[ Posted Tuesday, September 25th, 2007 – 15:50 UTC ]
Luckily, I don't have to compose an article on why this is a silly idea. Frank Zappa already did it for me, so I will rely on his testimony before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation from 9/19/85 -- almost exactly 22 years ago.
A little background is necessary for those who don't know the history of this testimony. This hearing was pushed by a group calling themselves the "Parents' Music Resource Council," (PMRC) which was comprised of four wives of Washington politicians. One of the most prominent was Senator Al Gore's wife Tipper. Al Gore himself sat on this committee and questioned Zappa. This is why she occasionally (even today) gets booed at any event which has music-lovers in the audience.
She has earned those boos, in my opinion. The PMRC was trying to get legislation passed to put warning stickers on albums (yes, actual "albums" -- this was pre-CD) so parents could see what their children were buying. They really didn't want legislation as much as they wanted the music industry to institute its own ratings system, much like the MPAA does for movies (the people who decide whether a movie is "R" or "PG"). They were basically Senators' wives with too much time on their hands (they also were upset over Satanic lyrics supposedly recorded backwards on Led Zeppelin albums).
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[ Posted Thursday, August 9th, 2007 – 14:48 UTC ]
Who would you like to see host a debate? Jews? Muslims? Mormons? Atheists? People who love Barry Bonds? Pickup truck owners? Prius owners? Surfers? Eagle Scouts? Medical marijuana patients? People who bought Paris Hilton's CD? People who bought K-Fed's CD? Snowmobile owners? Amateur pilots? Polygamists? Conspiracy theorists (man, wouldn't that make for good television!)? People who work in Starbucks? People who work in WalMart? People who don't work? People who make the minimum wage? Hedge fund managers? CEOs? Strippers? Waitresses? Flight attendants?
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[ Posted Thursday, August 2nd, 2007 – 15:32 UTC ]
Enter a quirky Texan with a lot of money to spend named H. Ross Perot. He forced the issue into the campaign in a big way. He started renting television time in half-hour chunks and giving what were essentially infomercials on the subject of the deficit. He forced Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush to confront the issue. And he also got almost one vote in five on election day.
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[ Posted Monday, July 23rd, 2007 – 14:10 UTC ]
The Democratic debate would obviously be a race for second place, since Bill Clinton would wipe the floor with the entire field. Love him or hate him, you've got to admit Bill Clinton is one of the best politicians ever in the "debate" category. He would not only outshine everyone else, he would enjoy the hell out of himself while doing so.
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[ Posted Thursday, July 19th, 2007 – 18:03 UTC ]
In other news from "G Tro N," D.C., FEMA appears to have been taken over by laywers who care more about protecting the agency's rear end than about U.S. citizens' health.
This falls into the realm of shocking and disgusting.
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[ Posted Monday, July 9th, 2007 – 14:28 UTC ]
This letter was written by Norm Kent, who sits on the Board of Directors of NORML.
Media coverage of the letter has been sparse, to date. There have been a few stories in the local Minnesota press, and one on AirAmerica Minnesota's website, but I feel this needs wider attention.
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[ Posted Monday, June 18th, 2007 – 13:11 UTC ]
My personal opinion is that (1) Bush isn't going to fire Gonzales, because he's terrified of trying to get a replacement through the Senate confirmation process, and therefore he's happy to have a broken and ineffectual Justice Department for the remainder of his term; and (2) I don't think he's going to pardon Libby. I think a respite or even a commutation might indeed be in the cards, but not an actual pardon. As I've stated before, I do think it's going to be an agonizing political calculation for the White House, though. I could be wrong, especially about that second one, but that's the way I see it.
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[ Posted Friday, June 15th, 2007 – 13:47 UTC ]
Meet The Press' Tim Russert appeared on Conan O'Brien's show a few days ago, and mentioned that he had been at Woodstock. Tim Russert? At Woodstock? There's a mind-numbing thought. He said he made some money selling Stegmeyer beer for 80 cents a six-pack, so I guess he was there to exercise free market capitalism. Or something.
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[ Posted Wednesday, June 13th, 2007 – 16:17 UTC ]
An Announcement
But I didn't just write today's column to feed my ego in one way, I also have an announcement to make: I'm starting my own blog at ChrisWeigant.com. [I know, I know, it's hard to spell -- sorry about that.]
Now, this doesn't mean I still won't be posting here every Wednesday. I treasure the opportunity to reach the Huffington Post audience every week and will continue to do so as long as they'll have me.
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[ Posted Tuesday, June 5th, 2007 – 14:36 UTC ]
That's it? Kids love Scooter, so don't send him to jail? My kids will miss him at the White House events they attend? My little girls just cannot or will not understand that the "facts" were crimes committed by "Mr. Scooter?"
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