Oh, really?

Suspected Leader of 9/11 Attacks Is Said to Confess

Incidentally, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed also confessed to being the shooter on the grassy knoll, the father of Anna Nicole Smith’s baby, and the man who cut you off on the freeway yesterday. Bastard!

Awesome.

Valerie Plame is my hero.

Big Exit.

http://911scholars.org/

I don't know, but I just don't understand 7 WTC.

Seriously?

I was watching Paula Zahn's show on CNN last night...I don't know why I bother. I turned it off after the first discussion, because I was so disgusted.

Zahn was talking with three men--and I don't know what qualified any of them to speak on the topic--about the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy and Pace's recent comments that homosexuality is "immoral."

One of the two black men on the "panel," after hearing some (probably) bogus statistic that 58 percent of people in the armed forces say they would be distracted or some rot by a gay person in their unit, said he was going to follow their opinion in this instance. He said if they thought homosexuals would hurt the cohesion of the armed forces, then homosexuals shouldn't be allowed in the armed forces.

Can he see the irony in his statements? Does he realize that the same thing was said about black
people--that at one point people tried to keep black people out of the armed forces because they would hurt its "cohesion"?

I can't stand it. I can't stand it when people who are discriminated against do the exact same thing to someone else. The pathetic excuse of "disrupting the cohesion" has been used against black people, women, and homosexuals.

Women still don't have the opportunity to have equal roles in the armed forces. Why can't we die for your lies, too, Bush?

Can you imagine how foolish I would look if *I*, as a woman, went around saying that homosexuals shouldn't be allowed to be "out" in the armed forces because it would hurt its "cohesion"? Do people ever think that maybe the people who are oh-so-distracted should be
the ones kicked out of the armed forces?

#3

I forgot to add this book I read in February:

The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl by Timothy Egan

This book has so many details and names, they're hard to keep track of it. I did read it very quickly, though, which surprised me. This book would be a good read for history buffs. I don't remember learning about the Dust Bowl in school.

!

60 degrees tomorrow. I am wearing a skirt. Yea for no more icky winter clothes (although, apparently it's going to be colder again at the end of the week)!

Sorry for all of the posts. I'm B-O-R-E-D.

Brown.

I am so underwhelmed by Sherrod Brown.

Has he even spoke during his term yet? I just shot off an e-mail to him about it.

We can't become complacent.

Things from Work.

Just because it's legal for a government body to ban public comments during their meetings doesn't mean they should or that it's a good idea.

Just because it's your blog and you can do whatever you want doesn't mean you should delete all comments of opposing views.

Open government, open blogs. Same, same.

***

I accidentally referred to "post-partum depression" when I meant "post-traumatic stress disorder" today. It took me five minutes to realize it, and I corrected myself, v. embarrassed.

Acting.

From imdb.com:

McAvoy Defends Hathaway Casting

British star James McAvoy has defended Anne Hathaway's casting as Jane Austen in Becoming Jane - insisting "you find the actor, not the accent" for movie roles. Director Julian Jarrold was criticized for casting an American actress in the role of the iconic 18th century English author, but The Last King Of Scotland star believes Hathaway was the best choice for the part. He says, "I think (the criticism was) fairly expected, but I'm a Scotsman and it's really surreal playing two Scottish people in the last seven years, so I haven't got a leg to stand on. I think you find the right actor - you don't find the right accent - and she is undoubtedly brilliant. When you find a British person playing JFK or some real big American icon, nobody bats an eyelid here. We don't go, 'This is terrible - it should be an American man playing this part', so I don't know why we get so annoyed."

THANK YOU.

I don't who does it--I don't know if it's simply the media stirring up trouble or if actual citizens complaining--but whenever a non-British person is cast to play a "British" person, a huge stink is made about it (see Renee Zellweger in just about any role, Anne Hathaway in this role, no one but Brits allowed to be cast in Harry Potter, etc., etc.).

It's called ACTING. Please get over it. Non-Americans are cast as Americans all of the time (see Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe, Hugh Laurie, almost all everyone in the latest Batman movie, which is a hugely American franchise, etc., etc., etc.) and no one complains about it here. People here are HAPPY about it. We don't CARE. Maybe because we understand the concept of acting...?

