My latest letter to the News & Record: ban political labels from the op-ed page

Here's the link to my latest letter to the editor of the News & Record. I had a wonderful conversation with Becky Layton in the editorial department a few days ago when she called to verify that I wrote this (standard procedure for letters to be published) and I said then that I'm very serious about this suggestion. The News & Record staff had a great idea when they started encouraging blogging and commenting on op-ed pieces. Now here's a chance to take it way on past the next level: ban all political labels, like "Democrat" and "Republican", "conservative" and "liberal", "right wing/left wing" etc.

Some will say that this will drastically limit the amount of material for the op-ed pages. No doubt that's true. But it will encourage serious, engaging and even polite debate about real ideas, instead of the partisan bickering that has become so anemic. And there are plenty of writers out there who do pursue ideas instead of ideology.

Words are like tools, or weapons: they can be used for good and they can be used for evil. But they should always be used with consideration and forethought. And if the News & Record would actually do this, it would not only be raising the bar and expectations (which is always a good thing) but it would become a real leading light in the field of the news media.

Anyway, you can read the letter at the link above, and leave a comment if you feel so led.

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How Ron Paul is destroying the media's grasp of politics

Something I'm not seeing talked about much during the past week or so, especially in light of the intense popularity - online and elsewhere - that Ron Paul seems to be enjoying following last week's GOP presidential candidates debate.

There seems to be a massive disconnect between what the mainstream press sees and is reporting, and the apparent support that Paul is getting as gauged from "alternative" outlets. F'rinstance, right now Paul has more people subscribed to his YouTube channel than any other Republican candidate. And as of this writing, "ron paul for president" entered into a Google search yields 162,000 results... compared to 75,400 for mainstream press-projected "frontrunner" Rudolph Giuliani.

And yet, the "traditional" media persists in largely ignoring Ron Paul, because he's not "polling high enough" compared go Guiliani, Romney, and a few others.

There's something horribly, horribly wrong with the mainstream media's perspective...

The only "scientific" polling that is being done by the major news organizations relies on old-school telephone landlines. No cell phones are being called for these polls (it's not allowed by law). A lot of people have migrated entirely to wireless phone sevice. That doesn't necessarily mean that a huge portion of those without landlines will not be supporting the "frontrunners", but it certainly seems that there would be a comparable level of interest in these candidates on the Internet. But right now, there isn't any.

In every way, Ron Paul's candidacy is the one getting the most attention... except the standard media isn't seeing that because it's still locked-in with old-school methodology.

What does this mean? I think it indicates that there are a lot of people who are interested in Paul and his message of less government, that are invisible on the regular media's radar screen. And there really is no currently known way of taking many of those into account with statistical polling as has been understood for the past several decades.

If the mainstream press is to act as responsible journalists, it's going to have to take this into consideration when reporting on candidates from now on, because otherwise they are practicing subjective reporting by omission... which I am compelled to wonder whether or not this might be by design.

I'm going to be interested to see what kind of reaction there will be following this coming week's Republican candidates' debate. A lot of people did not know who Ron Paul was before last week. Since then he's fast become an unavoidable contender. How much higher might his star rise in the weeks and months to come in the lead-up to the only polls that really count: the ballot boxes? And how is the media going to react to something that, for the first time in a very long time, it cannot project with any sense of accuracy?

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Megatron is one banned 'bot in Australia

The government of Australia has banned the import of the Transformers Masterpiece Megatron collector's toy into the country (click here for the story).

This is Megatron as he originally appeared when the Transformers line was first introduced in the early 1980s... but this one has a much better sculpt, is greatly articulated, is made of die-cast metal and is a lot sturdier than the '83/'84 model (how many of us cried when the original Megatron's arm came off?).

He also transforms into a life-sized Walther P-38 semi-automatic pistol... which is the problem. Masterpiece Megatron is now considered a public health threat by the authorities in Sydney. Yup, 20 years ago this was a perfectly okay child's toy. In 2007, at $100 a pop and marketed primarily to adult collector's, you need permission from the Australian government before you can import one from there. So far they've impounded about 50 Masterpiece Megatrons.

Just one more sign that the world we live in has gone positively bonkers.

