Random Thoughts Blogging

Re: NewsMax calling for the Violent Overthrow of the American Government:

Look, people are nutty, particularly these days.  There are nuts on the left and nuts on the right.  So, please take this statement the right way: if this was a columnist on a left-wing website that received money from the DNC, and he was talking about Bush, there would be an absolute shitstorm over this column.  That website would have been forced to shut its doors, and the Republicans would use the name of that website as a smear.  I know this because they did the same thing when someone uploaded a video to their site comparing Bush to Hitler. 

But, because it was a columnist writing on a right-wing website (that's supported by the RNC), we hear nothing about it.  Why?  I could argue that the media has a conservative bias, which it does, but in this case, I put the blame solely on the Democrats.  Why isn't Robert Gibbs out there demanding an apology from the RNC?  Where is the outrage?  Oh, and as far as I'm aware, advocating for the violent overthrow of the United States Government is still a crime.  So long as Democrats aren't willing to stand up for themselves, no one else will either.

Roman Polanski Getting Picked up in Switzerland: First rule of the criminal justice system is don't piss off the judge.  The second rule of the criminal justice system is don't piss off the DA.  Polanski did that, while running from the law because he raped a 13 year old girl.  Sorry, people, but this wasn't a seduction, it was a full-on rape.  Its not as if he gave her the opportunity to say yes (though her capacity to consent was iffy at best); he drugged and raped a 13 year old girl.

That said, I can understand why people want to give the guy some slack.  After all, he's one hell of a filmmaker.  His movies aren't just good, they're classics.  Plus, the guy is a Holocaust survivor and had his pregnant wife and unborn son brutally murdered by the Manson family.  If I had a friend who went through any of that, I'd be willing to overlook the fact that the guy was a total douche for 10-20 years.  The one thing about life is, black and white don't exist.  Polanski is many things - a rapist and child molester, a brilliant artist, a tragic figure, a survivor.   Oh, and he definitely should go to prison.

Finance Committee's Failure on the Public Option: I can understand the need for some Democrats to be more conservative than others.  People have the right to vote for the person who represents their interests, and by virtue of geography, some areas are more conservative than others.  That said, being a Democrat is supposed to mean something.  There has to be an underlying set of ideals that drive the party forward, that every Democrat should support.  Health care reform has been part of the Democratic Party's agenda since Truman.  Health care isn't a new-fangled invention or a new social issue, but a bedrock Democratic position.  So, if these Democrats aren't with us on economic issues, and aren't with us on social issues, when will they be with us?  More importantly, why should I support them?

Obama and the Olympics: Look, I like Obama and all, but even I think this is stupid.  The President has better things to do with his time, like whipping the Senate Finance Committee to do its fucking job.