Yesterday on Twitter I posted a bevy of bountiful statements about politics and how discussion and disagreement should be handled in my opinion.  I’m reposting them here in a full collection so it’s all together and so that you can see where I stand on all this.  Maybe even start a discussion of some kind.

Let’s call it “Aaron’s Rules of Political Discussion”

1. Just cause Brown wins doesn’t mean it’s suddenly 2012, Republicans are Nazis (again) or that healthcare reform is dead.
2. If politics & party affilation decide who you talk/twitter/associate with…you may need to take a step back & breath.
3. If you see (R) or (D) next to someones name & start to think of them as bad/evil/nazi/socialist/bushhitler…you may need a breather.
4. If you think conservatives and republicans are out to get you/your party/obama/freedom…you may need to quit the Kool Aid habit.
5. If you think one win for either party will decide the future of healthcare reform, you need to fill that glass half full.
6. Politics is meant to be discussed & figured out. If you refuse to see the other side & meet in middle to simply talk…what good are you?
7. I am tired of people saying its the end of the world with all this political talk. Buck up kids & pull up your bootstraps. Or I will!
8. You can either cling to your party & listen to what people tell you about the other side…or you can come talk to me. I’m always open.
9. Let’s try and make this a year of change when it comes to the political discussion and conversation.
10. Politics should never be the end of the world, friendships or relationships.

And with that, we go to the tale of the tape!

I ran/fast walked 2 miles and burned 340 cals in 26 minutes.  Yahoo!  WIN!

I went and saw “Up in the Air”.  Review to come tomorrow.  WIN!

I sketched out some ideas for future chapters and character arcs.  WIN!

Diamond Rio.  WIN!

A review of a book I completed today – “Dying of the Light” – is below – WIN!

Total Win/Loss for today – 5/5!!!

100 % = completion rate.

Grade = A+++++!  DO YOU BELIEVE IN MIRACLES!!!!!!

Dying of the Light by George R.R. Martin

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book is hard to quantify because of a few things. One is that George RR Martin is a seriously impressive author. Legend is one of the words that would be use to describe him. His Throne Of Kings series blows the door, walls and roof off anything that tries to compete.

And therein lies the trouble. This book is a short novel and is not a three or four book volume series where details and stories can be slowly marinated over a warm fire. The ideas and backstory is avalanched down on the reader and before you know it you’re reading through a encyclopedia entry of the history of the past and present of the world and characters.

Again, Martin is unparalleled in his story telling and talent. However in my opinion this book is almost too much too fast. The last 3/4 finally picks up and then uses what we’ve just learned to give us a great ending and page turning climax. Trouble is this wasn’t long enough to justify reading through the entire history to get there.

The story is great and the characters wonderfully written. Just tried to fit too much into too little space.

View all my reviews >>

This is where the rubber meets the road.  The moment of truth.  As Iran spins wildly out of control on the brink of civil war we must all confront in ourselves where we stand.  No matter our creed, our color, our beliefs or moral inclinations, there is one thing that we must all agree on once more.

There are bad men in this world.  And one of them sits at the helm of the Islamic Republic of Iran.  But more so is the grand controller of all things Iran.  The Supreme Whatever His Face who is the real game changer.  The man who for some reason is going along with Mahmoud in accepting and okaying the blatant theft of an election.

Over the last four days it has become clear that no one has control of the people.  Between twitter, twitpic and various other means of social media the message has come clear from within Iran from her people.

Help us.  Please.

It is without question horrifying to watch the you tube footage, to view the pictures streaming in from various sources and to hear the screams, the cracks of weapons and the powerful voices screaming against a madman.  They are united in one voice.  They are mad as hell and they are not going to take it.

It is the revolution that has been long in coming.  For the last few years all the president of Iran has done is insult, spit and generally throw fits at western nations.  Intended to show the rest of the middle east that he is indeed a bad mother trucker it has had the reverse effect.  It has put his country into a corner, isolated them from those that might help them and generally offended the ones that could lend a hand.  North Korea is practicing the doppelganger game to near precision.