By the way, my friend Phillip Arthur has the good fortune of being the proud owner of one of these babies! Check out his in-depth review here and if you find yourself salivating for one, you might be able to luck out on eBay (I'm seeing Masterpiece Megatron currently going from $90 all the way up to almost $200).

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Unintended Christian imagery in this week's LOST?

Maybe I'm seeing too much in this, but when I first looked at this photo from this week's Lost episode "The Man Behind the Curtain", something immediately jumped out at me. It's the scene where Locke and Ben are on the creek bank before setting out to see Jacob.

Do you see it too?

Look at the reflection in the water. I don't know if this was intended or not (I'm guessing probably not) but the branch that's seen behind Locke's reflected head... it looks just like the horizontal beam of a Roman cross. Here's that portion of the image flipped upside-down...

Taking the straight branch into account, Locke's head is in much the same position as you see Christ's head in quite a few depictions of the crucifiction.

Now think about that very last scene from last week's episode "The Brig" and what Locke was carrying on his back.

And also think of that very last shot of this week's episode, and where Locke was.

And then think about what Locke seems to be becoming in the eyes of many of the Others.

Like I said, I don't know if this was intended or not, but in light of all the Judeo-Christian references in this show, I thought this was still pretty cool.

And the thought just came to me: Ben's final words in this week's episode sound a LOT like those of a certain thief who was also being executed next to Jesus.

What astounding parallels! No wonder I love this show so much...

(Found this pic at The Tail Section by the way :-)

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Three new Terminator movies on their way

This does not need to happen. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines did not need to happen either (although I will admit there were some pretty good sequences in that movie). For me, the Terminator story neatly tied itself up at the end of Terminator 2: Judgment Day. But I guess Hollywood is running on fumes so far as new ideas for movies go, hence this whole new "Terminator trilogy" that will almost certainly tank at the box office.

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Anti-school uniforms task force has an e-mail address

Parents Opposed To Standard Mode Of Dress - also known as P.O.T.S.M.O.D. - is a group that's formed in the past month to stand against the school uniforms that the Rockingham County Board of Education voted to impose on Reidsville Middle and Reidsville High schools last month. They have an e-mail address if you wish to contact them: it's at potsmod@triad.rr.com. Thanks to Wendy Inman for passing that along.

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Immediate reaction to tonight's LOST "The Man Behind the Curtain"

No exclamations I might write could possibly do it justice.

Remember the final moments of "Two for the Road" toward the end of last season? Didn't this this one coming either, did we?

The brake has come completely off the highballing train that is Lost. There's no stopping it now. And it looks to be headed toward one helluva cliff.

Ever since the return from hiatus in February, we've been recording each episode to DVR. Lisa turns in early ('cuz she has to be at school in the mornings) so I watch it when it firsts broadcasts and then we watch it together the next afternoon when she comes back. There hasn't been one episode that lacked a moment that I couldn't wait to happen again on playback, just to watch Lisa's reaction...

...so tomorrow afternoon is going to be a lot of fun for me :-)

On a scale of 1 to 10, I'll give this episode a 14.

I want to get one thought in, before anyone else suggests it: the island is going to be destroyed. They set it up right in front of our eyes tonight. Remember Chekhov's rule of drama: "If the gun is fired in Act 3 it must be shown in Act 1..."

MAJOR UPDATE 11:43 PM EST: I just re-watched the scene with Jacob. SOMEONE IS SITTING THERE! I'm looking right at him at this very moment with the playback paused from the DVR. If you recorded this, it's a very brief image right after Ben screams "you've had your fun!"

Someone is there. See for yourself.

EDIT 11:53 PM EST: Here he is, taken from the episode. Do not click unless you absolutely want to.

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47 minutes into tonight's LOST ...

"That was Jacob."

What the ... ?!?

More soon.

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George Lucas MIGHT be making more Star Wars movies!

Yes you read that right. And at least two of them. However it looks like they will be made-for-television only. They won't be about the Skywalker family either.

But hey, it'll be new Star Wars story and so what if it's just for television: some of the stuff being done for the small screen lately has rivaled a lot of big-budget cinema. I mean, check this bad-boy out: the now-legendary "atmosphere jump" from this past season of Sci-Fi's Battlestar Galactica...

Now imagine Industrial Light and Magic getting turned loose like that on the medium. 'Twould be an awesome spectacle, no doubt!

