'Knocked Up' and Abortion

This is not your typical movie review. For that read a newspaper. All I will say about the film Knocked Up is that you should go see it because its freaking hilarious. Great great movie.

Instead, I think I'll wax a bit on the issue brought up in the NYT Sunday Styles article, as well as in this Politico article, that abortion, in both thought and deed, is the one act Hollywood deems too dangerous to touch. Both these articles point out that historically, abortion is not even talked about in film or on TV, let alone actually writing an abortion into a script. Isn't this interesting to anyone else? We can make a blockbuster Oscar-winning film about Tom Hanks being gay and contracting HIV, and another a decade later about two hot hetero cowboys Jake G and Heath L falling in love. There is even a sex scene in that one. Not to mention Hollywood's countless references to drug and alcohol abuse, movies about violent serial killers and genocidal wars and all sorts of demented terrible violence. Infidelity is also popular subject matter. Antisemitism? Thank you Mel Gibson. Basically, if you name the potentially offensive thing to someone: Hollywood has covered it. Except abortion. Notable exceptions:

In the rare instances when abortion has made it into the plotlines of major films, like “Dirty Dancing” and “The Cider House Rules,” they tend to be films set in the past and the women who undergo the procedure do not always fare well. “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” is the rare American film in which abortion is legal and dealt with matter-of-factly — and it is 25 years old.

And, to be fair, many independent films to address the actual act of abortion in meaningful ways.

Geoffrey Gilmore, the director of the Sundance Film Festival, said the subject of abortion comes up more realistically in independent films, as do other difficult themes like drug addiction, incest, even infanticide, most recently in “Stephanie Daley,” about a teenager accused of murdering her newborn.

“That’s the meat and potatoes of independent filmmaking,” he said of such social issues.

The price to pay, though, is smaller audiences.

But the fact is, major movies, for the most part, still ignore a woman's right to choose. Why is this? It's no secret Hollywood is ground zero for Liberalism these days, so how come no one has the cajones to feature a leading woman (I like Scarlett, myself, but it wouldn't matter who it was) who confidently and assuredly decides to exercise the right she has over her own body?

I wonder what this says about the future of Roe and choice in this country that not even those bastard leftists will touch abortion in a positive light. Is it because they are afraid of the political backlash? Or is it just because the big studios are still run by crotchety old white guys? Both probably, but who's to know for sure. What I DO know is that it underscores the importance of a Dem winning in '08. Chances are the Supreme Court is going to lose at least 2 justices between 2009 and 2017, and the only way to ensure the safety of a woman's right to choose (short of actual legislation, that is, which I know won't happen because I know no one in this town has the cajones to pick that fight) is to make sure that future appointees to the court look more like Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsberg and less like Roberts, Scalia, Thomas, and Alito.

Stupid. F'ing. Policy.

"Don't ask, don't tell" is one of the mind-numbingly dumbest pieces of policy we have on the books. And one of the many reasons I fear another Clinton presidency: namely, selling out liberal and progressive ideals for political expedience. Billy did it to labor, working people, welfare moms, and gays in the military back in his rein, why should we expect anything different from his wife? (OK, that's probably not fair, but he IS her numero uno adviser, so we know he at least has her ear.)

Anyways, this op-ed article from an Arabic translator who was kicked out of the military after they checked the instant-message history on his government monitored computer, is a glaring example of level of stupidity inherent in this discriminatory legislation.

Here is the gist of the story (but really go read the whole thing):

I was an Arabic translator. After joining the Navy in 2003, I attended the Defense Language Institute, graduated in the top 10 percent of my class and then spent two years giving our troops the critical translation services they desperately needed. I was ready to serve in Iraq.

But I never got to. In March, I was ousted from the Navy under the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, which mandates dismissal if a service member is found to be gay.

My story begins almost a year ago when my roommate, who is also gay, was deployed to Falluja. We communicated the only way we could: using the military’s instant-messaging system on monitored government computers. These electronic conversations are lifelines, keeping soldiers sane while mortars land meters away.

Then, last October the annual inspection of my base, Fort Gordon, Ga., included a perusal of the government computer chat system; inspectors identified 70 service members whose use violated policy. The range of violations was broad: people were flagged for everything from profanity to outright discussions of explicit sexual activity. Among those charged were my former roommate and me. Our messages had included references to our social lives — comments that were otherwise unremarkable, except that they indicated we were both gay.

