An open letter to Gov. Ronnie Musgrove
The following is a letter I sent to Gov. Ronnie Musgrove yesterday after hearing of his offer to Alabama Judge Roy Moore display the embattled 10 Commandments monument in the Mississippi State Capitol.
To Governor Ronnie Musgrove:
During the past several months, I have struggled with my decision to support your candidacy for re-election to the governor's office. While I strongly supported your successful run four years ago, decisions and statement you have made during your term in office, especially regarding the "In God We Trust" posters placed in Mississippi's public schools, have cooled me toward your candidacy. I am a strong supporter of the separation between church and state and feel that such an action is detrimental to our religious freedom in this country.
Since that time, I have had the chance to hear you speak and debate against other opponents, including Haley Barbour. During those debates, I once again was impressed by the way you defended your record and by your own personable style. You seem to be a very friendly, likable person, and that, in today's political world, is impressive.
However, this afternoon, I received a copy of the letter you sent to Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore concerning the embattled Ten Commandments monument. I must say that I am so disappointed in the offer you made concerning the monument that I am reconsidering my support of you in this November's General Election.
This monument has no place in a government building. It's one purpose is to proselytize and promote the views of one segment of this country's religious population. This monument belongs on sacred ground and it’s words in the hearts and minds of those who believe, not in government buildings in Alabama, Mississippi or any other state in the great country.
I understand that your own religious beliefs are an important factor in your life. So are mine, though they differ from yours. I ask you to consider those in this Great State of Mississippi who do not hold the same beliefs. We vote. We pay taxes. In my case, I have chosen to stay in Mississippi when I could easily leave the state and have a much more financially rewarding career. But this is my home and I want to work to make it a model in every way for the rest of the world.
My options in this November's election are these: Don't vote for a gubernatorial candidate; vote for write-in or third party candidate (which is the same as not voting at all); or vote for a candidate who has continued to promote his religious beliefs as those of all Mississippians. Voting for Haley Barbour is not an option because I believe he would be a destructive and divisive force in Mississippi politics.
Governor Musgrove, there are more people in Mississippi who feel like I do than you might think. Many of them hold the same religious beliefs as you. I hope you hear from more of them and I hope my letter, and any others you might receive agreeing with my point of view, will help you to better understand why your letter to Judge Moore was offensive and divisive to the people of this state.
I wish you luck in your re-election campaign, though this is one voter who cannot, in good conscience, vote for you.
It doesn't get any better
If there are two things that we need more of in our world today it's cussin' and watching people have sex on television. Those are the things that make this country great, even though one of these stories is actually about England. We should follow suit with our neighbors across the pond! Although the two show mentioned do appear on HBO here in the good ole naked U.S. of A.
Zevon's last hurrah
I hate to think of the music world without someone like Warren Zevon, but I'm glad well get one last album from him.
Suck on this Nick Burns!
As if we needed any proof that Macs were much better than anything out there.
Ahhh fall, when a Vulcan's mind turns to romance...
Though I am usually fearful for on-screen Trek romances between the major characters, I think Trip and T'Pol would probably be the best choice. Although it's kind of icky if you think about it from the Scotty/Spock parallel.
How cool would this be
Tim Burton and Johnny Depp teaming up for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory! That would be just way too cool.
What! No sex for campaign contributions!
I am so glad local candidates don't do this.
Thirteen
It's kind of ironic that the movie Thirteen, a movie that supposedly shows what it's like to be a 13-year-old girl, is not supposed to be viewed by actual 13-year olds. I guess people can see and hear things in real life, but not watch them on the screen. Interesting.
iVirus
It all makes you wonder if this is not some kind of revenge plot on the part of Steve Jobs to get back at Bill Gates.
To be (naked), or not to be (naked)
In the years since I took my two semesters of Shakespeare at Ole Miss, I've actually gotten where I can endure the Bard's works once again, at least if Kenneth Branaugh or Ian McKellen is part of the cast. I think if we had seen Shakespeare presented like this it might have seem more interesting. (WARNING: I wouldn't necessarily go to this link while at work. It could be bad.)
Metal wars
And because they weren't as cool, the Metal Men were always with the bad guys - Cylons, Storm Troopers and Darth Vader, and the Alien. Of course, the Shogun Warriors, Godzilla and Luke Skywalker led the forces of good, and always won.
My Space Glide can beat up your Baron karza!
For those of you who have forgotten (or never knew) just how cool Micronauts were, go here.
Mmmmmm. Snacky deliciousness
Hungry? Want a late night snack? This won't fill you up, but it's a neat site.
Fear the Spork!
There's nothing to go along with this. I just like the way it sounds. But if any of you can think of anything clever to go along with it, please feel free.
Does not compute
Last week Sci Fi show Return of the Archons, an episode I haven't watched in a while. It got me thinking about all the computers Kirk managed to talk to death during TOS. Of the ones I could remember, Landru, Nomad, Norman and M-5, which was you favorite. I don't think I've forgotten any, but I might be mistaken.
