Centerfield

Welcome home, Tully. It's midnight!

Odds and Ends:

In the arts:

•The Discovery Channel is running the documentary Grizzly Man on saturday and again on sunday. This tells the true story of demented bear activist Tim Treadwell, who followed and worshipped Alaskan grizzly bears until one of them finally ate him. This film, is quite simply, not to be missed. Director Werner Herzog uses the vast supply of Treadwell's wild, romantic, nature-adoring, aggrandized, and self-confessional footage to carry us right into the heart of a very unique individual whose heart was in the right place, but whose obsession became a mania, even a madness. In the final analysis, this story isn't even really about bears at all, in the same way that in a thriller, it doesn't really matter what's in the briefcase.

• And I just finished Philip Roth's The Plot Against America. It's a what-if history that imagines what might have happened had Charles Lindbergh been elected President and been an isolaionist nazi tool. Roth is one of America's finest living writers, long celebrated. (disclosure; he's an author for my employers, and indeed the only one of our fiction authors whose work I had previously read as an undergrad English/psych major.) His skill as taleteller makes this a well-paced gripping read, which counts for a lot in the world of readers who also live busy lives.

It's also very compelling: it feels real. Roth seems to have a good grasp of how politics works, and his accounts of how the political mechanics unfold ring true. He grounds the story in the semi-fictionalized account of his own family's growing up in a Jewish section of Newark, and weaves a cozy tapestry of what family values and struggles meant in this time period. For me, the most redeeming part of the story is how Roth continually places in counterpoint the ugly madness of fearful mob thought with the predominance of human decency in individual interactions. This is by and large not a tale of ugly caricatures, although fair warning: the Republicans take it on the chin because for Roosevelt to lose in his attempt and isolationists to take the reins, they HAD to be the bad guys. (and I don't feel this has anything to do with an underlying motivation to make the GOP look bad. Roth places an extremely ugly democrat as the unity VP who becomes the biggest nazi stooge, and when racist violence begins to break out, its a Republican governor who most quickly stands up for better values while the machine democrats sit quietly grinning. Well worth the read!

• In the news...Tully, what's the deal with some politicians in Kansas trying to criminalize all underage sex? I've heard something about this, but I'd like a much clearer take from a centrist on the ground, if you can fill us in.

You've probably not gotten correct details.

It's illegal for anyone 17 and over to have sexual intercourse with anyone 15 and under in Kansas. Statutory rape. Our state attorney general* has been trying to use this statute to harrass the abortion clinics into reporting complete medical and personal details of all patients 15 and under, regardless of their residence. (Many come here from out of state.)

He has also been trying to require doctors and nurses to report ALL "sexual activity" noted in patients 15 and under. The doctors and nurses, quite rightly, refuse to do so on grounds of medical privilege, the fact that "sexual activity" is not the same thing as "sexual intercourse" (which is the subject of the statute, and the grounds that they have no way of knowing if the patient is engaging in sexual activity with someone 16 and under, or 17 and over.

So far the courts are mostly siding with the doctors. They're still arguing about it.

[*--a despicable far-right posterior orifice, whose moderate primary opponent I worked for, and whose Democratic opponent in the general election I voted for]

I think the unintended comedy potential of Grizzly Man has to be off the charts. Just the whole concept of a deranged individual worshipping a wild animal, one of which finally eats him is comical. I'll probably get removed from the Humanitarian of the Year 2006 award process for saying that.

In other comedy news, the Knicks managed to get worse which is unsurprising with Isaiah Thomas at the helm. Knicks fans are on suicide watch.

And finally, Porsche has unveiled the Most Powerful Non-Turbo 911 in history.

PS--the doctors and nurses regularly DO report any cases where they strongly suspect there is an actual criminal violation. The AG wants them to report ALL sexual activity noted in minors as POSSIBLE criminal violations. It's far-right fugnuttery, as most sexual activity among minors is just that--among minors. Peers.

I am well-acquainted with the local OB/Gyn and abortion provider community.

Since BK brought up the fictional historical revisionist subject, did anybody hear the NPR review this morning of CSA? A "documentary" on how things would be if the south won the civil war. Complete with fake commercials for things like a school to learn how to be an overseer or "servant monitor". The review was positive.

Another movie I saw last weekend was Steve Zissou and the Life Aquatic, which is a "mockumentary" in which Bill Murray plays an aging, self-centered Jacques Cousteau-like character.

It's very absurd and very droll, probably the sort of humor not everyone likes, but I loved it. The part that cracks me up is that when Murray decides someone is OK, he tells his assistant to "get them a red cap anbd speedo" which is like the official uniform for team Zissou. the other running part that i really liked is that throughout the movie there's this guy, presumedly a french-speaking African, who plays David Bowie songs on his acoustic and sing them in french.

Anyway, I propose that on the rare instances when someone visits, says that they like the site and seem drawn to fair-minded substantive discussion, we say "OK, we'll get you a red cap and a speedo."

