SWEEPING THE FLOOR

This is the entry I was going to make before I posted my last one. I guess writing the rough draft during my lunch hour worked some of the kinks out so I posted something much calmer. However, the grumpy bug is back and in full flower.

Just when you think you've heard just about all the idiotic things that
folks can come up with some enterprising idiot raises the bar. Some
sweepings from the strangeness mansion.

First, it's no secret Oregon is having budget problems. We can't get a tax
bill past the recall to save our souls or public education. Oh, we can get
bills out of the legislature, but once the recall is on the ballot the
legislators who passed the bill and the governor who sort of thinks it's a
good idea can't be found to campaign for them. The requisite letters from
folks saying, "I have to live on a budget, the state should have to too"
start showing up in the local papers. Yes, I agree, but I see moderate taxes
to support education, public health and safety and the like as investments
in the future. Think of it as building human infrastructure.
I think what really bothers me is this. If a politician
thinks the idea was good enough to vote yes on while the legislature was in session; that politician should have the guts to get up and say it in public. And say it loud and long. I honestly think that most voters will respect courage even if they don’t support the stand.

Second, it has now been revealed that Spongebob Squarepants of all people
(ok, so he's not exactly a "people") is the latest agent of the "gay
agenda." Along with Barney, Oscar the Grouch, and a whole host of cartoon
characters and puppets. Seems a video with the theme of tolerance is a good
thing has been produced. PBS is going to show and the video will be  distributed to several thousand grade schools. The actual tolerance pledge that is causing all the fuss is not on the video. It's on the We are Family website. I suspect that any second grader who actually goes to the website and reads the tolerance pledge will be asking their parents what all the long words mean. If you want to read the actual pledge please go to my earlier entry or Robbie’s Ruminations. The link is in the sidebar under other journals. My attempts to link haven’t been very successful, sorry.

Third, and this is tied to the second. Stumbled on a story about a gay couple
in the LA area who have enrolled their two adopted kidsin the kindergarten
class of a local Catholic school. Some of the other parents are up in arms.. I think they're afraid that if their kids find out that gay parents are as normal as their own parents they
might start wondering what all the fuss is about. The principal has pointed
out that if they kick out all the kids whose parents don't strictly follow
the policies and teaching of the church, it might drastically shrink enrollment.

Fourth, neither the Passion of the Christ or Michael Moore's documentary was
nominated for best picture. And it's all a plot. Against what, I'm not sure.
Repeat after me. Notoriety or making a pile of money does not make a good
picture. I haven't seen either one and don't plan to do so I can't judge how
good either film actually is. I have gotten the impression that when it
comes to soul, neither film really has one. Personally, I believe that limiting Jesus’s story to Good Friday is meaningless. How can the end of the story have any meaning if you don’t tell the beginning and the middle.

If you want a good film about how and why Jesus ended up where he was on Good Friday I recommend Jesus of Nazareth (the mini series).  The dialog can be a little clunky at times, but it's a good film (in my opinion) and it generally leaves me with plenty to chew on.  

Well, that's enough vitriol for now. Much more and I think my computer will
melt.