (er, conservative corporate media whore) press outlets salivated over what they considered the most incendiary of remarks: "We bombed Hiroshima, we bombed Nagasaki, and we nuked far more than the thousands in New York and the Pentagon, and we never batted an eye. We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back to our own front yards. America’s chickens are coming home to roost," Wright said, implying that the United States was partially at fault for Sept. 11. "The government gives them the drugs, builds bigger prisons, passes a three-strike law and then wants us to sing ’God Bless America.’ No, no, no, God damn America, that’s in the Bible for killing innocent people. God damn America for treating our citizens as less than human. God damn America for as long as she acts like she is God and she is supreme," he added. Surely it’s not the first time we’ve heard such angry remarks from any community leader in America, one who denounces his own country in what really should be seen as a "call to arms" instead of a simple anti-America rant. Obama went on to repudiate his pastor’s comments, saying he’s heard Wright say many things with which he disagreed, but not to this degree. Wow, do any of us who attend worship – no matter your religion – ever completely 100 percent agree with service celebrant when he/she says something that might just be opposite of our true religious or political beliefs? Not that religion should ever delve into politics, especially at the pulpit, but that’s another story. In fact, Faux, er, Fox News went out of its way to only air those particular "incendiary" remarks without ever really referring to the larger context of that specific sermon, where he discusses slavery and politics. If one were to see the full video, you’ll see Wright suggest how African-Americans have gone from having an "intelligent friend" in the Clinton administration to a "dumb Dixiecrat, a rich Republican who has never held a job in his life." Wright also, among other things, addresses how powerful nations overextend themselves fail at attempts at imperialism. In his speech, Obama emphasized to criticize Wright’s comments here (the incendiary ones) as a distorted view of America, that the pastor was mistaken. Mistaken not about addressing racism and hypocrisy in our society, but addressing such issues in a tone as if no social progress has been made over the past 50 to 100 years. But Obama also strived to not distance himself from his pastor, which he widely praised in one of his books and continues to highly regard. Thing is, Wright may have simply used the wrong terminology. He loves America. Patriotism includes – yes folks – a daring to criticize your own nation. Not out of spite, but because you love this nation so much there must be courage to point out our horrible faults in order to find ways toward solutions. Is it not right that we have supported state-sponsored warfare and apartheid against Palestinians and South Africans, respectively? Is it not right that our hypocritical failures at Middle East diplomacy (i.e. supporting Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war, blindly supporting the Afghans against the Soviets, using bin Laden as a de facto CIA operative) have cumulated in radical Islamic hatred for the West? Is it not right that the so-called War on Drugs is disproportionate on many levels? Is it not right that building prisons is a major industry in America? These aren’t fairy tales. Obama said this in his speech: "Understanding this reality requires a reminder of how we arrived at this point. As William Faulkner once wrote, ’The past isn’t dead and buried. In fact, it isn’t even past.’ We do not need to recite here the history of racial injustice in this country. But we do need to remind ourselves that so many of the disparities that exist in the African-American community today can be directly traced to inequalities passed on from an earlier generation that suffered under the brutal legacy of slavery and Jim Crow. That anger is not always productive; indeed, all too often it distracts attention from solving real problems; it keeps us from squarely facing our own complicity in our condition, and prevents the African-American community from forging the alliances it needs to bring about real change. But the anger is real; it is powerful; and to simply wish it away, to condemn it without understanding its roots, only serves to widen the chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races." Obama also acknowledged a similar anger and feeling of resentment reside in parts of the white community. Ultimately, there are many terrible things all sorts of Americans have done in the past (and recently) all in the name of God, justice, race and "spreading democracy." It’s up to all of us to fess up to these things, take responsibility in our own communities, talk about these issues openly, to acknowledge others’ anger and then to move past such hatred, distortion and ignorance together. Other observations" * Hell must be freezing over. Open insurrection on Fox News. On one recent segment of Fox and Friends, hosts Steve Doocy, Brian Kilmeade, and Gretchen Carlson (she who gleefully criticizes flood victims) spent multiple segments sensationalizing a comment Obama made, in which he referred to his grandmother as "a typical white person" in some of her racial reactions. Obama made the comment on a talk radio show while discussing that Wright response speech. When the trio welcomed Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace onto the show, instead of previewing his show this weekend, Wallace announced that he was going to take his fellow Fox hosts "to task" for their "excessive" and "somewhat distorting" coverage of what Obama said. Needless to say, the hosts looked a little uncomfortable, seeing one of their Fox compatriots turn on them on air. BUT THAT WASN’T ALL! During the same Fox and Friends show, Kilmeade seemingly felt a bit disgusted by Carlson and Doocy’s antics to the extent that he walked off the set. Slowly yet surely, the GOP’s world is crumbling. And all I can do is laugh hysterically. * Farewell to Jericho. After one and a half seasons, we hardly knew ye. And CBS executives don’t know daring plot-driven drama if it came up and bit them on their asses. * Yay to the UT Longhorns for making it to the Sweet 16 of the men’s NCAA basketball tournament. You have a chance to advance to the Final Four (yet again) in S.A. We wanna see you here and actually try to win. Don’t screw it up. You’ve had national titles in baseball and football in the last few years. Let’s get one in hoops. * Hope you all a good Easter weekend. Or as some of you’d rather see it as that spring holiday weekend or Jesus Zombie weekend. Whatever. (And nowhere in the Bible is stated that Christ arose after the crucifixion to feast on human brains. Either that or I completely slept through a theology lesson.)