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Ben, DHARMA, the Purge... and Jacob: Answers galore promised on tonight's LOST

Ever since Lost came back from its three-month hiatus in February, just about every episode has been stunningly perfect. And for the last several weeks especially, the show has been on a huge hot streak. I'm hearing that the revelation of what happened to Locke in "The Man from Talahassee" is being widely considered as the best television moment of the past season. 'Course, that might have been before the Sawyer/Cooper confrontation in "The Brig" last week.

Well, tonight's episode is titled "The Man Behind the Curtain". And this time the subject of the flashbacks is going to be... Benjamin Linus. AKA "Henry Gale" when he was held captive by the castaways last season.

A flood of answers are supposed to be coming out of tonight's episode. Indications are that we are finally going to learn about the DHARMA Initiative and how it came to the island and what happened after. A lot of reports say that the Purge and what it was exactly is going to be shown. We might be seeing a lot of Ben's life from childhood up to the present day.

And then there is Jacob. Tonight we're finally going to see "him": the one called "the man in charge", the "brilliant man", the "magnificent man". Jacob: the one who made the list. The one who apparently cured Juliet's sister of cancer. Who is he? What is he? Tonight, we will know. But this snippet from producer Damon Lindelof certainly has me stoked that much more:

"And more importantly, we meet Jacob - the elusive, unseen, presumed leader of The Others - for the first time. And this is a character who is every bit of significance to our universe as the Emperor was to the Star Wars universe: a character that you didn't get to meet until The Return of the Jedi but was referred to all through the preceding films. Jacob is a guy who is going to have a very significant ongoing sort of story value in our show."

As always, expect a post with some thoughts about the episode after it's aired/broadcast/run on cable/colorcasted/whatever.

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Take the Red Pill and support Ron Paul

"We have survived by hiding from them... by running from them. But they are the gatekeepers. They are guarding all the doors, they are holding all the keys, and that means that sooner or later, someone is going to have to fight them."

My own humble contribution to the cause :-)

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Ron Paul for President ... or no one

I have made a choice regarding this blog. It involves the one guy running for President who I don't feel dirty or diminished in the least bit for coming out in support of (which cannot be said for the vast majority of the candidates from the previous elections including the front-runners from both major parties)...

The Knight Shift proudly announces that it is supporting Ron Paul for President in 2008.

As a political unaffiliated, I cannot say how much that I am delighted that Dr. Paul is in this race. He is a true believer in the Constitution and limited government, an opponent of the present system of income tax, a proponent of strong borders, one who came out in opposition to the war in Iraq, and he's a very original and deep thinker who never fails to articulate his point with needle precision. He also has real military experience, having served as a doctor in the Air Force.

Why am I coming out and doing this only now with my blog, after writing here so many times how much I believe Dr. Paul is one of the very few people in politics that I trust? It has to do with the media blackout that a lot of the mainstream outlets like ABC and Fox News, and now apparently some "new media" sources such as Yahoo! News and even MySpace, are attempting to pull. If more Americans knew about Dr. Paul and what he stands for, there would be a serious threat to the status quo that the two major parties and their lackeys in the media have worked to maintain for all of these years. Yes, Dr. Paul is a registered Republican... but he has truly demonstrated that above all else, he is an American citizen who only wants to see the right thing be done in every situation. So in whatever way that I can, I'm going to help spread the word about Ron Paul and his candidacy... and to hell with Faux News and its kind.

It's like this: I'm supporting Ron Paul for President... or I'm supporting no one. And if he's not on the ballot come November 2008, then I'm not going to vote for anyone for President at all. Unless there's a third-party candidate who I'd also come to believe strongly in on the ballot also. But I've had it with the Democrat and Republican elites telling this country to bend over and get screwed without lubricant. They've had their shot and they blew it. Time for some adults to take charge of America for once (after eight years of being "led" by a damaged man-child, anything looks good).

Click here for the Ron Paul Revolution. And if you want a sense of the good vibe that's coming out of this campaign, check this out: the "Ron Paul Revolution Reloaded"...

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Among the most disturbing articles that I've ever read

Words just fail here.

"We don't feel guilty. We don't feel ashamed. We're not even really sad..."

Dear God in Heaven, have mercy on us.

Look, I'm going to keep fighting the good fight, the best that I can. But I've only recently come to the realization that it's a losing game on my part. This world is lost. This damned country is lost.

