Current Events 1/17/11

courtesy of my blog: http://cjferrara.blogspot.com/

Arizona Tragedy. The president spoke at the funeral and called for us not to use this tragedy to politically attack one another. Then, the networks started attacking each other.

I'm moving past what I originally wrote:
"can we please acknowledge that Republicans and Teabaggers... a) Use rhetoric which labels Liberals and Democrats as 'people who are destroying the country we hold dear, and who need to be stopped.' b) Reference imagery from the American Revolution which equate what they (The Tea Party) are doing with the violent uprisings of the past. and c) are blatantly seeking as their target audience, ignorant, easily swayed and easily manipulated people prone to incitement. When you set that kind of tone, and then use verbiage like putting someone on their "hit list," what is an idiot to think?"
...and will acknowledge that this weirdo probably would have shot someone eventually. It just turns out, he shot a politician.

But here are a few MORE thoughts that I have...
1) A crazy person with a history of drug abuse bought a gun. It's illegal to sell it to him. BY LAW, there should have been a background check. Will they prosecute the person who sold the gun to the shooter? To everyone calling for stricter gun laws, recognise that gun control laws exist that are not being enforced. We don't need NEW gun control, we need the existing gun control laws to work.
2) OK, the negative extremist rhetoric of the Reps and Teabaggers maybe didn't DIRECTLY lead to this guy shooting Rep. Giffords. But, independent of this incident, the rhetoric isn't useful or helpful. What's wrong with simply saying, "I disagree philosophically with the opposition's point of view?" I'll tell you what. You don't motivate people to action over your personal disagreement. You need to make it personal, and scary, and threaten that something terrible will happen if they don't vote, or come out for a rally, or follow your side. But political debates should be just that... political debates, where two differing points of view meet and discuss, and seek out a compromise. The new balance in congress is only a victory in the sense that such compromise may actually happen.
and 3) The members of the Westboro Baptist Church need to consider the fact that maybe what your pastor wants is not what Jesus wants. Instead of being incited by the ravings of a madman, how about actually READING the BIBLE? Find me the part of the bible that translates in any way into "God sent the shooter," and I'll let you protest any inapprpriate venue you like.

Verizon and iPhone - I explained to my daughter, who mentioned to me that another 7-year old girl had a cell phone, that I didn't think she was ready for one. She then asked if, when she's 13, she could have an iPhone 4.  I then told her that in 5 years, when she's 13, the most uncool thing in the world will be the iPhone 4. They'll be up to iPhone 17 by then. And besides, a cell phone is just that... a PHONE. yeah, my Blackberry can do other cool things, but that's not the purpose of my having it. I have it to be my phone, which also tell time, updates my Facebook status, and allows me to play chess online. Now that the iPhone carries Verizon, it can be used as a phone. Finally. I still won't get one, though, because I hate, Hate, HATE touch screens. 

Golden Globes - I don't care about the Golden Globes. I watched it, but I don't take it seriously. Just like Top Chef, I find the gameplay fascinating, but my world doesn't begin and end with which chef gets voted off or who stole the Pea Puree. Watching the Globes, I noted a few things.
1) The HFPA has LOUSY taste in movies. I mean, the TOURIST? ALICE IN WONDERLAND? BURLESQUE????!!!!! Burlesque WON for crying out loud!
B) Ricky Gervais is doing mean spirited humor just for the sake of being mean spirited. It's not funny, it's just mean. I felt like someone needed to run up and defend the targets of his humor from a bully. Gervais is a very funny guy, but dude, have some respect.
and 4) Glee won. Nuff Said.