The students and thinkers of Iran are in a rage.  They have watched this election move so fast and blow past each and every rule designed to certify the results.  Reports of the madcap election madness came quick and fast.  Ballot boxes burned.  Election shenanigans that would have made Hugo Chavez proud pushed the final button. The straw that broke the camels back. The switch had been flipped.

The revolution we had hoped for is here. The power of the people is evident beyond anything we could of imagined. This renewed intense focus is powered by the ideological belief that change can happen and that if enough begins to boil a explosion can be had.

It is now up to those that can speak. It is now up to the media powerhouses that have fed us for so long to step up to the plate and begin to use that unique ability of broadcast to bring this moment before everyone’s eyes to finally see that indeed there are people inside of Iran.

They are willing. They are ready. They are moving.

Will we help? Will the President move on this? Will the rest of the western world do something, anything? Or will we watch as hundreds upon hundreds (and more unreported) die at the hands of hate filled power hungry dictators unable to see the good that can be had in this day and age?

It is in our hands now.

Will we answer the call for help?

The Oscar Showcase is a genius of a plan. Every year before the bling infested glitzy overload event known as the Academy Awards plays across our televisions, AMC Theatres wrangles together a day of Oscar Nominated movies for viewing by the general public. For the cheap price of thirty dollars, we all get a full day of fantastic film footage.

The social media experiment has taken off with AMC and they’ve actually hired a full time guy to handle that aspect of the machine. With his help, AMC has taken the unique step of asking bloggers, twitterers and others to attend events and blog, vlog and twitter about the entire day. I was among the many chosen. Today was the culmination of that and I have to say it’s started out very well. Five movies will equal about 13.5 hours of moving pictures playing across the screens nationwide.

I’ll be doing my best to review these movies and talk about the experience as this article unfolds. There’ll be video, pictures and of course words to paint the picture. So get ready. Here…we..GO!

The first thing you realize about an event like this is that you are in a crowd of people who believe in movies much like you do. People pack fantastic food, bulky blankets and a plethora of pillows. The audience is there for the purpose of supporting Hollywood and deciding for themselves if indeed any of the nominated films deserve to grasp Oscar.

The second thing you find out is that with five films in one day, you’re going to be sitting most of the day. Moving at short breaks is designed to prevent complete and absolute couch potato transformation.

First up was Milk. Starring Sean Penn it lays out the factual events of Harvey Milk and his crusade to lead the gay movement in San Francisco. He was an unlikely hero to most, but his natural talents play out across the screen as he loses so much you wonder when he’ll ever win. When he finally wins it is a short victory. His life is ended prematurely by an angry and crazy opponent who was unable to fully understand that yes indeed, times were a’ changin’.

Sean Penn is impressive as always. Nothing Penn does is without meaning or purpose. This role is close to his heart and many others in Hollywood. Proposition 6 has echoes of the current fight brewing in California around the issue of Proposition 8. It is an interesting study to watch the moments play out before you with the very real struggle of today just in the back of your mind. Certainly there are strong moments in this film that moved me, but I did not find myself thinking, “Yes, it’s OSCAR!” It was more of a documentary of a man’s life and the nationwide struggle for vindication of a belief in equality.

I would recommend this to those on my side of the fence (aka Republican Conservative Christian) to see this film to have a strong foundational understanding of the movement and where we (as conserv’s) have fit into it. Whenever I saw the Christian leaders denouncing and throwing down fire and brimstone I would shake my head. The supporting cast was perfection, playing the parts strong. Each face was a part of the puzzle of how this movement grew and changed over time.

