Russia Goes Really Retro

In recent years, there have been concerns internationally that Russia is returning to the Soviet police state of Joseph Stalin.  But forget Soviet -- recent evidence has come to light that an old Czarist mechanism is being deployed on protesters near the Sochi Olympics. It seems that a couple members of the Russian pop group Pussy Riot were in Sochi making a new video about the abuses of the Russian prison system when police officers calling themselves "The New Kochik Militia" descended upon them. For those who don't know, the Cossacks were the old secret police of the Czar, and they were mainly used to purge Jews and other ethnic minorities from Russia. But these days, they're apparently being used, once again, to horse whip and stomp peaceful protesters. I'm not kidding, folks. Go check the video out for yourself. It's sad, I'm beginning to wonder if Russia will ever know true freedom. Given the recent developments, I'm not so sure.

What Exactly Are We Watching?

Last year the Rachel Maddow show did a very interesting story about a very interesting way the Syrian government was drumming up support. Apparently the government had been hiring actors to go on their news as average street people saying how much they love the Syrian regime. Unfortunately, this is not specific to Syria. In 2004 then president George W. Bush admitted the State department had released video news releases. Bush paid actors to pretend to be Iraqi civilians and say how much they loved the United States. With these revelations and the cooperation of much of the mainstream press, the Bush administration got away with war propaganda and lying on a massive scale to get us into a war and drum up support for said war, which killed thousands of troops and civilians. Now that we know this, how can we be sure that when we turn on the news, even today, what we are seeing is authentic? Where do we go? Well, there's the internet, but the internet is notorious for not fact checking either. I don't mean to be Mr. Gloom and Doom but when it comes to news and current events, I think we're basically screwed.

Did Disney Screw Up Your Daughter?

Recent polls have shown that feminism among young women under 30 is at an all time low. Today, only 15 percent of women under 35 consider themselves feminists. I can't possibly give you all the reasons for this, but I can give you one reason I think could be partially responsible.You see, in the 1950's we were in a sort of anti-feminist wave, coming off the hills of the Rosie the Riveter era, and Disney was one of the most visible culprits of this trend. Heroins such as Cinderella and Aurora are a feminist's nightmare. Fast forward thirty years to the arrival of the videotape, and the Disney films of yore were once again distributed en mass to hoards of little girls ready and waiting to be molded. In an era supposedly post-feminist, they were once again indoctrinated with fifties propaganda. And, the Disney company,seeing the success of the re-releases, copied the formula with frightening success. The problem with the wait for Prince Charming message is, it's simply unrealistic. Maybe this is the reason behind a generation of young women who are confused and saddened over why Prince Charming didn't come. I'm not blaming Disney as a whole, but we'd be idiots to assume that our world view is not shaped by our media. Maybe next time, parents and society should do a better job of explaining to our children the difference between fantasy and reality.

Are there limits to rights?

Recently, Iowa has passed a very interesting law allowing legally blind people to own guns. Yes folks, you heard me right, legally blind people can own deadly weapons. What could possibly go wrong? Let me say that I am not hating on the blind. I myself am pretty severely disabled. But even I know there are things that I simply can't do. For instance, I would understand if somebody didn't want me to be a brain surgeon because of my spastic hands.

 The Americans with Disabilities Act mandates reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities. Key word here: reasonable. It doesn't say that you get to do absolutely everything that typically abled people get to do. I was particularly offended by the Iowa sheriff who was supporting the law. He said people who oppose this law clearly do not understand blind people and their capabilities. Well, I would disagree since singer and well-known blind guy Stevie Wonder says (and I'm paraphrasing), "Imagine if I had a gun," talking about this very law on Piers Morgan's show, "I think it would be hell on Earth." And yes, I know that blind people aren't all Mr. Magoo driving a car. But I simply don't think we should take the risk?

Am I wrong here? Tell me what you think.

Unholy Alliances

Recently, on the Pat Robertson Show, on the Christian Broadcasting Network, Pat received a question from one of his viewers. The question went like this: "Dear Pat, my sister wants me to be the bridesmaid at her wedding. There is only one problem: My sister's gay, and although I love my sister and her partner dearly, I don't feel it would be right because of my devout Christian background." To which Pat replied, "My advice is to lovingly decline, because to accept would be to deny God. By going to her wedding, you would basically be saying that God's word is wrong." Well, I have a question: Doesn't God speak pretty highly of the cohesion of the family? Isn't Pat worried that by rejecting her sister's wedding, it could bring a lot of tension and strife to the family dynamic, thus weakening that cohesion of their family bond?

But then again, I'm sure Pat Robertson isn't going to give up his Rolls Royce anytime soon. Since when do televangelists actually adhere to the doctrines they're preaching? My advice to anyone: if you are Christian, do not give any money to Pat Robertson or the Christian Broadcasting Network. In my mind, you would only be funding hate and division, which is certainly not something I think Jesus would have preached.

Justice for None

The Trayvon Martin case is probably the most divisive and talked about case concerning race and justice since the Rodney King beating. Some people have said it was a case of self defense. I would say it was a case of racially motivated, cold blooded murder. But, the truth is even though I personally believe Trayvon Martin was murdered in cold blood, we will never know what truly happened. A more important point, however, is this illustrates the different views of the world that blacks and whites still have. Perhaps this is because many white people have never had to experience the level of racial profiling, police brutality, and downright racism that many African-Americans and other people of color have had to experience. Also, why did the media focus on this case so heavily when so many young black teenagers are murdered every day in this country. Truthfully, many people judge this case without knowing what really happened. They say "This was clearly self defense. Did you see Trayvon's arrest record?" Perhaps this proves that much of white America is still very racist. But here's what I think. The best way to stop another Trayvon Martin case is to understand the cultures and experiences of both sides and not just accuse each other of whining or having a chip on our shoulder. Next time somebody says they were profiled don't accuse them of being paranoid because it might be true.

"Independence Day"

We Americans like to think of ourselves as a very independent people, but nothing could be further from the truth. All of our products, and basically everything we do in our modern life, comes from somewhere else. We pay money to buy someone else's product that we didn't make. We depend on the electric company for our light, and we depend on places like Wal-Mart and other superstores for our food and we depend on technology companies like Apple and Microsoft for our entertainment. The point is, there aren't that many Americans anymore who can honestly say, "Yes, I get up at three in the morning to milk the cows, and then grow my tomato plants."

We don't grow our own food, we don't make our own clothes, and we import a lot of electronics and other manufactured goods. So if we are fundamentally dependent on third parties to sustain our modern lives, are we really that independent in any meaningful sense? You tell me.