RIGHT TO STRIFE

until right to lifers campaign just as heavily against the death penalty and just as heavily for birth control i have no interest in what they have to say.

that's my first thought for the day. the second involves epic movie and pop culture but maybe i'll save that for tomorrow.

I AM WOMAN HEAR ME BORE

here's a line from 'catch and release', the new movie starring jennifer garner and, inexplicably, kevin smith.

'my girlfriends and i used to have this rule with each other. no sleeping with a guy until you know his mother's maiden name.'

now, how stupid is this? i'm assuming the implication here is that in order to get intimate with a man you must really know him to the point that he's giving up information that could lead to future identity theft. however, this doesn't seem like info that signifies getting to deeper levels with a member of the opposite sex.

it only seems like information that tells us this movie is a piece of shit.

the current state of chick-lit and chick flicks is one i find a bit sad and pathetic. when did we become lame creatures unable to evolve? when chick-lit first showed its shiny face it was almost empowering. here were real women with real problems and wasn't it great that we could all identify with their bumbling, their clumsiness, their problems with men and food and sex and alcohol!

fine. but here we are years later and apparently none the wiser as we're still fighting the same problems with men and food and sex and alcohol.

i really hope i've grown up a bit since i first read bridget jones' diary. i wish i could say the same for the genre.

however, if sarah silverman is the other side of this coin...

OUT OF THE FRYING PAN

last night i went to see ej dionne speak on 'religion, social justice and the welfare state'. i struggle with my views on welfare and religion (as separate issues) but dionne's lecture gave me hope. compassion is a virtue that can easily span money, religion, race, sexual orientation and gender. as he said regarding the person with a family whose factory job has moved overseas, 'there but for the grace of god go i.' he also spoke about the pendulum shifting back from the hard right and i certainly hope so. i've seen enough unchristian behavior from evangelicals (and dionne was always sure to make the distinction between white and african-american evangelicals, which i thought was interesting) to last me a lifetime. not saying it will stop but seeing it slide out of the forefront of mainstream media would be a welcome change.

i mentioned mary cheney yesterday. much has been made of her father's interview with wolf blitzer and cheney herself came out (no pun intended) with a statement about how her baby is a blessing from god and not a prop, she deserves privacy, etc etc. well, i'm sorry ms cheney but when you put yourself in the public arena, you put yourself out there for public scrutiny. given the president's policies towards gays and lesbians and your subsequent decision to work as the head of your father's re-election operation, is it not a bit hypocritical to cry foul now that you want to start a family? ok, a lot hypocritical.

however, this brings me to the larger issue of why is this news at all? i'm not sure what kind of parents cheney and her partner will be but it irks me to no end that same-sex parenting is looked down upon when so so many heterosexual people fuck it up but good.

MOLLY IVINS RIP

one of my favorite political writers, molly ivins, passed away yesterday. ivins spoke truth to power with humor and bite.

unfortunately, part of ivins passing brings me back to the internet and how it emboldens total assholes to write things i bet you'll never hear them say.

some examples:

'i'm glad she is dead. that "thing" did nothing but spew the same old worn out left wing slogans.'

'the world is now a better place. oh when will cancer take care of hillary?!?!'

'a sad case -- she couldn't help being ugly and stupid, but she could have kept her mouth shut and her fingers off the keyboard. good riddance.'

'you see molly, when you are so full of hate, the cheap way you attacked the president, no wonder you got cancer. the world is a better place without this vile witch!'

all i have to say is there's a cancer that's spreading and it has nothing to do with the one that took ivins' life.

civility and manners are going the way of the dinosaur. this is one of the many reasons why i have no interest in having children.

and speaking of children, notes on mary cheney's baby tomorrow.

photo of molly ivins by melanie west