I don’t think Sean Penn was worthy of the Oscar on this one (I haven’t seen Rourke’s performance, but I understand I’m not alone on this one) and I’m happy it took some of the other awards as the film has strengths. It’s just not a Best Picture. Also, the sex was distracting and annoying. Before you jump all over me about “You just don’t want to see gay sex” I say, “WRONG!” I’d made the point that in each of these movies the glorious depiction of wanton sex made me less willing to declare it Oscar.

Which brings me to “The Reader”. A strong movie with some seriously impressive moral questioning powers, it falls apart in the first half. You see, the story is about a boy who is nary a hair beyond fifteen years. He finds himself attracted to a much older woman. This leads to a “Mrs. Robinson” feel for about ten seconds before we jump (pardon the pun) into a “Debbie Does Dallas” feel that doesn’t make anyone feel anything but dirty watching the moments between these two.

It was distracting and took me completely out of the movie so much that me and a friend turned to each other and said, “More? I mean…seriously? Can we keep our clothes on today?” several times as this illicit affair was happening directly in front of us. There was even frontal male nudity. That’s where I just about threw up. If you removed that part and filmed the love scenes more with more art and less reality you’d have a far richer film that didn’t require you to spend three days in Confession.

It’s in the second half where “The Reader” slinks out of the lazy bedroom and kicks it into high gear. The moment where you realize everything that’s been building and the payoff is one of those moments in cinema everyone wishes they had a part in creating. The rest of this movie creates the questioning and soul searching an Oscar movie should inspire. There are several key scenes where the audience is grabbed into the frame fearlessly to question themselves. The lawyers debate and the audience is unable to really judge, only question what exactly they would do in the stead of the men and women on screen.

There is a visit to Auschwitz that is shot in a manner that refuses to dramatize the death of the innocent. It is simply telling you a story through silence and moments of reflection by our central protagonist. He makes a key decision late in the half that echoes throughout the whole movie. It left me breathless and inspired.

Winslet deserves a win although I was pulling for Taraji Henson but Kate turns in a stellar performance. An impressive tour de force through the second half, it’s good for DVD rental to fast forward through all the naughty bits to get to the real reward of the second half.

A movie that I don’t think did well in either the former or the latter is the longest movie of the Oscar Season. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is just that. Curious. From a forty page short story to a beleaguered three and a half hour movie? I’m pretty sure there are some red flags falling out of the sky somewhere. Strong performances and jaw dropping effects fill the screen as you are guided through the story of a boy named Benjamin from the start of his odd life to the end. Born looking like death at the end of life Brad Pitt plays the character in going backwards; revealing a different kind of life lived. As fascinating as it was it felt too much like Forrest Gump. Southern accents, boats and the war all play prominent parts.

The cinematography in Button makes you want to drool as the rich colors are painted across a wide canvas. The characters fill the roles and inspire some comedy along the way. Watch for Lightening Rod Man. But not an Oscar. Too long, too pretentious and far too drawn out in places. The best moment from this movie is after being in the wrong places and not in the right moment the two titular characters have an exchange that most hopeless romantics understand. “Will you sleep with me?”, to which Button responds in a deliciously delivered, “Absolutely!”

I would use that last word to describe my feelings for “Slumdog Millionaire”. This movie did indeed win the Oscar for Best Picture and it deserves every ounce of praise that comes with such an award. The movie is perfectly perched at each juncture required for an Oscar Movie.

Romance: Check.

Unbelievable odds against the darkness: Check.

A lovable hero that inspires us all to be better people: Check.

Deep social message about a world outside our own that is closer to us than we know: Check.

Moment of truth for each character: Check.

Great moments of both heartbreak and heartsoar: Check

Music that awakens dreams from within soul: Check.

Great story, great plot, great comedy, great drama, great action, unflinching truth…: Check

Lady I’d like to nominate as the future Mrs. DeLay: Check.

Slumdog succeeds on every level as a perfect example of the Best. Simply put, it is a thrilling story of true love and unending struggle to fight for that love. Set against a country foreign to many of us it weaves in the cultural world and backgrounds that inspire gasps and awe in each. The opening scene had me running along with the slum kids, cheering them along. The rest of the movie simply sauntered up to me, planted a wet kiss and kicked me over to the ground and moved onto the next victim.

