Pursuing Holiness

I’m not feeling too well and I won’t be at the computer much today. But thanks to the wonders of Google Reader, I’ve noticed some interesting articles since yesterday. Enjoy!

Did They At Least ASK Wynton Marsalis?
One of the things I love best about New Orleans is our music. We have some of the best blues and jazz in the world. Our brass bands (Rebirth!), our gospel, our funk… we’re dripping in music. It’s what we do. Our world-renowned Jazz Fest is the place to sample it all. So I was pleased to read that Disney’s latest animated musical will be set in New Orleans, because it would surely put the music in The Aristocats to shame. Well, not so much… turns out it’s going to be the normal Disney pap after all.

The Walt Disney Co. has started production on an animated musical fairy tale called “The Frog Princess,” which will be set in New Orleans and feature the Walt Disney Studio’s first black princess. The company unveiled the plans Thursday at its annual shareholders’ meeting in New Orleans. John Lasseter, chief creative officer for Disney and the Disney-owned unit Pixar Animation Studios, said the movie would return to the classic hand-drawn animation process, instead of using computer animation that has become the industry standard. He called the film “an American fairy tale.” “The film’s New Orleans setting and strong princess character give the film lots of excitement and texture,” Walt Disney Studios chairman Dick Cook said. The movie will be scored by Randy Newman, who also wrote the music for Disney’s “Toy Story,” “A Bug’s Life,” “Toy Story 2,” “Monsters Inc.” and “Cars.”

Couldn’t they get Wynton Marsalis or some locals in on this project? Jeez… This oddity was noticed over at Those Fascists, too:

Awesome! Because when I think “New Orleans” and “Black Princess”, I think “Randy Newman”.

Gay Man Commits Thoughtcrimes - The Left Outs Him
Another gay Republican, another outing. And another occasion where the right doesn’t flinch away from A Dreaded Homosexual. Could it be that we’re not the homophobes here? But it’s all about the hypocrisy, you see.

Cpl. Matt Sanchez, recently a featured speaker at CPAC, apparently performed in some gay porn one summer, years ago. Here’s his response to the outing:

We all have a tendency to want to hate the enemy; I suppose that’s why Ann Coulter got applause when she used the term ragheads (that was the last Coulter scandal, or was it the Jersey Girls?) I also suppose that’s why I got so much invective when bloggers posted decade-plus pictures of me that I knew were still around, but simply chose to ignore. Did I think I could become a “public figure” without some scrutiny? Of course not! Am I so craven for attention that I’ll stop at anything to get it? I’m the first to admit that I want to be heard, read and taken seriously, but some issues really are simple and some are more complex. I always hear the complaint of information reduced to sound bytes and of the lack of depth in public discourse. Well, porn is porn; self-explanatory and of little depth. The pictures do pretty much all the talking, and in an age when pictures are so abundant, they don’t say much. I’m concerned many will feel inadequate, as a conservative, I like to insist on equal opportunity even if some start off with more than others.

I don’t like porn, it reduces the mind, flattens the soul. That’s not hypocrisy talking, that’s experience. If I started off with liberal leanings, being on a gay porn set should have been heaven. In porn, everything taboo is trivialized and everything trivial is projected. How does a conservative trace his roots to such distasteful beginnings? Like all followers of a cult, it’s tough to figure out when you stopped believing in the party-line, but I can tell you that by the time I finished my summer tour of the major studios, I was pretty disgusted with myself. It was an emotional low, and the people who surrounded me were like drug dealers only interested in being with the anesthetized in order not to shake off the stupor of being high. Why did I become a conservative? Just look at what I left, and look at who is attacking me to today? Let’s face it people, you’re all cynical enough to know that if I had espoused liberal causes, spoken out against the military, got a liberal award for courage and then outed with a porn-past, you’d be clamoring for my memoir, and nominating me for a diversity ticket with Barack Obama. Instead those who complain about wire-tapping reserve the right to eavesdrop on my private life for political brownie points. Sure, I took a picture with Ann Coulter, I don’t endorse what she said, but anyone in the military would defend her right to say it. I realize that sounds prohibitively phony, but gee it’s really true! The right to say things is precious and like so many others, my decision to serve after September 11th is even a more salient point of my past. I feel I’m duty bound to help out my fellow veterans in any fight, both foreign and domestic. The issue of anti-military bias on campus is enormous and the CPAC was correct to recognize the gravity of the situation and award those who act for change. With so many experiences since the last George Bush was in power, you’ll have to forgive me for not listing a summer job in my resume, so many years later. It’s just a part of my past, and like anyone who reflects on the past realizes, it contributes to who I am today. No apologies, just recognition. No running away, just moving forward.