Let America fall. Let her utterly collapse. America is so completely FUBAR that the only people who could possibly read something like this and still think there is something redeemable from it in her current condition, are the people who are most wanting to exploit her. The ones who didn't care a flying rat's butt about America to begin with. I blame them for helping bring this country to the point it's at now.

Yes, let America fall. Into ruin. It's better than we deserve. And maybe, Lord willing, something better will rise in its place, above and beyond the liars and hypocrites and smooth-talkers and murderers.

I do what I do, because I believe that there are still some good people out there. I write and speak out to them, wherever and whenever they may be. I like to think that a hundred years from now these words will still be on whatever the Internet has evolved into and that they'll resonate with someone. Who will ponder deeply upon the folly that my generation has embraced.

You want to know what it is that I've read, that has disheartened me so? Here, read it for yourself, if you really want to.

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UPDATE: Board probably reconsidering uniforms at Reidsville schools - TIME TO MARCH BABY!

I just got back in from tonight's meeting of the Rockingham County Board of Education. The last time the board met during regular session, they voted to impose school uniforms (or "Standard Mode of Dress") next school year at Reidsville Middle School and Reidsville High School. It was an 8-4 vote (with Herman Hines abstaining) that came after a lot of parents and students spoke out against the uniforms during public comments. I said after last month's meeting that this is a way wrong measure the board passed and it should be rigorously opposed... as in "civil disobedience".

Well, tonight even more parents and students came out in opposition to the uniforms (and not one in favor of them, it must be noted). These were some of the most passionate and eloquent speakers that I've ever heard at a school board meeting... and a lot of them were high school students. Even more dire arguments against the uniforms were made, and it has come to light that apparently there may have been some data manipulation/massaging of facts going on that obscured the knowledge from many parents that this was about to happen. Well, from what I saw tonight, an awful lotta the people in this county are honked-off at the board for doing this.

At the conclusion of public comments, board member Steve Smith (who voted against the uniforms last time) tried to make a motion to reconsider the vote. He was told that only someone who had previously voted in favor of it could move to reconsider. It's also worth noting that Steve Smith made it quite clear that he didn't want the public's chain to be yanked on this: that the board should either say that it was going to discuss the matter again or that it wasn't going to do it any further. It was after this that a ten minute break was declared and most of the people attending left.

However, I stayed to the very end, right up 'til the board went into closed session. And this is what happened...

Board member Lori McKinney said that although she also voted to oppose the uniforms measure, that in light of the many people who came to speak out against it tonight, that she had to say that the board should re-examine this issue. No member who voted to approve the uniforms actually came out and moved to have a re-vote, but Reida Drum did state that she felt led to re-evaluate her stance on the uniforms, after considering everything that she had heard tonight. There's going to be some discussion about it at the next meeting.

I honestly don't believe that this board understands what it has done in mandating the uniforms at Reidsville Middle and Reidsville High. As one person told the board, this has only worked to incense many, many more people in Reidsville - and especially the students - instead of doing something positive at the schools, as the proponents of this thing might have claimed the uniforms would do. In any case, I think it was pretty clear to everyone (at least those sitting where I was in the peanut gallery) that if the board doesn't make some movement toward rescinding this thing and like yesterday, then quite a few of their political butts are going to be in a sling. More than one person told me tonight that they would run for school board against the sitting incumbents next time because of this issue.

(And in case anyone is wondering: I have never seen Ron Price look so sneering and condescending toward the people who came to the podium to speak as he did tonight... and I've got the videotape to prove it. Even if I didn't, a lot of people shared with me their disgust at his attitude.)

But this is what the board really should know: that tonight, quite a few people told me that they had read my report on this blog from the last meeting, and my call for the parents and students to disobey. Looks like it got circulated around a fair bit. More than I was really expecting. A lot more.

If the board doesn't move on this and soon, I believe there will be resistance from the parents and students. But I don't think that anything I really wrote had any bearing on that likelihood: it's probably going to happen no matter what might have been said here.

I don't want to see this ridiculous uniforms mandate - that is going to put a strain on too many families' pocketbooks - put into effect. At the same time, I do not want to see any real trouble come as a result of it either for the parents and students. Even though sometimes you have no choice but to draw the line and tell them "to this point and no further". Indeed, Americans have had to do that for the entire life of this country with their government. This time it's no different. But I'll do anything to see a nasty confrontation about this headed off before it comes to pass.