Just. That. Good. I swear I’ll mop up my drool.

There’s some violence and tense moments that’ll have you squirm. An Oscar movie is supposed to do that, although to that point “The Reader” takes it above and beyond the call of duty.

There’s a moment in Slumdog where the reality of the dream the younger versions of our heroes are living in opens your eyes, literally and figuratively.

See it. Get the soundtrack. Pick up the DVD. Get that lead girls number for me.

Speaking of numbers, I’m finally at “Frost/Nixon” and it only took 1,700 words. As a documentary this film handedly succeeds. As a retelling of one of the most challenging and trying times in the history of our country, it goes above and beyond what has come before. As a thrilling dramatic battle of one of the most powerful men in the country against a know nothing pop journalist, it is by far one of those most fascinating movies I have ever seen.

The story is well known. David Frost had a dream. Take Nixon after he’s out of office and interview him. Getting there was half the battle. Making the next four interviews count was the other. Watching the film unflinchingly take aim at the naivety of David Frost was refreshing. Just as refreshing was the equal treatment given to Former President Richard Nixon. It felt as this was a even handed commentary on the events in question and mostly painted the truth of what had happened over time as the interviews took place. Invented was a drunken phone call from Nixon to Frost which was designed to create drama for the last section of the film. It succeeded. The last fourth of this film rocked my socks and had me on the edge of my seat, completely enthralled as Frost put the rhetorical screws to Nixon, eliciting some of the most damning statements on the part of Nixon.

The film closes out with a final moment shared between the two battle stalwarts as they return to their lives. As the credits roll you hunger for more. You sense the strength and intellect of Nixon holds more and you feel as if Frost himself found out that there was actually a human being within the heart of the lumbering beast of a man. There is so much more to each of these men. Legends and lore are now told of both.

The truth? There’s so much we may never know but “Frost/Nixon” does the best job.

And so, the evening was over much past midnight. Myself, Toby and Sarah all headed home saying farewell to a grand evening brought to us by AMC Theatres. The social media aspect is just starting to catch on with big companies and the theatre chains are at that very moment. Here’s hoping for more of these types of things.

Thanks again to AMC and Katherine Johnson of Allied for the amazing day.

A SEVEN-YEAR-OLD Sudanese boy yesterday defended the British teacher accused of insulting Islam, saying he had chosen to call a teddy bear Mohammad because it was his own name.

And now the British Teacher will be charged. People wonder why I still sit on the fence in regards to Muslim practices and Sharia Law and this is exactly why. Via Michelle Malkin.

The British schoolteacher who allowed her pupils to name a teddy bear Mohammed has been charged in Sudan with insulting religion and inciting hatred, state media has reported.

“Khartoum north prosecution unit has completed its investigation and has charged the Briton Gillian (Gibbons) under Article 125 of the criminal code,” SUNA said quoting a senior Justice Ministry official. It added the file would go before court on Thursday.

This is along the same lines of what happened when the cartoon stuff went downhill. I’ve talked about this many times and I’ve begun to lose track.

I will talk about this on my show on Thursday @ 7:00pm Mountain but I wanted to slap this story around here on the blog. Does anyone see the rational for this? Maybe my perspective as a freedom loving tolerance practicing intelligence practicing kind of guy is getting in the way. You wanna name your kid Jesus? Go ahead. Not my problem. But if I name him Mohammad, I’m up for physical violence and even prison time in the depths of the Middle East.

This dovetails with the story this last week that came out of Saudi Arabia about the young lady who was violated in the most disgusting manner and then received punishment because of course she was talking/riding/in the same personal bubble as a man unrelated to her and that means she must PAY THE PRICE for something she had nothing to do with. The fact that the United States of America is friends with the Saudis apparently led to us giving muted protests.