I could have written a statement denying that I was homosexual, but lying did not seem like the right thing to do. My roommate made the same decision, though he was allowed to remain in Iraq until the scheduled end of his tour.

The result was the termination of our careers, and the loss to the military of two more Arabic translators. The 68 other — heterosexual — service members remained on active duty, despite many having committed violations far more egregious than ours; the Pentagon apparently doesn’t consider hate speech, derogatory comments about women or sexual misconduct grounds for dismissal.

My supervisors did not want to lose me. Most of my peers knew I was gay, and that didn’t bother them. I was always accepted as a member of the team. And my experience was not anomalous: polls of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan show an overwhelming majority are comfortable with gays. Many were aware of at least one gay person in their unit and had no problem with it.

“Don’t ask, don’t tell” does nothing but deprive the military of talent it needs and invade the privacy of gay service members just trying to do their jobs and live their lives. Political and military leaders who support the current law may believe that homosexual soldiers threaten unit cohesion and military readiness, but the real damage is caused by denying enlistment to patriotic Americans and wrenching qualified individuals out of effective military units. This does not serve the military or the nation well.

Narrow minded people suck in the worst way. Write your senators and congresspeople today and tell them not to be one of them!

Live, From the hospital!

Goooooooooood mornin' Domes-tiques! We're here live at Hospital X, blogging from the visitor waiting room at the surgery center. We're here in support of peleton member Slurry Beta, who is going under the knife today to pursue his lifelong dream: aquiring Dakota Fanning's cute little button nose. Apparently the Docs here at H-X are real good, and even specialize in celebrity noses. Who knew?

Thankfully Beta's appointment was pushed back unexpectedly yesterday, from the 8:30 start time to a much more respectable 11:30. The bummber about the 8:30 was that he has to be here 2 hours early, which means the car service (me) would have had to pick his mustache-less ass up at 6am. Yikes!

(Yes, hate to break the news, but the 'stache is no longer. Something about the Channings historically not being able to grow facial hair and he is really going for legitimacy with this or something... I dunno, I wasn't really listening, I figured it was the anti-nausea meds talking.)

Doubly thankful for this wireless connection. I took a vacation day today because I am in full foot-out-the-door mode these days at work (read: don't give a shit). But I do have some work to do here in this waiting room. And how could I possibly procrastinate from doing this work without the internet? I should go play outside and enjoy my vacation day, but I am reluctant to leave this place now because it's a zoo in here and I don't want to loose my prime spot next to the electrical outlet. Unfortunately my old laptop has no battery life left when unplugged.

Anyways, Beta was schedule to go into surgery about 15 mins ago, so my guess is they just wheeled him into the room, hooked him up to an IV, and told him to start counting down from 10. Last time that happened to me (ironically, also a nose surgery; I wanted the Whoopi, I got the Ted Danson), I got to 8 before I started laughing hysterically before I then passed out into a dreamless slumber. Strong stuff.

ANY-WAYS, I am not bored at all or anything. Just hungry and getting loopy. I forgot to bring snacks, and like I mentioned above, am reluctant to go find the snack bar.

I'll check back in later with any exciting updates. I forgot to take pack a camera, unfortunately, so we won't be able to compare pre- and post-op pictures, which is a damn shame. The Dakota-nose is gonna look SUPER cute on him, I think he's really going to have a whole new lease on life. Ladies, watch out!

UPDATE: He is out of surgery and recovering somewhere. Since we're not life partners or what have you (not that you know anyways), I can't go hang out with him. But I am told I would have heard if something went wrong, so I guess that means things went well.

Obama backing, Gore curious

I am becoming increasingly interested in the prospect of Al Gore running for president again in 2008. After all, third time is a charm, right? And hell, he's already won the damn thing once! So why not? Why not just wait till October, collect your Nobel Prize, let the big 3 beat the hell out of each other all summer long, and then gallop in on a big white stallion to save the race and galvanize Dem voters? He's rich, so money is not a concern. He's probably the most erudite candidate you could hope for, and this time he won't have a bevy of tired old DC consultants holding him back. If anything, you'd have a real maverick candidate on your hands. He is not fettered to any constituency or special interest (he IS the anti-global warming lobby, and I can assure you it is not a very big or powerful special interest), and at the very least he can ensure that his pet issue, climate change, is part of the debate in 2008.