So, this is what needs to happen...

There were easily a hundred people or more at tonight's meeting. The next regular meeting of the Rockingham County Board of Education is at 7 p.m. on June 11th. There needs to be a hella lot more people at this next board meeting. If there were a hundred tonight, there needs to be two or three hundred next month. I would love to see enough people try to cram into the Central Office that it becomes a fire code violation and have the meeting forced to relocate to a bigger venue. And every single one of those people... or at least those who feel okay with speaking into a mike at a large gathering... needs to sign up to speak out against the uniforms.

I saw this meeting go until almost 11 o'clock tonight because of how many spoke this time. Wouldn't it be cool if there were enough speakers to make next month's meeting go until 1 or 2 a.m. the next morning?

There are some people on this board that I know quite well. That I have known for years and appreciate as much as anybody else. But all the same: if the public sentiment is really against this thing, and they don't feel led after that to rescind the vote, then we need to see a real battle of willpower erupt at the Central Office. Who can outlast who? Personally, I think those against school uniforms can go the distance.

So however you can, spread the word: we need to turn out in droves in the worst way come June 11th. I'll go ahead and say this now: I'm already planning on speaking. And I'm coming in armed with a bombshell that I've had waiting in my arsenal for more than ten years now. Some people at the meeting tonight know what I'm talking about.

Hell, I'm the guy who blew up a school just to try to get elected to the Board of Education. Don't think that I won't detonate something else (not literally 'course) if that's what it takes to see the right thing be done here.

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New filmmaker Jae Solina debuts AVARICE

Jae Solina is a student at Randolph High School. Each senior there has to do a project as a graduation requirement. Well, Jae decided that he had to do things a little different and that he was going to shoot the works for his project. He opted to make a short film. So far as I know, this is the very first film he's ever worked on. Jae needed a "professional" mentor to help him with it and sign off on the requirements, so I've been helping him a bit for the past few months.

You're going to see "KWerky Productions" flash briefly during this. Well, this film is all Jae's doing. He deserves all the credit for it. Because he does stuff in this very first time out that outshines work I've seen from a lot of veteran filmmakers. Jae did some things that I haven't even attempted in a film yet. And he did a beautiful job with all of it.

I believe that we can expect quite many good things to come from Jae Solina, if he takes this path with his life. He has the creativity and he has the passion. And he definitely has the talent.

So without further ado, here is... Jae Solina's Avarice:

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LOST has three more seasons... and they're short ones

Variety is the first to report that Lost is being given three more seasons by ABC, putting the end of the show in 2010.

Each season will be only 16 episodes long, compared to the average 22 or 23 for a network show per season. When they run, they will run continuously. Which is good. But there will also be a longer hiatus in between seasons.

What would be great to happen is if ABC produces each episode of these next few seasons with fewer commercial breaks, and then charge mega for those scant minutes of advertising. That would make each season of Lost more of an "event" to tune in to, just like American Idol is each season. And it would give more time for intense storytelling like what HBO does with its shows like The Sopranos. If we're going to have shortened seasons, that would a neat thing to do for the viewers... 'cuz I will admit to being let down that there's going to be less Lost these next few years.

But it's still good to hear that as of now, there is officially a cut-off date for the show. It's going to get to bow out on top of its game. I've come to think of Lost as some of the best televised storytelling ever and it gets to set another great precedent for ensuing shows to follow.

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Lisa has a review of SPIDER-MAN 3, too!

My lovely "spousal overunit" Lisa chimes in with her thoughts about Spider-Man 3 over on her own blog. Here's something she said that I think especially needs to be said of the movie...

This movie provided what America has need for a long time, a lesson in humility and forgiveness. Revenge, power, and arrogance can and will destroy. Spider-Man cannot serve the people if he is self-absorbed; neither can the leader of a country. America has become so materialistic and self absorbed, that we have failed to be a great people anymore. We have become so selfish, that we have lost focus of the rising struggles within and around us. We must learn to put our neighbors before ourselves, before we can find happiness and success. Even Spider-Man had to learn this the hard way. He had to forgive himself and his enemies to be a free and happy man.

Hit the above link for more.

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