Stop Frame

I wrote earlier that the Oscars are, first and foremost, a popularity contest. David Kahane (a nom de cypher) has more to say on that, and on this year's Oscar show. I grew up watching the Academy Awards (Oscar) show. Honest. It was the one time a year that Dad never objected to eating in the living room. In fact, he insisted on it. My children almost inherited the habit, as the ex and I made it our annual exception to no-eating-in-front-of-the-TV rule. But I haven't watched an Oscar show for a few years. I think I gave up after a work of fiction won for best documentary. Then I just stopped watching television. Well, now I'm back, all advertisers can cheer, and I watched the Oscars this last Sunday night. I even managed to stay awake, no mean feat. Were they always this dull? Was there a special notice put out this year that said to all presenters and nominees, "Thou shalt not be controversial"? I wonder what's going on. Hollywood is flagrantly left-le...

Sometimes, shift happens , and that's all there is to it.

It's been some 34 years since Roe v. Wade and the issue of abortion still dominates politics like a cancer. In case that doesn't make my position clear, allow me to clarify: I'm anti-abortion. I think abortion, as a "reproductive choice", is morally repugnant. It's a method that allows men -- and women -- to escape the consequences of their actions (i.e., sex). (I emphasize men because in survey after survey, a greater percentage of men support abortion than do women.) Now that that's clear, let me make a few other things clear. The abortion "right" exists only as a result of a judicial construct. There is no such "right" in the US Constitution. Nine men in black robes created the right one day, some 34 years ago. The problem with such a "right" is that some day, nine men in black robes can take it away. Neither side of the issue really seems to want to tackle that point. If you are truly anti-abortion, why aren't you...

Pretty much says it all...