... at the number of apologists who come to Salon, day after day, week after long, bitter week, to stand up for "American values" and defend "America" (which apparently has come to stand for truth, justice and unmitigated cruelty with impunity), saying that Salon and its liberal, left-leaning philosophy is simply going to single-handedly bring about the destruction of Western Civilization as we know it.

And yet....

There they are... day after day.... week after long, bitter week... reading... reading... reading... every single word that Salon has to print....

Because somewhere, deep inside, even they know that, left-slanted though it may be, there's a truth here that must be faced.

If they keep being drawn back, if they keep reading and reading, then they can't truly believe that its nothing. Because if it were truly nothing, they'd simply go away.

And they don't.

Amazing....

~AS~

Because as long as I suck breath and cast a vote in a Democratic primary, Hillary Clinton will NOT be the presidential candidate in 2008. Wouldn't the ultimate bate-and-switch be to get them to commit to a candidate they think can combat Clinton, only to find that a) she didn't enter the race, or b) she entered the race but wasn't the Democratic candidate?

Quelle surprise, man....

~A~

Cuz... the Hollywood I work in (every day for, like sixteen years) makes movies based on only one thing -- what's gonna make money. So, all this "they only make and nominate liberal-themed movies to assuage their corporate guilt" crap is just that. Crap.

A few years ago, it was action films that were far from "liberal guilt assaugers." A few years before that, it was all about romantic comedies. This year, it's MOSTLY about two common themes -- gender confusion/sexual preference, and political/military subterfuge and intrigue. Wny? Because right now, these themes seem to be what puts butts in the seats.

And the whole "butts in the seats" thing, my dearest Mr. O'Hehir, is the one and only thing that Hollywood (and the Oscars, by extension) cares about. Ever.

I do think its sweet, though, that you're still young and idealistic enough to imagine that someone somewhere in this town had a little glimmer of something resembling a belief system. It's a total misperception, but sweet none the less.

/as

... would make me a lot angrier, if this were my home planet.

Seriously, how on Earth a generation can even be delineated is a mystery to me. I was born in 1958, and when I was in elementary school, the sociological "cut-off" for the "Baby Boomers" was 1956 (technically, the ten years following the end of WWII). Now, it's 1962. No, wait... 64... no wait... 66.

It only goes to prove that the entire idea of generational separation is a concoction of people like Leonard Steinhorn, David Brooks, Rush Limbaugh and even Gary Kamiya, who need some *new* way to catagorize, then dismiss, their fellow humans. As if race, sex, gender, sexuality and religion weren't sufficient.

The world is in an awful state. This is not the "kindest, gentlest" period in American history (despite Steinhorn's pronouncements), and we are in a whole heep of poo. It wasn't caused by a single generation, and it won't be fixed in a single generation, so we'd better all just roll up our sleeves and start digging, instead of wading in this trifling pile trying to afix blame so we don't have to take responsiblity for the mess that's been made.

~AS~

The saddest part for me is that I am so brainwashed that, until she said it, it would never have occurred to me that that is an offensive question.

Damn skippy, Felicity!

~A~

Which is, I'm assuming, short for Richard. Which is, I'm further assuming, an indication that you have no uterus. Aside from the fact that I feel that men have absolutely no place in the abortion debate (I subscribe to Dennis Miller's philosophy -- "One penis, no vote"), I am sure it is undoubtedly beyond your ability to comprehend that anyone could have a philosophical or spiritual opinion that is outside your own. I'm sure the preacher done filled your head with all the ideas of what constitutes right and wrong, and you, being a good Christian and all, would never think of entertaining another thought.

But I don't know your preacher, Rich. And I don't subscribe to your Bible, full of its contradictory and hateful epithets. So, if my spiritual belief tells me that the fetus growing in my uterus -- that would be MY uterus, Rich, dear, because -- hey, I have one -- is not yet a human, but is merely a collection of cells which may or may not reach viability (since fully 70% to 85% of all pregnancies end in miscarriage all on their own selves anyway), I'm sure that concept lives far outside your ability to understand.

Personally, I don't give a flying fandango in Barcelona whether you "get it" or not. Since you're not the pregnant one, you don't get a vote. You don't get to decide. Your opinion on this one matter is moot and utterly without consequence. If you don't want your fetuses aborted, go buy a box of condoms and be very careful with whom you conceive a child. Or, better yet (because this I'd like to see) figure out a way that a man can carry a baby to term and give birth to it himself. I'm told by several scientist friends that it is not entirely outside the realm of future possibility, though little research is being done on it at present (and why are we not surprised?).

Until then, though, Rich, I'll thank you kindly to your grubby paws off someone else's reproductive organs.

Sincerely,

~AS~

I think my favorite part about this whole thing (and it was really hard to narrow it down just one, believe me) was the part where Rev. Herb Lusk -- that's REVEREND Herb Lusk -- threatens to kill and bury everybody who criticizes Alito and, by extension, the church.

Yeah. Well. Reason #207 why I'm not a Christian anymore.

~AS~

Deism rocks!