That is unacceptable. I make this statement now to my President and the Government of the United States of America. If you will not step in and do something about these issues, I will loose faith in your ability to protect those that are in need. We send billions to Saudi because of oil. We’re friendly with them.

That ends now. Basic human rights are being violated by countries the world over and the EU, UN, Amnesty Intl and others seem unable to take action. As it seems to be the case, we’re the only ones left with the balls to saddle up. And yet we’ve even lost those somewhere along the way.

More to come on the radio show on Thursday.

First, the story. Here’s the link to YahooNews. The opener is interesting enough to get even my attention.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Three young black men break into a white man’s home in rural Northern California. The homeowner shoots two of them to death — but it’s the surviving black man who is charged with murder.

First thing is if we removed the “black” and “white” from this story I firmly believe this wouldn’t even be an issue. But because we here in the United States of America refuse to see the world in a colorblind manner, we have stories like this. Seriously.

In a case that has brought cries of racism from civil rights groups, Renato Hughes Jr., 22, was charged by prosecutors in this overwhelmingly white county under a rarely invoked legal doctrine that could make him responsible for the bloodshed.

So what type of bloodshed are we talking about?  Was it a case of mistaken identity?  Did this white man see shadows and shoot them?  Well, you be the judge on this one.

Prosecutors said homeowner Shannon Edmonds opened fire Dec. 7 after three young men rampaged through the Clearlake house demanding marijuana and brutally beat his stepson.

Wait.  You mean they went into the house demanding drugs and beat his stepson?  I mean, how bad could the be beat?  I mean, he could have just walked away and been just fine.  Sadly, this was not the case.

Edmonds’ stepson, Dale Lafferty, suffered brain damage from the baseball bat beating he took during the melee. The 19-year-old lives in a rehabilitation center and can no longer feed himself.

I’m no physics professor, but I figure if you take the kind of pounding that gives you brain damage so disastrous you can’t feed yourself anymore that any kind of Racism Card throwing would be, well thrown out the window.  How wrong could I be?  This wrong.

Hughes’ mother, San Francisco schoolteacher Judy Hughes, said she believes the group didn’t intend to rob the family, just buy marijuana. She called the case against her son a “legal lynching.”

“Just buy marijuana…”?  I’d buy that for a dollar if it wasn’t for the whole “beating until he couldn’t feed himself anymore” part of the story which in my judgment makes me think there was no intent of “buying” marijuana.  I’m just thinking this out on my own here.  Mind you, the victim (yes, I called the actual victim a victim) had permits up the wazoo for the drugs so it wasn’t illegal in the eyes of good ole’ California for the guy to have what he had.

Apparently these three boys wanted what he had and for some reason couldn’t find it anywhere else in the city or state of California this necessitating a baseball bat inspired home invasion with a beat down special.  This part is what I’m using to conclude my points.

The district attorney said that race played no part in the charges against Hughes and that the homeowner was spared prosecution because of evidence he was defending himself and his family, who were asleep when the assailants barged in at 4 a.m.

This wasn’t an afternoon visit for a cup of flour.  This was early morning break in.  Yet it’s racism!  The law they’re using is a little interesting but I think it’s a fair law in this case.  Three young men enter a house with a baseball bat intending to steal, take and otherwise do something illegal.  Beat down begins.  Son goes down.  Dad comes back with a gun.  Shoots two of them down to protect his son.  The story says they were shot in the back.  Maybe they were running.  Maybe they were beating down the boy when the father ran back in and let fly with lead.  I don’t know and it appears within the story nobody really knows either.

All that it clear is that this man (be him white or black) had his house invaded.  Three boys (white or black) attacked his son with a baseball bat.  What would you do in this situation?  I can tell you if someone broke into my house and my children (be them any age) were being hurt violently I would not hesitate to shoot their attacker down.

The NAACP complained that prosecutors came down too hard on Hughes, who also faces robbery, burglary and assault charges. Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty.