We have been assimilated
Apparant, men seem to all be the same. Resistance is futile.
Fair and slightly out of balance
It seems that every time Fox news goes after a book by a "liberal" author, it only send the book up the charts. Maybe Fox News, Hillary, Bill, Al Franken and others are in league with some kind of profit sharing plan.
More is gooder
This is an interesting article that tells us all why our poor 32-bit computers just can't cut it anymore now that the G5 is in town.
A lawsuit waiting to happen
This website better watch it or they'll find themselves in the same boat as Al Franken.
My car is bugged
Some network executive must have tapped into the listening device John Ashcroft has planted in my car because this is scarily similar to an idea for a movie script Rebecca and I came up with and planned to send in to the next Project: Greenlight.
To Sci-Fi or Not to Sci-Fi
Don't get me wrong, I love the Sci-Fi network, but, often, it bothers me that so much non-science fiction clutters up the network. Some movies are a stretch of the fantasy aspect of the channel and others (I remember them showing Braveheart, not even remotely sci-fi or fantasy) miss the boat all together.
Could a channel which strictly has sci-fi programming, no horror, no fantasy, do as well as the Sci-Fi Channel is currently doing? (I know there is some crossover in the genres.) Would an additional channel devoted to horror and fantasy programming attract a significant audience?
The beginning of the end?
I have never actually seen much in the way of UPN programming, except Voyager and Enterprise since I have never lived in a place with a UPN affiliate. But, I wonder, as does the article above, if trying for an ever decreasing slice of the 18-34 year-old pie is the best way for a network to go these days.
It's hot
That's it. Just an observation.
My new mission
I've decided that I am going to mount a campaign to bring the word Grok back into everyday usage.
(Oops. wrong link. Thanks David. It's fixed now.)
Hammertime!
Now that Christopher Lee, the last of the great horror film stars, has had a career revival, this could not be more appropriate.
More porn and politics
You'd better believe if porn star Mary Carey can run for California, then Ron Jeremy MUST run for president. Though I've never seen any of his classic adult performances, he was great in Orgazmo, which, along with Jesus Christ, Superstar, are the only two of his 740 movies I have seen. I did see the episode of Earth 2 he was on, but I don't remember him in it. (Earth 2 wasn't that bad a show. Neither was Space: Abover and Beyond, but I digress.)
beats the hell out of Crossfire
Gary Coleman and porn star Mary Carey are the first two selected for the debate on The Game Show Network. Be sure not to miss this one.
Legal Trek
O.k. I said I was done with the Trek posts for a while, but this bit of actual news might be interesting to some.
The anniversary
It slipped up on me this year. August 16. I'd almost forgotten the date and the anniversary of that day - 26 years ago Friday - that my world was forever changed. It's hard to believe the anniversary of something that big, that memorable could be so easily forgotten, but I guess with all the events of the past few days and few weeks, it was kind of put on the back burner.
It wasn't until today when I picked up the copy of the Commercial Appeal at my mom's house that I remembered. There on the front page was Elvis, along with several Elvis-related stories. My mind raced back to that day, August 16, 1977. I was 11.
It was the day I saw Star Wars for the first time.
I had heard about the movie all summer long, and it took all summer long for it to make it to the Oxford cinema. (It would be another year before it finally made it to the Valley Theater.) My older brother and sister has seen the movie when it opened in New York earlier that year while on some kind of choir tour or something. My brother spent the summer rubbing it in and telling me all these tantalizing details - lightsabers, stormtroopers, TIE Fighters, droids.
And on that warm summer night, my mind was blown away.
At that time, the Oxford theater (now an antique store or something) had only one screen - a really big screen. I sat on the front row and watched the movie unfold. When it was over, it was all I talked about for weeks. I was obsessed and for a time the adventures of Luke Skywalker even overshadowed those of the crew of the good ship Enterprise.
I would see the origonal Staw Wars on the big screen four more times over the next two years and the re-release two more times on smaller screens with much better sound. But none of these, or the release of any of the other films, would quite compare with that day 26 years ago.
I can only say thank you Elvis for making this important date in my life easier to remember.
One final Trek
It seems there has been a lot of Trek here the past couple of days. For now, I'm going to wrap up the Trek postings by asking what would be the best thing for the Trek franchise right now. If it's a new show or movie, what should it be. what audience should it go after. Should enterprise, excuse me, Star Trek:Enterprise stay or go? Remember, your vote counts!
Oxford:The Next Generation
Spent the last couple of days getting Rebecca registered and oriented for Law School at the U of M. Spent more on one semesters worth of law books than I spent on textbooks my entire undergraduate and graduate career. Of course, I tended not to buy textbooks that often.
In the past two days, I've spent more time in Oxford and on campus than I have probably since I left oh those ten years ago. I think there is one statement which encapsulates all that has changed which I do not like: There are too many SUVs.