It’s pretty clear, if you’ve been reading this blog for a while, that I believe porn is harmful to the people who use it, and for the people who act in it, it is battering women (and men, in the case of gay porn) by proxy. That said, Sanchez doesn’t defend porn. His experience has taught him that it is not beneficial, and he became disgusted with himself after a summer of involvement in it. It is in no way hypocritical to learn from experience and change your outlook on something. And it is in no way hypocritical to not hold someone’s past against them. That’s why conservatives and even conservative Christians support Sanchez. Want more info on this story? Here’s Sanchez’ blog.

Pride and Terrorists
Greg Gutfield is willing to play the fool if it means better security.

…they were also present on that USAir flight last November, when the imams made passengers and airline staff uncomfortable with their prayers, their animated conversation, and their odd requests. At some point before take off, each passenger on that plane must have had those dueling banjos of thought in their heads:

“It’s 99.9 percent certain that these people are harmless idiots. Just relax. Don’t be a fool.”

“It only takes that .1 percent to blow a plane up. I don’t care if I look foolish, I must say something. My family is on this flight.”

“But I’ll look like an ass.”

“But I don’t want to die.”

Why Hypocrisy Is, and Is Not

Hypocrisy is - doing something that you are concurrently criticizing someone else for doing. As in Newt Gingrich, a married man, pumping up the outrage about Bill Clinton’s lies and infidelity while he himself was having an extramarital affair.

Hypocrisy is not - the U.S. failing to take a seat on the U.N.’s Human Rights Council. Why should we bother? Why should we associate with the world’s worst human rights offenders, who shouldn’t be permitted on the Council themselves? Better to stay out and let them stew in it.

Media Marshmallow Creme
Ever had a “fluffernutter” sandwich? Peanut butter and marshmallow creme, ideally on white bread. Disgusting, yet delicious. And very unhealthy. Any nutrition in that sandwich is found in the peanut butter. The rest just helps slide the peanut butter down. And that is the state of news today. I’m completely frustrated with what passes for news. Anna Nicole? Who cares? Why do we all need to know this garbage? Johnny Depp’s daughter is ill? Why are people other than the Depp family interested? And it’s not enough to just report it once, or even once a day. They pound this trivia in hourly. Drew Curtis of Fark.com has some scathing criticism of the ratings quest, including:

So whose fault is all this, the media’s or the public’s? Both. Real news is simply not a ratings leader. Evening network news shows aren’t shown during prime time because they can’t hack it. This is also why prime-time news shows consist almost entirely of celebrity interviews and pedophile arrests. Note which type of “news” gets the better time slot.

He offers a solution I’ve long wished for:

Split 24-hour news channels in two – one carries all the “Fark,” the other carries all the real news.

Let the people who just have to know the latest on Anna Nicole, Britney Spears, Paris Hilton or whoever the Blonde o’ the Week is at the moment have a channel of their own. And give me and those like me a more complete story of the war, the middle east, the legislation currently being passed and other serious news that is routinely reduced to sound bite coverage to make room for Anna Nicole in the schedule. Everyone wins.

written by Laura