So please, get rid of that chip on your shoulder. It's so tiresome.

Peace!

(Just a clip of it...)

Gone for a year...

Interesting happenings at Kent State University, my Alma mater, lately.

Professor accused of writing jihad blog

The Web site in question, because it mentions the link in the print version of the Daily Kent Stater, but I don't see the sidebar in the online version: Global War.

The blog that started the hoopla by Mike Adams.

I'm disturbed by some of the comments to this blog. Don't mess with KSU, punks.

For example, this comment:

"For all interested. I'm from the Cleveland area and a local talk show host, Bob Frantz spent the morning stirring this one up. He's looking at some ways to go after the University.

...

Many callers arguing that Pino has the freedom of speech right to call for Jihad against America.

Caller claimed to be a grad student and teacher at the University who is seriously considering not returning next semester if Kent sticks to defending the Pino.

Frantz stated that in an article in the Kent Stater newspaper, Pino referred to his students as "My beloved Taliban".

Frantz is calling for alumnus to quit contributing to the school and for parents to consider pulling their kids out.

44 posted on 03/01/2007 10:27:54 AM PST by mmichaels1970"

Go after the university? What the hell, people.

And this gem:

"Sounds like Kent State needs another visit from the National Guard

Crosby Stills Nash & Young need another hit record.

42 posted on 02/28/2007 7:58:22 PM PST by WKB"

Classy. < / sarcasm >

I don't know enough about the situation to comment regarding Pino, but I just don't appreciate anyone attacking Kent State.

One thing, though. I believe in free speech, but when does free speech become actions? Is this classroom account (third paragraph from the bottom of the page) true? If so, has Pino crossed more than just a boundary of free speech? I'm bothered by this alleged set up of a student.

But, yeah. Unless he's done something illegal, I don't support firing him. Get real. If professors were fired for trying to shame a student about their religion or force their beliefs on students, quite a few of the professors at Kent State would be fired. In one of my English classes, there was only one self-identified Christian, because we were actually ASKED in an ENGLISH class, and she constantly had to defend herself and her views from the professor. In an ENGLISH class. I was embarrassed and angry for her. It goes both ways, that freedom of religion thing. Especially when it has nothing to do with what we're supposed to be learning.

Re: Oscars.

Okay, no matter who would have won, someone would complain. But I can't stand people saying that Martin Scorsese only won an Oscar for his past work and for sentimental reasons.

Who cares if The Departed is his best film or not? The only criteria for winning an Oscar this year is what is the best film *this year.

My favorite film this year was Little Miss Sunshine. Yes, I would have liked to see it win, but it was a long-shot because the Academy doesn't generally award comedies. So my second choice would have been The Departed--not because I necessarily loved it (it is most definitely not for everyone: violent, crass, etc.) but because I think it was the (second) best film of the ones nominated.

The film some people feel should have won is Babel, which is mind-boggling to me because a) I read a lot of negative reviews about it when it first came out and b) I saw this exact film last year, and it even won an Oscar, but it was called Crash at the time and took place in Los Angeles.

****

Okay. I am embarrassed to admit it, but I'm obsessed with Leonardo DiCaprio lately. It upsets me that sometimes he's brushed off as merely a pretty boy when he's such a classy person and such a talented actor. Yeah, he had some silly movie choices when he was young--he even admits it--but he has an amazing resume now. I think he is someone who is going to be considered a legend, a la Clark Gable or Cary Grant. He's old school. I mean, did you see him at the Oscars? Unlike Eddie Murphy, who threw a hissy fit when he lost and left the ceremony, DiCaprio stood up and applauded when Forest Whitaker won instead of him and seemed moved by his speech. On the red carpet he went up to people and told him how great their performances were and etc. He's just very genuine in a surprising way.

I’ve watched four movies of his movies in the past couple of weeks: The Departed, The Gangs of New York, Catch Me if You Can, and The Aviator. Catch Me if You Can and The Aviator are both brilliant, underrated movies. Catch Me if You Can has always been a personal top favorite. DiCaprio should have won the best actor Oscar for The Aviator instead of Jaime Foxx, in my opinion.

But why does he have to die in 80% of his movies?!

I also love Mark Wahlberg lately.