The Rev. Amos Brown, head of the San Francisco chapter of the NAACP and pastor at Hughes’ church, said the case demonstrates the legal system is racist in remote Lake County, aspiring wine country 100 miles north of San Francisco. The sparsely populated county of 13,000 people is 91 percent white and 2 percent black.

Too hard?  Pardon me.  Beating someone in the head takes one of two things.  A severe lack of care for others or a lack of understanding what is right or wrong.  I’m not here to say what should happen to this young man but I do not believe the men of the law in this case have overreacted.  I hope this young man understands what his and his friends actions have caused.  I hope his mother comes to realize that this is not a legal lynching.

For the record, if this same string of events occurred and it was a black family being attacked by a group of three white boys, my reaction would be the exact same.

Which makes this news all the more painful and disturbing.  From Yahoo News.  (addl at LGF)

MANILA, Philippines – A bomb made from high-grade explosives — and likely set off by terrorists — caused the blast that killed at least nine people and wounded more than 100 at a mall in Manila’s financial district, officials said Saturday.

The bomb exploded near a mall I had been to and also dangerously close to the church I attended while I was there.

The strong explosion ripped through three floors of the Glorietta 2 shopping mall in Makati city on Friday, hurling slabs of concrete, twisting steel reinforcements, and shattering glass panels. Earlier police reports had said a fuel tank caused the blast.

And of course you have the people who would get along really well with the 9-11 truthers on this side of the pond.

Several opposition politicians and Arroyo critics had suggested the government may be responsible for the bombing to divert attention from scandals plaguing her administration, over alleged overpriced projects and bribes to lawmakers to defeat an impeachment movement.

Seriously people.  If this was Iran, Syria, Lebanon, China or some other country I might believe you.  But this is the Philippines.  A country striving for freedom from the shackles of the Spanish and American rule they experienced for so long.  A country trying to find a place in the world and the economy.  A country struggling for hope.  Arroyo has done many stupid things (several during my time there that made me smack my head with my hand) but this is accusation is beyond the normal brain functions of a normal human being.

I can only hope and pray that those who were murdered were not among those that I know and that the families who have lost will be supported in this time.  My prayers for the injured and affected.  The only thing is that at least it wasn’t worse.  Malls in the Phils are crowded, jammed and packed to the hilt.

Shove it.  Via Yahoo News:

CAIRO, Egypt – Osama bin Laden appeared for the first time in three years in a video Friday released ahead of the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, telling Americans they should convert to Islam if they want the war in Iraq to end.

Guess what? Not. Gonna. Happen.  I follow God and worship in the House of the Lord.  I pray to a merciful, loving and forgiving God.  I will not submit.  I will not be threatened.  I will not be told what to believe, how to believe or when to believe.  You are not the boss of me.  You can take your growing wing of Islam and run of a cliff into the water like lemmings.

Others have spoken about this at length with support from various people the world around.

Allow me to personally state my position.

I.  Will.  Not. Surrender.

I.  Will.  Not. Submit.

“It’s not a crime,” Giuliani said Friday. “I know that’s very hard for people to understand, but it’s not a federal crime.

and then confused me.

Illegal immigration shouldn’t be a crime, either, Giuliani said: “No, it shouldn’t be because the government wouldn’t be able to prosecute it. We couldn’t prosecute 12 million people. We have only 2 million people in jail right now for all the crimes that are committed in the country, 2.5 million.”

and then won that vote back while making my neck snap due to the double take I did.

He added: “My solution is close the border to illegal immigration.”

source: yahoo news.

“Even at the zoo, we sometimes complain about the aggressive behavior of some of the children,” he said. “But we do not blame them. We blame the violent environment that surrounds them — Israeli violence and Palestinian-Palestinian violence too.”

-via a yahoo.com news story about Hamas Television and PETA

Anyway, the clip…(hat tip to HotAir)