Where no captain has gone before...
David sent me this link for an article on Shatner's ideas for the future of Trek. I only hope that his vision doesn't include country music. This morning, while flipping through the channels, I caught a glimpse of Bill and stopped my flipping. What it turned out to be was a music video by country music's Brad Paisley's (I think that was his name) song Celebrity. Shatner, along with Voyager guest star Jason Alexander (also known for appearing on some sitcom or another a few years back), were both in the video. It was odd.
Market Trek
There was a segment on Market Place on NPR today about the current plight of Enterprise and the star Trek Franchise. It doesn't really have much we haven't heard before, but it seems the franchise's problems are beginning to attrack more and more attention.
And while I'm hopeful for Enterprise's future, I don't know that adding "Star Trek" to the title and a war will make a big difference. (I did like a number of the episodes in the second half of last season, however.) The show will have to make a major course correction if it hopes to avoid the mediocrity of Voyager.
That's a lot of bananas
I don't really know if a third remake of King Kong is really necessary, but maybe with Peter Jackson at the helm it stands a chance of being decent. (And probably having a 12-hour long special edition DVD.)
Some good news for a change
At least one good thing is coming out of the California recall.
...and while I'm bitching...
I don't know exactly when my disliking the MTV turned into dispising the MTV, but it has dawned on me over the past few weeks that I can't even stand to have it on in the background. Granted, I'm not exactly their target audience, but I'm not exactly the target audience for Lifetime, BET or Galavision and Univision, but I watch those and feel like my skin is trying to crawl off my body.
About the only thing I do watch on the MTV is The Osbornes. But even then Ozzy is portrayed as this aging, bumbling, rock personality and not as the true Prince of Darkness that those of us growing up in the early 80s know him to be. (Listening to Blizzard of Oz is a one-way ticket straight to hell, after all.)
I won't even mention the fact that not only has the MTV pretty much stopped playing videos, but the MTV2, which was created to only play videos, seems to have just about stopped it as well. Like I said, I'm not going to mention that at all.
I am just thankful that VH1 Classics exists. Now I can watch all those videos I didn't see 20 years ago by all those bands I never heard of.
And Blah bah blah blah blah, bitch bitch bitch moan moan moan, etc. You get the idea.
Uncoupled
It often seems to be the case that when American television people use the three ideas they have over and over for too long, they decide to go out and rob popular ideas from other countries. Lately the target seems to be the BBC. Lately I have been seeing the promos for NBC's Coupling which, from the one or two scenes I've seen on the promos looks like it was taken line by line from the BBC origonal.
I like the BBC series. For those who haven't seen it, it's kind of like Friends, except it's funny and you don't want to strangle all the characters and then smash your television into small bits. And given American television's track record of translating British television series to American audiences, I shudder to think what will happen with this one. I still have nightmares about the ill-fated attempt to remake Faulty Towers on CBS. About the only recent success I can think of is Trading Spaces. I do prefer the American version to the BBC's Changing Rooms, not because it is done better, but because I can't stand most of the design done on the Brittish version. (Plus there's Genevieve and Amy Wynn in the American version.)
There have been rumors about the possibility of bringing some other popular BBC programs (or is it programmes?) across the pond. I just can't imagine American versions of Absolutely Fabulous or The Vicar of Dibley doing all that well, much less Dr. Who or Red Dwarf.
In my opinion, I think they should just leave these shows to BBC America and PBS if American audiences want to watch them.
I have spoken.
Copyright This!
I'm glad Al Franken is giving the Fox News lawsuit all the attention it deserves. And I'm glad Fox News is giving Franken all the free publicity.
...of Porn and Politics
For those of you who remember my post of the candidacy of Shane Ballard for Lowndes County sheriff. I regret to report that he came in third in a field of three during last week's election, getting a total of 333 votes. (He did come in above the write-ins by 306 votes.)
Maybe now he can concentrate on being a write-in candidate in California.
Save Trek from itself
I read this interview with Bjo Trimble about many things Trek. I think we are all greatful for her efforts oh those many years ago, and while I agree with most of what she says, I don't think enterprise is a hopeless as she says.
But, something did get me thinking, especially with the impending release of Star Trek V: Which will go down as worse in Start Trek history - Star Trek V or Star Trek: Nemesis?
You decide!
Long, Long Ago, One a Comics Page Far away...
While researching a response to one of Dave's Blog entries, (yes, I said researching. I'm pathetic) I came across this. There may be a better archive out there somewhere, but finding it would take even more effort so I'm not going to do it just now.
California Recall:The Series
I'm certainly glad the California recall effort isn't turning into a joke.
Fair and Balanced
I gues Fox news can go ahead and sue me for copyright infringement now.
Patience Grasshopper
I'm not really good at waiting. Still haven't heard about the new jobs. Running out of stomach lining.