A reason to be hopeful

A Texas Centrist PAC

http://www.2020pac.com/

I can't find the link now, but did anyone see the bit about the Governor of Illnois being thrown for a loop by an interview he did with "The Daily Show with John Stewart?" Apparently, while the rest of America may chuckle over Stewart's antics, the Governor of Illinois (or "Gov. Smith" as the "reporter" referred to him in the interview after butchering his name) isn't quite down with the new technology called cable television. What was even funnier was that the interview was about contraceptives (as seen through the eyes of a horny teenager) and only after the reporter referred to him as "the gay Governor" did Blajo... (sp?) begin to question whether or not the reporter was serious.

Link.

ST. LOUIS, Missouri (AP) -- Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich wasn't in on the joke.

Blagojevich says he didn't realize "The Daily Show" was a comedy spoof of the news when he sat down for an interview that ended up poking fun at the sometimes-puzzled governor.

"It was going to be an interview on contraceptives ... that's all I knew about it," Blagojevich laughingly told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in a story for Thursday's editions. "I had no idea I was going to be asked if I was 'the gay governor.' "

The interview focused on his executive order requiring pharmacies to fill prescriptions for emergency birth control.

Interviewer Jason Jones pretended to stumble over Blagojevich's name before calling him "Governor Smith." He urged Blagojevich to explain the contraception issue by playing the role of "a hot 17-year-old" and later asked if he was "the gay governor."

Abel posted the Daily Show thing while I wasn't looking. Great minds.

But you had the link! I was going on my memory, which isn't the most reliable source.

Pretty damn funny...can't wait to see the clip.

Any NBA fans out there? I read someone say that the Knicks trading for Stevie Francis was like adding Steven Seagal to the cast of Walker, Texas Ranger.

I can't wait to use that one. Good times!

Brian, that quote about Seagal comes from my link above about the Knicks fans being on suicide watch. There are a ton more in there that are even funnier than that. I'm not a Knicks fan so I think it's all hilarious. Trading for another head case to match up with the headcase you already have in the backcourt is a riot waiting to happen.

Having a nice night, Tully? Thought of you when I saw this.

When the expert says that the new paintings are authentic Jackson Pollocks, I'm temped to quote Alice Roosevelt Longworth when someone told her Calvin Coolidge was dead; "How can they tell?" ;-)

Fun factoid; the legal provision that rules out statutory rape if both participants are below the age of consent is informally called "the Romeo and Juliet law." after the most famous lovers of all time. Sixteen year old Sasha Cohen was playing Juliet when she skated for the silver yesterday, but she had no Romeo to fall for. ;-)

I think this is a must see video.

anti-denmark protests in London

Here's an interesting article I read about how Sallie Mae is killing the competition in the student loan industry. Thought you might like it.

Competition Is Good, Except When It Comes to Our Friends

Killing competition for student loans hurts students and raises federal deficit

By Ken Moser

February 13, 2006

From the (Pennsylvania) Times News.

Economist Adam Smith was not a proponent of free markets, anymore than Isaac Newton was a proponent of gravity. Both of these groundbreaking scientists simply told us about these seminal forces, and left us to figure out we would be pretty stupid to ignore them.

The remainder of this "comment" has been removed by the thread originator for blatant violation of fair-use copyright doctrine. Anyone desiring to read it can google it out using the remaining stub, as the same poster has inserted it in comment sections in other places. DO NOT POST COMPLETE ARTICLES HERE. THEY WILL BE DELETED.

"Open thread" does NOT mean open to misuse. If you have a link to something you would like people to consider, post a link, with enough explanation to intrigue them into looking. Spamming entire articles into comment threads WILL result in their deletion. It's not only rude, it's a copyright ripoff. Play nice, please.

A new study by Florida Atlantic University here in South Florida this week disclosed that to be able to afford a single family used home in Miami you must have an income of $117,000. In Broward County (Ft. Lauderdale) it's $100,000. It's like Monopoly money down here. When fireman and policemen can't afford a home, that can't be good. Art? Jackson Pollock must have been one of the best salesmen of all time. I have seen paint stained drop cloths that he could have signed. Man Ray has always intrigued me. What was he up to?

You're right about Jackson Pollock, Reid, but I'm afraid Man Ray
isn't up to much these days; he's been dead for thirty years. :-(

Concerning Man Ray. The key word in my post might have been the word "was" (as in,cold as a carp). Did you happen to notice what his tombstone read? "Unconcerned, but not indifferent" My kind of guy.

LOL! I liked what DeForest Kelly (Dr. McCoy) suggested for his own tombstone; "He's dead, Jim."

There's a line about James Doohan and extinct whales in there somewhere. Bless 'em. Both Doohan and Kelly had great senses of humor.

New York still has a NBA team? After Isiah Thomas has been the GM of the Knicks? Wow, are you in trouble. I live in South Florida so go Miami Heat. I hope we win it but Detroit looks tough. Wade hurt himself in the finals last year shooting the ball! That was God's way of telling us locals..."say hello to my little friend" DBA as the Devil.

There's a line about James Doohan and extinct whales in there somewhere.

There is, but I'm giving up snarkiness for Lent. We'll see how long I last. ;-)

Bless 'em. Both Doohan and Kelly had great senses of humor.

They sure did, as does Nimoy; sometimes it was the only thing that kept them from strangling Shatner.

Shatner had a good sense of humor too, about everything but his own acting; he developed that later in life, after a couple dozen "Star Trek" conventions.

Potted Meat Product removed.

Despicable chopped pork eradicated.

Karlik4