Quick Hits
I haven't been able to muster the will or time to write what I would think of as a proper blog entry, whatever that is. So instead, you get these little snippets of things that cross my mind, which is exactly what I didn't want to do when I started this thing. You know, the horrifically unreadable "My name is Doug, and this is what Doug thinks about all these different things, and blah, blah, blah..."
And yet, that more or less is what this blog is, despite my best intentions. I can only conclude that my readership leads an eventless and unfulfilling life, and is far too easily satisfied in it's search for "entertainment" and "content".
And so, with that, my name is Doug, and this is what I think about all these different things...
Tragedy struck in St. Paul this weekend, as two 18 year-olds tried to fashion a homemade raft out of milk cartons and other materials, so they could float down the Mississippi River "Huck Finn-style". The raft came apart when they struck something, and one of the girls, still unfound, is presumed dead. What a stupid, stupid thing to do. And yet, I know I've done things that were just as stupid and potentially deadly, only to live as a result of dumb luck, or fate, or whatever. Sometimes, the difference between a lark and a deadly accident is hard to understand.
Katharine Hepburn is dead. I thought she was already dead, about which I was formerly mistaken, but now am correct. Look, I know she was a pioneer in the portrayal of strong, independent women, and I know that she was very highly acclaimed as an actress, but did anyone else find her annoying in interviews? That shrill New England patrician facade...based on the film clips of her work that I've seen, she had the same kind of persona in film, too. I don't know. Maybe it was just me. I also have to admit that even though I enjoy old movies, I've never seen a Hepburn film. Somehow, I've just missed African Queen, or Guess Who's Coming To Dinner, or On Golden Pond. Just missed 'em.
As Hepburns go, I was always more of an Audrey fan...
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist says that he supports a Constitutional Ammendment banning gay marriage. Frists' rationale: I have this fear that this zone of privacy that we all want protected in our own homes is gradually -- or I'm concerned about the potential for it gradually -- being encroached upon, where criminal activity within the home would in some way be condoned," Frist said on ABC's "This Week". "Whether it's prostitution or illegal commercial drug activity in the home -- . . . to have the courts come in, in this zone of privacy, and begin to define it gives me some concern."
Oh, what a tragedy it would be for the courts to define the inside of our home as a private place. Of course, "criminal activity" is not currently protected in the home. If a murder or rape is committed in a recognized private sphere, the perpetrators are not able to avoid justice by claiming a right to privacy, and therefore an exemption from applicable laws. Frists' beef is that sodomy is no longer considered "criminal activity". Why a recognition of that fact necessarily means that legitimate criminal activity would now be subject to some kind of privacy shield is beyond me, but I believe this is the typical scare tactic that conservatives use to persuade mainstream Americans.
Frists' final comment in the article referenced above is also troubling: "Generally, I think matters such as sodomy should be addressed by the state legislatures," he said. "That's where those decisions -- with the local norms, the local mores -- are being able to have their input reflected." Really? That's a pretty specific delineation of states' rights issues. What about when local norms and mores are discriminatory and violate the Constitution? So, let me get this straight: California voted to allow legalized marijuana for medical purposes. They voted for it. Why don't their mores and norms count? Or, let's say South Carolina wanted to reenact Jim Crow laws in honor of Strom's death. Do we honor that?
The key language is Frists' use of the words "mores": Banning Sodomy is a value judgement, applied to a group of individuals who are denied equal protection. For Frist to defend that as the basis of law, and then talk about the sacrament of marriage, really brings the GOP's stance on church/state separation into clear focus, not that there was ever any doubt about it in the first place.
Dick Vitale is up to his same old cheerleading for the U.S. college basketball system. Vitale's latest self-serving BS? That the massive influx of foreign talent into the NBA is a mistake, that those guys are overrated, and that the NBA should still be focusing on college talent. Look, Dickie V: We know you're just a shill for the college game, which is your meal ticket. But to sit there and say that these foreign guys can't play is just a joke. They can play, and they are getting better all the time. You think the NBA doesn't know that? There was a time Dickie V. would rail on Carmelo Anthony for leaving after one year. Now, he doesn't even bat an eye. Why? Because he knows that for the really gifted players, college serves no purpose. Why? Because Dickie V. knows those kids aren't going to get an education in college, that the programs are going to use them up for as long as they can, make their money, and then move on. For Dickie V. to pretend otherwise is a JOKE. And these foreign players? They come over more fundamentally sound and more mature. Don't twist the truth to prop up a college system that we all know is just a user of young kids, pretending to provide all of them with some kind of wholesome education experience. Many get their degrees, but many more don't. And the colleges don't give a damn, as long as they help fill the seats and bring in the money.
1:32:39 PM 
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