As you all should know, when the trumpets blasted this morning at all corners of the earth, the Catholic Church announced another edict. Specifically, thE Vatican's Apostolic Penitentiary (slogan: "We keep an eye on your heart and soul so you really don't have to") has essentially extended or modified for contemporary purposes the list of the seven deadly sins. You know, the REALLY bad yet fun things that send you straight on a first-class, instant trip to Hades save for confession, penance and absolute luck. The original deadly mortal sins are lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride as established by Pope Gregory the Great in the sixth century. These terms entered popular lexicon thanks to Dante's "The Divine Comedy," but were immortalized by the near-flawless Brad Pitt-Morgan Freeman sicko thriller "Se7en" ("I just don't think I can continue to live in a place that embraces and nurtures apathy as if it was virtue"; "What's in the box?!") As humanity strives to evolve (not wholly in an intelligent way as my barrio trash apartment neighbors can attest to) there are certain modern-day behaviors that the church sees not only as a threat to mankind's salvation but a great way to increase the crowds at Mass, confession and sacramental adoration. The "new social" or venial (lesser) sins are: "bioethical" violations such as birth control, "morally dubious" experiments such as stem cell research; drug abuse; polluting the environment; contributing to widening divide between rich and poor; "excessive" wealth and creating poverty . There is mention on the part of the Apostolic Penitentiary that, for example, drugs "weaken the mind and obscure intelligence." Are you kidding me? Not the drugs I've been taking…er, I mean the substances I've read about J And what drugs are we talking here? Illegal, illicit substances? Like how marijuana is merely bad for you or how idiotic those anti-weed TV commercials are? Or perhaps prescriptions some of us get hooked on? At that point, when does drug use become abuse? Doesn't "excessive" wealth and widening the rich-poor gap cancel each other out? And you could lump the bioethical violation/morally dubious experiment thing. And what if stem cell research really could help us arrive at a way at curing disease and prolonging life? Is that not pro-life? On the other hand, it seems the Catholic Church (while it proclaims concern for it) doesn't seem in a rush to officially classify pedophilia or unjust war as utterly sinful. Apparently, letting Britney Spears continue to exist, talking on your cell phone while driving, paying CEOs millions of dollars while crapping on workers and finding unrelated ways to deny health insurance coverage are not worthy of any sinful categorization. Not yet anyway. But at least the church got the "pollution is a sin" thing right. Finally. That whole "screwing up God's creation" logic has at last been understood. I did get a 100 on that high school theology term paper for reason. The question is, will Republicans and their Big Business friends acknowledge this. They couldn't go against God on this, could they? Anyhow, perhaps we should stick with George Carlin's deductive revisions of The 10 Commandments: "Thou shalt always be honest and faithful to the provider of thy nookie" and "thou shalt try real hard not to kill anyone, unless of course they pray to a different invisible man than you." Other observations: * Woohoo! March Madness has formally begun. I'm a college basketball fanatic. Between watching new episodes this week of "South Park" and "Lil' Bush," watching hoops conference tournaments, Selection Sunday and whatever St. Paddy's Day bashes that might spring up, this will be a busy, fun (and hopefully drunk) week ahead LOL * Astronomers say there is a fiery pinwheel in space that is like the Death Star in "Star Wars," in that it could one day blast Earth with death rays. Yay! At the pinwheel's heart is a pair of hot, luminous stars locked in orbit with each other. Both the massive stars in WR 104 will one day explode as supernovae. Only then could there possibly be an intense beam of gamma rays. Because the pinwheel is a nearly perfect spiral to us, and considering some simple physics, gamma ray bursts seem to be shot right along the axis of systems. Our planet could be in the firing range even 8,000 light-years away. If the burst is long and strong enough, it's game over for the stratosphere, the ozone layer, the food chain and ultimately us. Woohoo, geek stuff! Oh wait. Ooops. That all sounds horribly depressing. Yay!