A collection of political thoughts and responses to political statements in the news and on the web. Progressive politics, LGBTQ politics, environmental politics, &c.
The documentary “Bully” has been officially retagged PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America.
This shift from its initial R rating for language occurred after a
drawn-out battle of wills among the studio, the trade association
responsible for the voluntary ratings system, and vocal advocates of
antibullying initiatives.
A compromise version, which cuts the number of "F-bombs," will be in
theaters beginning April 13, when the film goes into national
distribution.
The Weinstein Company (TWC), aided by the guidance and
consultation from attorneys David Boies and Ted Olson, announced today
that the MPAA has lowered the R rating, given for some language, for
BULLY to a PG-13 in time for the film's April 13th expansion to 55
markets. The scene that has been at the forefront of the battle with the
MPAA, the intense scene in the film that shows teen Alex Libby being
bullied and harassed on a bus, has been left fully intact and unedited.
BULLY director Lee Hirsch felt editing the scene was not an option, and
subsequently refused to do so, since it is too important to the truth
and integrity behind the film. Also a victory is the exception the MPAA
made by allowing the film to be released with the new rating before 90
days, which is the length of time their policy states a film must wait
to be in theaters after a rating change to avoid confusion or
inconvenience for moviegoers.
This decision by the MPAA is a huge victory for the parents, educators,
lawmakers, and most importantly, children, everywhere who have been
fighting for months for the appropriate PG-13 rating without cutting
some of the most sensitive moments. Three uses of the 'F word' were
removed from other scenes, which ultimately persuaded the MPAA to lower
the rating. Hirsch made the documentary with the intent to give an
uncensored, real-life portrayal of what 13 million children suffer
through every year.
One of the points of contention in discussing equality for the LGBTQ Community is whether we are "born that way". Dr. Neil Martin is Chair of Neurosurgery at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, and serves as Head of the Neurovascular Surgery Section. Dr. Martin says that we are.
The story comes in about a Welch man, Kris Birch, who claimed that a stroke turned him gay. The story was first reported on the BBC and I will admit that I thought this was absurd. It seemed to me that Mr. Birch was probably already gay or bi and was using the stroke as an excuse to come out. Well, I was probably wrong, as seen on this clip from The Doctors.
In American we believe economic independence is one and the same in the pursuit of happiness.
Um, no. These are not the same at all. The Stop the Recall folks are mixing ideals.
Freedom is only achieved when we fight for what we know is right.
In Wisconsin you'll find the fire of that American spirit in every one of us.
But in 2011, Wisconsin conservative leaders were attacked for standing for these very principles.
No. If Governor Walker stood for those principles, then he would not have lied about ending collective bargaining as a technique to balance the budget that he unbalanced with huge tax cuts for businesses and the wealthiest citizens.
Greedy union bosses and liberals spent millions recalling Republican state senators.
It is not greed that led to the response to Republican attempts to destroy unions in the state that saw the rise of unions a century ago. Collective bargaining is about safe working conditions, reasonable working hours, and fair compensation. Unions can work with companies so that everyone benefits when they are not designated as an enemy.
Their goal was to deny economic independence for Wisconsin taxpayers.
Absurd. There is zero truth to this assertion.
Democrat state senators fled to an Illinois resort to avoid fixing the problems in our state.
No. The stunt was to draw attention to legislation that did not fix any state problems but crippled unions. Ending collective bargaining does not enhance the state budget.
But one man refused to accept the status quo of failure. That man is Scott Walker, Wisconsin's principled conservative governor.
Conservative? Yes. Principled? No. He claims that he ran on ending collective bargaining but said that he wanted to work with unions when he was running for office. A principled man does not lie.
Scott Walker fought against union special interests and big government and for Wisconsin families and businesses.
Unions are not in a causal relationship with big government. Mr. Walker says he is for small government, but favors big, intrusive government when it comes to women's healthcare. He says he is for families, but only the wealthy are seeing benefits of the Walker agenda.
Yet, once against the recall is coming to Wisconsin. Union bosses and liberal Democrats are going to tear the state apart.
No. It was radical GOP legislation that has been tearing Wisconsin apart. Unions and Democrats have been pushing for the status quo that Mr. Walker has been destroying.
Their goal is to recall and defeat Scott Walker and send a message to conservative leaders across the country they're next.
The first part of this is true. The goal is to recall and defeat Scott Walker. Then the goal will be to restore collective bargain and fair treatment of government employees. The "send a message" bit is not a goal, but it does sound good.
All of us at the Wisconsin Recall Action Fund refuse to be intimidated.
Okay. I believe them.
We know the union and liberal Democrats will do all they can to stop us.
Also true.
That's why we are ready to fight alongside you. Join us today. Stand up for conservative principles and democracy. Save Governor Scott Walker.
While federal law and Wisconsin law both prohibit buying votes, Mr. Mitt Romney and Mr. Paul Ryan probably did not violate the law today. According to the latest articles, they did not require proof of voting or promises to vote in exchange for the sandwiches that they were giving away in Waukesha today.
Update, 2:30 p.m. Tuesday: The Democratic Party of Wisconsin
is alleging that Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan committed election bribary
by offering "subs-for-votes." Patch will have more updates about their accusations as soon as more information is available.
Original: Mitt Romney was handing out sub sandwiches to voters in Waukesha, courtesy of Cousins Subs,
with Congressman Paul Ryan, R-Janesville, who has stuck by Romney’s
side while he has been campaigning in Wisconsin. Romney handed voters
turkey subs while Ryan handed them the ham sandwiches.
Later, the pair encouraged the crowd to get out and vote. They also
took the chance to criticize President Barack Obama as Romney is the
likely winner of the GOP nomination.
Several details are important or moderately interesting. Waukesha is one of the three most Republican counties in Wisconsin (the other two being Brown and Washington Counties). It is also one of the wealthiest counties in Wisconsin. Handing out free subs there to encourage people to vote in the Republican primary is not very different from encouraging them to keep breathing. It's a nice touch, but probably not necessary.
I will skip all of the obvious jokes about one being a ham and the other a turkey. Too many and too obvious.
Channel 3000 notes that giving anything worth more than one dollar in exchange for voting is a violation of Wisconsin state law. While the Democrats have, properly, filed a complaint, I doubt it will go far. The description is that of handing out sandwiches without a commitment in exchange. Nonetheless, this is the sort of activity that has the appearance of impropriety ... dirty tricks.
They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. The words in this picture, a screenshot of the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board statement on the Voter I.D. Law, is stunning. Tuesday 3 April 2012 is Primary Election Day in Wisconsin. Monday night, the rules are far from certain.
