tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-129902252011-04-21T13:40:39.647-07:00A place on the Left where the worlds of politics, entertainment and culture meet.Chomskyitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13159552899728729477noreply@blogger.comBlogger241100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12990225.post-1175841492422261172007-04-05T23:33:00.000-07:002007-04-06T03:26:24.290-07:00

After a great deal of time away, I'm back on the blogging horse. So, what's the problem? The new "phase-in" of the improved features hasn't hit this blog yet. That pisses me off. If they're going to introduce these features, roll them out to everyone. This piecemeal bullshit is just that...bullshit. To get around this frustration, I simply created a new account based upon my Gmail account. So,

Chomskyitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13159552899728729477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12990225.post-1144349910030469042006-04-06T11:53:00.000-07:002006-04-06T12:00:34.366-07:00

Robert Fisk has a wonderful piece today about the horror of the denial of historical truths. It may not be a new lesson, but it seems that many people have still not learned that history is often created and re-created by those with something to prove. Whether it's neo-Nazis or Muslims who deny the killing of Jews and other "unter Menschen" by the Germans, Israelis who deny the killings at Sabra

Chomskyitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13159552899728729477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12990225.post-1144287592291601592006-04-05T18:25:00.000-07:002006-04-05T18:39:52.303-07:00

Politics: SexismUp to this point, I haven't thought a lot about the rape allegations against the lacrosse team at Duke. I've followed the news reports, but that's about all. The recent release of a team member's email about killing and skinning women, however, just pushes this case into a realm of disgust that I haven't felt in quite some time. The worst part is that the latest stories have

Chomskyitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13159552899728729477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12990225.post-1143911843303535292006-04-01T10:14:00.000-07:002006-04-01T10:17:23.316-07:00

Politics: ImmigrationSo much for the idea that the local school district is supportive of the kids' right to free speech. Yesterday, about 100 kids from my daughter's eighth-grade class were prepared to go protest the immigration issue. However, the school has taken to posting people at all exits and physically keeping the kids from doing so. They have their campus cop (or the SRO, as they

Chomskyitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13159552899728729477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12990225.post-1143843987205982732006-03-31T15:07:00.000-07:002006-03-31T15:26:27.220-07:00

Politics: Immigration With the immigration debate taking an ugly turn in Washington, it was nice to see our younger citizens in Tucson taking a position--and doing something about it. For the past two days, middle and high school students have been leaving school and demonstrating against the draconian House measure. The media is reporting that the school district is being tolerant, but that

Chomskyitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13159552899728729477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12990225.post-1142372099938091892006-03-14T14:21:00.000-07:002006-03-14T14:34:59.956-07:00

Entertainment: Television On the Scientology-goes-Hollywood front, Isaac Hayes has asked to be allowed to quit South Park because of "innappropriate ridicule of religious communities." While the creators may have a point that Hayes was cool with the "ridicule" of Jews, Mormons, Muslims and (other) Christians, but only got peeved when they turned on Scientology, I have to say that I can see

Chomskyitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13159552899728729477noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12990225.post-1142043780254708542006-03-10T18:49:00.000-07:002006-03-13T12:21:47.730-07:00

Entertainment: SportsAfter Bush Administration posturing, pitchcount impositions and much face-painting, the World Baseball Classic is underway. Despite attempts by the Bushies to keep baseball free of Evil Communists (at least Latino Communists), Cuba is taking part. This has given ESPN the opportunity to wave the flags of Democracy and Freedom--which are, of course, identical to Old Glory--at

Chomskyitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13159552899728729477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12990225.post-1141774214214525662006-03-07T15:19:00.000-07:002006-03-07T16:41:07.656-07:00

Politics: CrimeAbout a month ago, we moved into a new neighborhood. We're still unpacking things and navigating around boxes stacked in the bedrooms, but I hadn't realized just how out-of-it we were until last night--we hadn't even been greeted by the local neighborhood watch group! We've met some of our neighbors: the young couple and their son in the other half of the duplex, the single mom and

Chomskyitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13159552899728729477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12990225.post-1141673269324694532006-03-06T11:32:00.000-07:002006-03-06T12:33:38.616-07:00

Entertainment: MoviesTry as I might, I couldn't stay away from the Academy Awards in their entirety last night. Once in a while, I'd flip back to ABC to see what was going on. Generally speaking, it was horrible. Jon Stewart is okay, but he's the typical middling liberal that gets passed off as a true Leftist. It's sad that he's considered the vanguard of the Left when he doesn't really represent

Chomskyitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13159552899728729477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12990225.post-1141508344576599792006-03-04T14:07:00.000-07:002006-03-04T14:48:27.293-07:00

Entertainment: SportsSince the big to-do about figure skating judging during the Salt Lake City Olympics, even a sports fan who couldn't care less about skating has heard about the changes in the judging and scoring systems in that sport. Even just tuning into ESPN's Pardon the Interruption would treat one to the rantings of skating fan Tony Kornheiser about the "fragile French judge". Of course,

Chomskyitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13159552899728729477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12990225.post-1141506093582104992006-03-04T13:11:00.000-07:002006-03-04T14:05:07.513-07:00

Health & Education: AutismAfter the recent rash of national articles about the autistic basketball player, it was nice to see a local perspective on the lives of autistics here in Tucson. The Tucson Weekly is the only local news source that I read with any regularity, since they tend to be slightly left of mainstream--but only slightly. They did a pretty good job with this topic, but it was

Chomskyitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13159552899728729477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12990225.post-1141341127997148012006-03-02T15:12:00.000-07:002006-03-02T16:12:48.100-07:00

