If you thought that the media isn't government influenced (dare I say controlled?), think again. Here's the 30 second spot that NBC refuses to air on the grounds that it's disparaging to the Presidency - the advertisement for the Dixie Chicks new movie (Rated R), made in response to the backlash they received for anti-Bush comments post 9/11.
I'm not ready to make nice either.
and of course, we're too dumb to take control of our own diets, so the mighty government is going to step in and help us out. A government commissioned report funded by the Food and Drug Administration lays out ways to help people manage their intake of calories from the growing number of meals prepared away from home, including at the nation's nearly 900,000 restaurants and other establishments that serve food. Limited portion sizes (which I'm sure won't correlate with lower menu prices) and the availability of caloric information should be available. I laughed out loud when the article seriously states that "consumers have no way of knowing how many calories are in a prepared entree". Uh. If you're ordering a 1/2 pound hamburger and a picnic basket of french fries, how many calories do you *think* are in it? Smaller portions? If I pay $15 for a plate of linguine with clam sauce, I'd like a large portion, please. I'll likely take half of it home and have it for lunch the next day. People should be able to make these decisions for themselves...not have the FDA govern our restaurants too. If we overeat, isn't it our responsibility? We need to spend more time in the produce section of the grocery store (hey government! Wanna help? Help make nutritional choices less expensive than processed food!) than we do in the McDonald's drive-thru. We need a society that doesn't necessitate two working parents in order to pay the bills so that someone can be home at a decent hour to roast a chicken and peel potatoes. But I guess it's easier to stick their nose into how much linguine I'm allowed for 15 bucks.
Marketers hope to capitalize on the date 6-6-06
How lovely of Man, er...Ann Coulter, Republican blowhard, to get in on the marketing extravaganza that will take place on Tuesday, 6-6-06. I think she has a twin in my Surreal Life friend, Alexis Arquette, lol.
An uncanny resemblance, eh?
So Man, er Ann is releasing her book on the devil date as a tribute to liberals, she claims. How thoughtful! She's a tool. Others releasing material on that date include the Satanic rock groups Slayer and Deicide. Oh, and a little movie called the Omen releases that day. But we expect that from them.
Though I'm not a big fan of animal racing (*sniff*, I still miss my retired Greyhound), it's hard to ignore the excitement in the Maryland air at Preakness time (6:14pm tonight, baybee). On the way to the baseball field at 9:00 this morning, the radio DJ's were already on the infield, Black Eyed Susans in hand. Speaking of Black Eyed Susans, didja know that the blanket of flowers used to adorn the horse that wins is made of painted daisies since the Maryland state flower isn't blooming in May?
Preakness is a big party, but unfortunately it's the only party at the Maryland tracks anymore. Most of them are closed or in disrepair because they aren't generating much income. It's a shame that Maryland doesn't do more to support its legendary horse racing industry. Our poor Gov Ehrlich (Moe) wants to put slot machines at the tracks, but the Democrats who run Maryland's everything are still so flabbergasted that he won the election, they won't even hear of it. Never mind that neighboring Delaware and West Virginia soak up millions in Maryland residents' gambling money. It would be socially irresponsible to give people slot machines to play in their own state.
So yeah...while I'd probably cry in my Black Eyed Susan if I had to witness a steroid ridden horse fall as he was whipped to run faster... I do appreciate the tradition of horse racing. I mean, it's that and crabs - what the heck else do we have? (Heroin! And Syphillis!)
And I want slot machines.
Three cheers for Susan Sarandon, who is never afraid to raise her voice in protest. I'm sure I'm in the minority, with so many people only wanting their entertainers to stick to doing what they do best, but I believe that someone with an educated viewpoint like Ms. Sarandon's is entitled, if not obligated to stand up and speak for what she believes. She has the platform on which to stand and she always does it in a graceful and classy way. Susan is a humanitarian and a Patriot. I applaud her.
And I *love* Cindy Sheehan who has both the BALLS and the tenacity to stay the course in her protest efforts against the war in Iraq. I understand that Susan Sarandon has signed on to portray Sheehan in an upcoming movie. Hope she has her Oscar polish ready.
Fire away, bloghi. 
Check out the new Neil Young album on the right hand side of this page - he's truly a voice of the times and back to protesting...woot! Song #5 is especially poignant -- Impeach the President. Keep on rockin' in the FREE world, peeps.
You can watch the video for the Chicks' new single "Not Ready to Make Nice" here. The song isn't very Dixie; more pop than ever, but I guess I can understand why they'd feel a certain distance from the country community. After Natalie Maines' controversial comments a few years back (she said she was embarrassed that George Bush was our president), the Chicks were ostracized from the country scene, yanked off the radio & many country radio DJ's encouraged mass burnings of their albums for publicity stunts. Way to support free speech, country fans! I'm not a big proponent of politicizing your celebrity but I'm even less supportive of McCarthy era tactics like album-burnings based on an offhanded comment made by an artist. The lynching that the Chicks experienced made me want to see them rise from the ashes. Hope the new album can do it for 'em.
And for the record...since I'm not a celebrity and this is my blog and I can politicize and pontificate alll I want, 
I'll readily admit that I'm embarrassed by George Bush too.
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