People who read this and shutter and think back to the stiff that ran in '00 have not been following the evolution of Mr Gore well enough. Because I am a bit of a political junky (read: nerd), I have been, and I am quite impressed. Even his denial of wanting to run for presidency impresses me, as quoted in Bob Herbert's [bullshit-firewalled] column today, "I don't really think I'm that good at politics... What politics has become requires a level of tolerance for triviality and artifice and nonsense that I find I have in short supply." Me too, and it's why I am leaving DC!! And at the end of the day, Gore's realization of this and his distaste for it will probably be what compels him to stay out of the race come October or November of this year... but if he does run, watch out.

Prediction: Gore will flirt with the candidacy all summer, issue denial after denial, put increasing pressure on someone to take up his climate change mantle, but in the end will not run. 2012 is a different story, especially if the GOP win in '08, but also if Dems don't move on meaningful climate change policy by then.

Am I becoming one of those, "dated Obama, married (diff. candidate)" types? I don't think so, definitely not at this stage in the game, but remember what my mom always told me: All wise people change their minds. Wonder if Mrs. Gore taught little Al that too?

Think this hurts his status in Germany?

Hilarious. Sad. Sadly hilarious? I don't want to judge the Knight Rider of all people, but it sure seems like he maybe needs to cut back on the sauce. Also seems like someone ought to call child services. Clear the 6 mins from your schedule, this is worth it.

I am pretty sure this happened to me once too, except I was 19 and a freshman in college, not 55 and definitely not in front of my 12 year old daughter. Yikes.

Background: Hasselhoff being videotaped by his daughter as he lies on the floor trying to eat a hamburger. Trying being the operative word. The clip is hilarious, except the sad reality that it's his daughter filming and trying to talk sense into the apparent drunkard Hasselhoff has become.



Then, after watching that, you really oughta watch this muppet-spoof.

Egghead for Prez

I couldn't agree more with Eugene Robinson's editorial today. You really ought to read it. Considering the ginormous mess the next prez is about to inherit, we really ought to go find the best and brightest one out there, whomever that may be (Robinson alludes to it being Al Gore). Some of the best parts below:

One thing that should be clear to anyone who's been paying attention these past few years is that we need to go out and get ourselves the smartest president we can find. We need a brainiac president, a regular Mister or Miss Smarty-Pants. We need to elect the kid you hated in high school, the teacher's pet with perfect grades.
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I want a president who reads newspapers, who reads books other than those that confirm his worldview... and who's smart enough to form his or her own opinions, not just rely on what old friends in the oil business say.
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I want a president who believes in empirical fact, whose understanding of spirituality is complete enough to know that faith is "the evidence of things not seen" and who knows that for things that can be seen, the relevant evidence is fact, not belief... Actually, I want a president smart enough to know a good deal about science...
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I want the next president to be intellectually curious -- and also intellectually honest.

Wow, almost sounds like too much to ask for these days, eh?

Code Orange Air Pollutant Level: UNHEALTHY

Here's your morning Public Health Alert for those of us in DC: We are officially at our first Code Orange unhealthy air quality warning day of the summer.

Wow, this is what you get for watching GMA before work. They cut to the local weather guy who reported DC has it's first Code Orange of the summer. What does this mean? I had no idea, so I googled...

Code Orange: Unhealthy for sensitive groups

•	Temperatures in the upper 80s to low 90s
•	Light winds
•	Slow moving high pressure system with sunny skies

Actions to Protect Your Health:

•	Sensitive Groups – children and active adults, people with respiratory disease, such as asthma and emphysema and heart aliments should limit prolonged outdoor physical activity.

Well, (in your best Church Lady voice:) isn't that special?

Here's hoping Seattle doesn't have get code fucking orange days. Good thing my footy game tonight is indoors. Seriously, this is disgusting. And the only real difference between today, Code Orange, and the next level of badness, Code Red, is a few degrees of temp. If it creeps up into the mid- to high-nineties this afternoon, we'll basically be at code red.

Luckily it's back down to Yellow, or "moderate" again for the weekend, would be awfully ironic to be running the race for the cure on Saturday morning while we are inhaling dangerous particles and pollutants which could, theoretically, someday lead to cancer.

In other public health news, the CDC actually knew this guy, "Passenger X," had a really rare and bad form of TB (XDR TB in fact) and yet they didn't warn anyone in the airline industry that he shouldn't be allowed on 7 transcontinental flights. Bizarre, but planes are petri dishes and TB is very infectious... that said, the CDC thinks he probably infected no one on the flights he took. Let's hope they are right. (UPDATE: here is a better account of the whole affair, thanks WaPo.)