>Stop It!

>

Florida Congressman Alcee Hastings has written a letter to the President urging an end to enforcement of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Hastings, and 76 other House members, also wrote to Obama in June asking the president to suspend any investigations under the DADT discharges. So far, nothing has changed.

Except for the fact that every single day two more members of the LGBT community are discharged from their duties simply for being gay.

Every. Single. Day.

This is latest letter:

August 27, 2009
The Honorable Barack H. Obama

President of the United States

The White House

Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Obama:
On June 22, I sent you a letter signed by 77 Members of Congress urging you to take leadership in working together with Congress to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and to replace it with a policy of inclusion and non-discrimination. More than two months later, I have yet to receive an official response.
I am deeply disappointed that you have not responded to my letter and that we are not addressing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell at this time. With the recent addition of 17,000 American troops to Afghanistan and the possibility of another request for even more troops from General McChrystal in the coming weeks, I am sure that you will agree that we cannot afford to lose any of our dedicated, highly-qualified service members to Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
As you know, we lose approximately two service members every day to Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. While I commend Secretary Gates and the Pentagon’s general counsel for their continued efforts to identify possible provisional measures, you can take action right now. I sincerely hope that your administration will make Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell a priority and do everything in its power to repeal this ridiculous, bigoted law once and for all.
Mr. President, I am extremely proud of the men and women who serve in our Armed Forces and truly appreciate the countless sacrifices they continue to make every single day to protect this nation and the American people. They deserve better than Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
Please know that I will continue to monitor this situation closely and stand ready to assist you and my colleagues in Congress in repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell today.
Sincerely,
Alcee L. Hastings

Member of Congress

>The Man With No Name

>There is a man who calls himself a pastor and a man of God who has made the news lately for his inflammatory remarks about President Obama, Ted Kennedy and gay people. I am not going to say his name because that’s what he wants: fame and recognition and a platform upon which to spew his bile.
If you know who I’m talking about, I’m sorry. If you don’t know him, consider yourself lucky.
I wish I’d never heard his name, listened to his voice, or been witness to his “interviews.”
This is a man of God who thinks if you kill the president it is a crime, but it is not murder; the same thing goes for Dr. George Tiller. Crime, yes; murder, no.
This is not a man of God. This is a sick human being.
So, I won’t say his name and I won’t mention him again.

>J’adore La Streep

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I love Meryl Streep. I’ve made no secret of it. I have seen nearly every single one of her movies, the good, the bad and the Death Becomes Her. I’d pay good money just to sit at a dinner table and listen to her ramble on about the minutiae of her day, although, being Meryl, the minutiae would be spectacular, I think.

So I was pleasantly surprised to stumble on a little Streep dialogue at The Onion [HERE] where she wonders, along with some of her friends, about her importance in film. Yes. Her. Importance. In. Film!

She asks that you name the one masterpiece, one unforgettable film, in which she played a part, and then she’ll tell you why you’re wrong.

“My friends and I were sitting around yesterday having a casual conversation about how the one thing all great actors have in common is that they have all starred in at least one classic piece of cinema. For my good friend Al Pacino it’s obviously The Godfather and Dog Day Afternoon. For Robert De Niro there’s Raging Bull and Taxi Driver. And for Diane Keaton, a no-brainer: Annie Hall.
The one actor who truly stumped us, however, was me. Now, I know I’m a good actress. I’m Meryl Streep. I’ve won two Academy Awards, and I have been nominated for 15. That’s a record. But what my friends and I figured out is that the name Meryl Streep isn’t really synonymous with one truly unforgettable film. It’s weird to think about, but it’s undeniably true.”

So, you beg to differ, do you? well, Meryl plans to set you straight.

She’ll tell you Kramer v Kramer isn’t a masterpiece, and even it it were, it’s a Dustin Hoffman movie, not a Meryl Streep movie. So, don’t mention KvK.

Sophie’s Choice? Well, that has to be a masterpiece, right Meryl?

“Sure. Absolutely. That makes complete sense. But have you actually watched Sophie’s Choice lately? Boy, talk about a movie that has not aged well. My performance is very good. No question. Oscar-worthy even. But if it weren’t me delivering those long monologues, people would see Sophie’s Choice for what it really is: a fairly routine melodrama, with a Holocaust backstory thrown in to make the love triangle seem less banal.”

Routine? A Meryl Streep performance is routine? Well, we cannot forget The Deer Hunter, Meryl. I loved you in that movie. That must be a piece of classic cinema, wouldn’t you agree?

“The Deer Hunter. Yes! Actually, no. A couple things bother me about The Deer Hunter. One, it’s overrated. Yes, I said it. And two, how long was I in the The Deer Hunter? Three, maybe four minutes? Truthfully, I don’t really remember being in the The Deer Hunter at all. (Same goes for Manhattan.) Then there’s Out Of Africa, which, come on. We all know that movie was kind of the worst. That and The Bridges Of Madison County…don’t even get me started on The Bridges Of Madison County.
Marvin’s Room? We’re scraping now, aren’t we? Doubt. Yeah, 20 years from now people are definitely going to be talking about the film adaptation of Doubt. The River Wild. Look, I like The River Wild. Solid thriller. Good cast. Not a classic.
Oh, and for those of you who want to say The Devil Wears Prada? Please. I don’t need your charity.”

And she goes on to say that she’s worked with directors who’ve made classic movies, though none of them starred Meryl Streep. Robert Altman? Check. But she was in his The Prairie Home Companion. Mike Nichols? Check. In Heartburn.

“Does anyone in the world other than Mike Nichols own the DVD of Heartburn?
So here we are. I’m 60 years old without a One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest or Bonnie And Clyde to my name.

Meryl Streep: ‘Great actress, okay movies.'”

Well, I’ll beg to differ, Meryl, as long as you don’t hold it against me. I think classic films are the ones that stick with audiences, and provide them with a new way of thinking or seeing the world; films that give us a visceral reaction to the people and situations around us; films that change the viewer in ways maybe they never thought possible.

And you’ve done that, Meryl.

Julie & Julia filled me with joy.

Silkwood made me think.

The Devil Wears Prada made me laugh.

Sophie’s Choice made me weep.

The French Lieutenant’s Woman made me sigh.

Doubt made me doubt.

Death Becomes Her made me cringe, but that isn’t so bad.

Classics. All. And I’d see them all again. Even She-Devil.