Father, Help Your Daughter!

Hmmmm...another busy weekend.

Went to see Farenheit 911 on Friday night. There's been so much publicity that I'm not going to blab on with a bunch of repetitive shit, but I thought it was really good. (yes, you're shocked, I know). I guess I could easily be considered the "choir" that Michael Moore has been accused of preaching to, but I don't really care. I actually learned a few things that I didn't know prior to seeing the film. I didn't realize that the African-American US representatives had protested in Congress about the appointing/annointing of George W back in 2000 and that no Senators would second their protest barring them from having an actual debate. I hadn't seen the pictures of the burned bodies of our soldiers being hung from an Iraqi bridge. I wasn't aware of how far back some of the ties between the Bush family and the Saudi royal family go or of how much money the Saudis have invested in our economy. I don't personally know any families that have lost a family member to the war, so seeing his interview with a family that did was incredibly moving. I didn't realize that so many of the troops are just as disillusioned with why they are there as I am. Finally, I thought his exploration of the fact that so many in our military come from the ranks of poor minorities was very telling. I thought his pointing out that only 1 member of congress has a son or daughter in the military was especially poignant--and the absolutely blank looks on some of their faces when he confronted them with asking their own children to sign up for the war needed no words to explain the issue being presented.

That being said, I did have a few criticisms as well. I thought the riding around in an ice cream truck reading the Patriot Act stunt was a little hokey and didn't really make that big of a point. I thought it actually disctracted from the seriousness of the civil liberties that we are losing. I think that sometimes if he would have let the pictures speak for themselves (namely GWB sitting there for forever doing nothing after being told about the 9/11 attacks) it would have been a lot more powerful then him talking over it. And while he doesn't say specifically in the movie WHEN they left (only that it was authorized on 9/13) he implies that Saudi's and the bin Laden family left the US while all of the other planes were still grounded. Further investigation seems to have shown that while they may have flown within the country, they didn't leave the country until airspace was opened. It has also come out that while the FBI didn't open an official investigation and question them at length, they did ask them about the whereabouts of Osama before letting them go. (not that I think that was sufficient...just that the whole truth is always a good thing)

Of course, overall...it was his documentary...created to show his point of view (which I agree with overall)...not to be some objective piece of journalism (as if journalism these days is objective anyway...but for the sake of argument). Of course he's going to put things together in such a way to imply things that support his point of view. I think it was thought provoking and worth seeing and thinking about before casting a vote in November.

Ok...enough of that. Saturday I had a long discussion with my dad (the Baptist pastor) about the morality of supporting a President that lies and who is ultimately responsible for the deaths of so many innocent Iraqis. The evangelical Christian right would probably still like to literally crucify Clinton for lying about oral sex, yet almost to a man they unquestioningly support Bush who has lied about things of so much greater consequence then a blow job. It's such a double standard. They claim to be pro-life yet don't seem to care about the already-born Iraqis that are dying in a war based on lies. I don't know how they can logically do both of those at the same time. I actually don't think that Kerry is the best possible candidate ever, but he is certainly the lesser of two evils at this point. It was actually a decent conversation. But my dad copped out at the end by quoting Romans 13:1 and saying that God "sets up rulers and takes them down" in his argument that I shouldn't be so concerned about politics but rather the state of peoples' souls. I pointed out that because of the result of the President's POLITICS Iraqi "souls" wouldn't be open to any kind of "witnessing" about God for quite awhile since, right or not, they equate America with Christianity. I pointed out that you can't stand by and let moral atrocities happen to human beings and then expect to step in and tell them the "good news" that God loves them and expect them to be happy to hear your message--especially when your country is the one committing those atrocities. Whatever! I find it especially interesting since my dad's parents...my grandparents (obviously)...who are Jewish were liberated from Nazi concentration camps by the American forces back in World War II (yes, my dad has obviously converted from Judaism to Christianity). There's been a disconnect somewhere that doesn't allow him to see the similarities.

On a lighter note, my girl and I and some of our friends went to the Steel City Softball League Variety Show benefit at Pegasus Saturday night and had a blast. Ms. Eda Bagel, Pittsburgh's BEST drag queen in my humble opinion, was the hostess and in addition to being fabulous and looking WAY better in a dress then I ever could, she is fucking hilarious. Good times were had by all. (-:

Went to some softball games and watched my girl play on Sunday and that's about it. And it's already Monday again. )-:

Funny quote from an article at Landover Baptist:

"Most Christians acknowledge that Atheists are so unpatriotic, that they believe the September 11th attack on the World Trade Center happened because there is no God to play favorites with humanity. The truth is that our Lord loves only the United States and keeps a scorecard of folks who rub us the wrong way or don't give us their natural resources at a reasonable price. "The hills of Hades are going to be crawling with the Coalition of the Unwilling, my friends," says Pastor Deacon Fred."