Entertainment: SportsAs we've heard many times over the years from conservative corners, gays and lesbians can't be allowed to marry because marriage is a "sacred" thing between a man and a woman. Laws allowing same-sex couples to marry would "cheapen" that, they insist. That begs the question, of course, that there is some mechanism by which one relationship cheapens or affirms another, but

Chomskyitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13159552899728729477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12990225.post-1141165384403211022006-02-28T15:14:00.000-07:002006-02-28T15:28:13.983-07:00

Entertainment: SportsAs the mother of a five-year-old autistic son, I often worry about what his school experiences will be like as he gets older. He started kindergarten this year, and he's made his first friend. The joy I feel about that is something that parents of "normal" children can't understand. When our 13-year-old daughter made friends, it was special but it was expected; with the

Chomskyitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13159552899728729477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12990225.post-1141154724115475632006-02-28T11:46:00.000-07:002006-02-28T12:29:37.483-07:00

Entertainment: SportsTo elaborate on yesterday's post about the status of women in coaching, I wanted to add a local spin. My own rooting interests lie with the University of Arizona. Tucson is considered the most liberal city in Arizona, but considering that Arizona is only second to Utah when it comes to the influence of the LDS church on politics, that's not saying much. So, what wins: the

Chomskyitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13159552899728729477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12990225.post-1141085329346496432006-02-27T14:19:00.000-07:002006-02-28T11:44:41.826-07:00

Entertainment: SportsSo, the Olympics are over and the second-guessing has begun. Every time a U.S. athlete or team fails to meet expectations (i.e. win gold medals), the hacks at home start wondering what went wrong. How could they fail to prove U.S. superiority in all things human? How can they live with the shame? It's generally a ridiculous exercise. However, this time around, at least one

Chomskyitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13159552899728729477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12990225.post-1140928354924733702006-02-25T20:57:00.000-07:002006-02-25T21:38:37.166-07:00

Of all the political issues in the world, why would anyone chose to write about the interplay of politics and entertainment from a Leftist perspective? That's a fair question, and one that I had to answer for myself when I decided what the focus of this blog would be. After all, isn't entertainment, by its very nature, frivolous and unworthy of a true Leftist's attentions? In the end, there were

Chomskyitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13159552899728729477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12990225.post-1140843351016814922006-02-24T21:38:00.000-07:002006-02-24T21:55:51.036-07:00

Entertainment: TelevisionNote: I'm finally getting back to posting these old reviews. They originally were published on the old tvtome.com. They have since been moved to tv.com. In the four episodes of the series, I've noticed an emerging pattern with "Veronica Mars" which holds true for "The Wrath of Con" (great title!): the B plot is much more interesting and provides much more character

Chomskyitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13159552899728729477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12990225.post-1140806128126329092006-02-24T11:26:00.000-07:002006-02-24T11:35:28.143-07:00

Politics: ImmigrationThe problem is...what? As I stated yesterday, despite calls from humanitarian groups and even members of Congress for years that a guest worker program be instituted to help curb deaths in the Southwest's deserts, little has been done to see that come to fruition. Perhaps I spoke too soon--it seems something has been done about those deaths in the desert: a bill is before

Chomskyitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13159552899728729477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12990225.post-1140722885930032422006-02-23T11:42:00.000-07:002006-02-23T12:49:20.416-07:00

Entertainment: SportsIt's that time when, every two years, the most political of entertainment spectacles occurs. Of course, I'm talking about the Olympics. Anyone who doubts that this extravaganza of sports and money is not a political event has lived under a rock for the last century or so. There's no need to go back to the days of Jesse Owens, with the Third Reich and the U.S. government

Chomskyitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13159552899728729477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12990225.post-1120171993003463372005-06-30T15:36:00.000-07:002005-06-30T15:55:31.820-07:00

Entertainment: TelevisionDefinitive Quote:Justin Smith: "It turns out my mom's a liar, and my dad's a circus freak." One of my all-time favorite shows, Twin Peaks, used the demise of a beautiful young woman as the impulse that drove the actions of those she left behind. This season, the same theme has been used to create two of the best new shows to debut in many seasons. ABC has given

Chomskyitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13159552899728729477noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12990225.post-1120170860188854992005-06-30T15:22:00.000-07:002005-06-30T15:34:20.193-07:00

Entertainment: Television I used to write reviews for the series Veronica Mars for the website TVTome.com. As users of the site are well aware, the site was recently sold the CNET and turned into TV.com--a slicker-looking site that leaves a bit to be desired when it comes to substance. The biggest change has been the way shows are reviewed. At the old site, there was at least a modicum of

Chomskyitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13159552899728729477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12990225.post-1118860989547111962005-06-15T11:43:00.000-07:002005-06-15T11:43:09.550-07:00

As traditional as I will ever be... 

Chomskyitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13159552899728729477noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12990225.post-1116880205443519972005-05-23T15:12:00.000-07:002006-02-24T22:27:11.106-07:00

Entertainment:TelevisionWell, you lovers of the detestable Rob Mariano and Amber "Can I Buy a Vowel for My Surname" Brkich have only one day to wait for their televised wedding. I can't think of a more famewhorish thing to do than to have your wedding televised, but we've known the score with these two for quite some time. (I wonder if Rob secretly fears coming in second this time around, too.

Chomskyitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13159552899728729477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12990225.post-1116623548933288802005-05-22T17:31:00.000-07:002005-05-22T17:31:17.323-07:00

Entertainment: TelevisionThe networks spent the last few days in New York spending way too much money to impress advertisers (who have way too much money to spend) with their schedules for next fall. Most of the pick-ups and renewals were the standard tripe: a mixture of well-worn reality series like Survivor, bad sit-coms like Will and Grace (I still can't believe that some people consider

Chomskyitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13159552899728729477noreply@blogger.com0