May 22, 2006

Politically Incorrect Movie Reviews
United 93
By RadioFree Rocky D

As the sun rose on September 11, 2001, screechy liberals had long since chipped away at the fabric of America, dominating American pop culture media with squeals of “multiculturalism,” “tolerance,” “open-borders” and “one-world-guv’mint-everybody-loves-everybody peeeeeace …” A few hours later reality hit. Hard. We were in shock. We were angry. We were united in our anger and everywhere you looked Americans were waving American flags. For a few months, there were no hyphenated Americans. No African-Americans, no Irish-Americans, no Mexican-Americans. We were all simply Americans. But little by little the anger slipped away and the flags disappeared, until here we are five years later, and the liberals have resumed chipping away at the fabric of America, dominating American pop culture media with squeals of “multiculturalism,” “tolerance,” “open-borders” and “one-world-guv’mint-everybody-loves-everybody peeeeeace …” The French – long before they became the lackeys they are today – had a phrase for such things: Plus ca change plus c'est la meme chose (the more things change, the more they stay the same). (Read the rest here)

You Can't Have it Both Ways
By Iloilo Marguerite Jones

A federal appeals court overturned the pot-growing convictions of Ed Rosenthal Wednesday because of a juror's phone call to an attorney friend, who told her to follow the judge's instructions or she could get in trouble.

"Jurors cannot fairly determine the outcome of a case if they believe they will face 'trouble' for a conclusion they reach as jurors," said the opinion by Judge Betty Fletcher. "The threat of punishment works a coercive influence on the jury's independence."

Rosenthal's lawyer, Dennis Riordan, said "There would not have been a conviction but for this outside influence" of the attorney's advice, Riordan said. "Jurors never can be told they can get in trouble for what they say during deliberations." (Read the rest here)

Inequality in America
By Lady Liberty

Americans - and many of those who wish to become Americans - often speak poetically of equality. Everyone, rich or poor, is treated equally under the law, they say. Everyone, male or female, can reach whatever goal they're capable of attaining. Everyone, black or white, is offered equal access to education and the job market. Everyone, religious or otherwise, can worship or not as he believes. And those unhappy with whatever equality they've achieved (or not) are equally entitled to march on Washington to express their opinion.

Obviously, these things are truer in the utopia of our system on paper than they are in the real world. Wealth, fame, or both can result in a topsy turvy verdict in a court of law (we need look no further than O.J. Simpson to get a good look at such a case), but in the main, juries tend to be surprisingly fair. There is still some gender and racial discrimination ongoing in some places (both in the form of racism and affirmative action programs), but improvements in that arena remain ongoing and various mechanisms (whether corporate policy or state statute) are in place to ensure the improvements stick. (Read the rest here)

Liz Claiborne Inc. (Part III)
Break The Silence
By Richard L. Davis

On October 11, 2005 Marie Claire magazine and Liz Claiborne Inc. joined forces for, “It’s Time to Talk Day,” as a way to encourage public dialogue about domestic violence. This, Time to Talk Day, was a part of a national campaign that was intended to break the silence and get people talking about the issue of domestic violence.

When most people think about a domestic violence victim they think of a woman who has been beaten and battered by a man. As a former law enforcement officer I know full well that some women are beaten and battered by some men. However, contemporarily domestic violence is more broadly defined and is often characterized as verbal, emotional, manipulative, coercive behavior as well as physical abuse: (Read the rest here)

The Declining Dollar Erodes Personal Savings
by Congressman Ron Paul - R - TX

A recent article in BusinessWeek magazine by James Mehring paints a stark picture of the ongoing decline of the U.S. dollar. The dollar has lost 5% against a blend of worldwide currencies just since April, falling to a 12-month low against the Euro and an 8-month low against the Japanese yen. Overall, the dollar fell 28% against other currencies between 2002 and 2004. It then rebounded slightly, but even the cheerleaders in the American financial press cannot shrug off this latest decline.

Of course the real measure of just how far the dollar has fallen can be found in the price of gold, which has reached a 25-year high of more than $700 per ounce. It’s much more accurate to measure the dollar against a stable store of value like gold, rather than against other fiat currencies. Gold has nearly tripled against the dollar since 2001, when the price was $250 per ounce. By this measure the dollar is losing value at an alarming rate. (Read the rest here)

Immigration—The Wages of Fear
By Alvaro Vargas Llosa

WASHINGTON—I have been called a “Spanish conquistador” in Peru, a “sudaca” (South American scum) in Spain, and a “wog” in Britain—and I am profiled as a Hispanic in the U.S. (which actually means “ancient Roman” since Hispania was the Iberian province of Rome). The first time I went to London, I was asked if there were any cars in Peru. I explained that they prefer flying saucers to avoid rush-hour congestion.

I may be forgiven for drawing attention to the abyss that separates perception from reality in today’s debate on immigration in the U.S. The fact that President Bush should feel compelled to send the National Guard to the border with Mexico in order to win support for his proposal to legalize millions of Hispanics is an indication of where perceptions stand. (Read the rest here)

The Neo-Monarchy of George W. Bush
by Sheldon Richman

The Bush administration, without court authorization, collects our telephone records and eavesdrops on calls involving U.S. residents to and from foreigners. It refuses to rule out wiretapping of fully domestic calls. Meanwhile, the administration is building military bases in Iraq and throughout the Persian Gulf. And now the president is about to formally militarize the southern border, the better to keep out Mexicans seeking economic opportunity.

To underscore grounds for concern, the administration has pronounced a theory of presidential power that should alarm anyone who wants government power limited. Under the Unitary Executive doctrine of the Bush Justice Department and many conservative legal theorists, the executive branch has enough implied and inherent powers during wartime to negate the checks and balances ordinarily provided by Congress and the courts. Considering that the Bush administration's "war on terror" is vague enough to last indefinitely and assumes a global battlefield, the Unitary Executive doctrine is a blueprint for despotism that Napoleon would have envied. (Read the rest here)

Legal Services Corporation Turns Its Back On Men
By Carey Roberts

Chances are you don't pay much attention to the Legal Services Corporation, a hold-over from the glory days of the Great Society. This bureaucracy ekes by on $335 million in federal money - chump change by Washington standards.

The LSC was created for a good purpose: to provide legal services so poor Americans could have their day in court. But while taxpayers and lawmakers looked the other way, the Legal Services Corporation has fallen under the sway of a radical gender ideology. Read the rest here)

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