Obama's Hope, Limbaugh's Despair

The loud and not very illuminating arguments about Sen. Obama and former pastor Jeremiah Wright ignores an idea or two worth considering, as put forth by Steve Chapman at Reason - that however bleakly Wright sees America, Sen. Obama sees something much brighter and Wright supports him, not the other way around.

Chapman writes:

"Wright apparently sees this nation as defective and divided beyond repair. Obama thinks the defects are only a part of the story, and that a unity transcending ancient racial distrusts is achievable.

What has fueled his candidacy is neither black anger nor white guilt, but a desire by people of different complexions to minimize the role of race in our society. In his book, A Bound Man, Hoover Institution scholar Shelby Steele writes that Obama is "a living rebuke to both racism and racialism, to both segregation and identity politics... [H]e also embodies a great and noble human aspiration: to smother racial power in a democracy of individuals."

If the pastor truly believed his more vitriolic comments, he would have no choice but to treat Obama as a fool for aspiring to the presidency. Instead, Wright has been forced to entertain the notion that white people would choose a black male for the most powerful office on Earth.

When Ronald Reagan ran for governor of California in 1966, liberals attacked him for getting support from members of the ultra-conservative John Birch Society, which regarded Dwight Eisenhower as a Communist agent. Reagan responded, "If anyone chooses to vote for me, they are buying my views. I am not buying theirs."

A pertinent question is whether the attention given Wright will impact the Obama campaign. My gut tells me if a person were seriously opposed or seriously supportive to Obama, the pastor's views will changed nothing. However, the Senator's speech did, I think, provide more proof that his approach to government is far more hopeful than despairing.

For true despair, one need only witness the hearty despair voiced by Conservative Entertainer Rush Limbaugh in his "Operation Chaos" promotion. His goal - to create chaos in the Democrat nominating process by urging Republicans to register as Democrats and cast votes for Hillary Clinton in order to bolster her bid for the nomination.

His tactic is a good example of the "dirty tricks" of the Nixonian era (though the tricks are a part of the modern political era too). He seeks to avoid confronting issues and candidates with a debate of merit. As buffoonish clown, he ridicules without purpose, revealing a despair that his views (and those of his fervent followers) have no relevance in the current political world. Jeering at everyone from the sidelines where GOP nominee John McCain has banished him, he offers caps and shirts and other items for sale to equally despairing fringe-dwellers, hoping to line his pockets and keep some media attention as his commentary holds less and less credibility.

Best Wishes for An Atomic Wedding

Today is a happy day for Atomic Tumor and his Ladyfriend as they are getting hitched.

I echo the thoughts of many when I wish them a most happy day and many, many more happy days to come.

So three cheers and a w00t!! to them.

Camera Obscura: Buffy Reunion; Futurama News; The Hell of High School

Buffy creator Joss Whedon and cast-members of the show were at the Paley Center yesterday for a discussion of the show, an event which had Sarah Michelle Gellar on-stage and talking about the show for the first time. One newish project mentioned is the online musical Whedon is making with Neil Patrick Harris, called "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog". It's a series of 10-minute webisodes about a low-rent villian (Harris) and a superhero (Nathan Fillion, of "Firefly") who keeps beating him up.

The blogger at Futon Critic was at the event and has a good account of what was said which you can read right here. Cast members talked about some of the best episodes, like "Hush" and "The Body", and no, there is no reunion movie project ahead. Plenty of pictures here.

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Good news, everyone!

The first of four Futurama movies, "Bender's Big Score" airs Monday on Comedy Central. The 2nd movie, "The Beast With A Billion Backs", arrives on DVD in June. Plenty of details from creator David Cohen here.

And remember - Everyone Loves Hypnotoad!


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Benecio del Toro goes Lobo as a Monster-Wearing-Pants in the big budget re-telling of "The Wolfman" Yes there are even more pictures here at the MovieMorlocks blog.

Rick Baker (who else?) is the man creating the makeup for the movie.

So, a question for you -- has there ever, EVER, been a good werewolf movie? I always found some humor and enjoyment in "I Was A Teenage Werewolf", and then there was the Watergate-inspired "The Werewolf of Washington" which made me laugh too.

Comedy was the king in "An American Werewolf in London", too, but that doesn't mean it was a good movie. So, the question - is there such a thing as a good werewolf movie? I say no.

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I've recently seen a couple of nightmarish movies about the Hell that is High School and found that both of them are quite good and worth viewing. First up was the long-delayed feature "The Woods" from director Lucky McKee. Lucky scored big with his first feature "May", and though his second feature lay quietly on the shelf for some years, "The Woods" is now available on cable and on DVD.

It's set in 1965 at an all-girls boarding school and McKee relies solely on atmosphere and creepy characters to propel the story along. it has some similarities to "Suspiria" but here we have the added attraction of Bruce Campbell as the poor Dad who reluctantly allows his little girl to leave home and attend a school where the faculty is ... well, no surprises to hide, they are witches.

What makes the movie work is McKee's solid and steady direction. Yes, the story is familiar, but he presents it with great atmosphere and suspense, does not rely on gore or torture porn, and instead makes an excellent old-fashioned horror film. I think most viewers will like it - some who crave more onscreen deviance may not.

Speaking of Bad Things At Boarding Schools, "Evil" is a very disturbing morality tale from Swedish/Danish filmmakers, with the original language title of "Ondskan". The movie was nominated for an Oscar award as Best Foreign language film and is set in post-World War 2 Europe. The movie appears to be simple and straight-forward, but there are layers and layers here, many of which raise far more questions than the movie can answer - but that's the point.


A young man named Erik lives in a household where his step-dad beats him for no reason, and as Erik acts out in violent attacks at school, he is expelled. "You are Evil", says the school principal.

His parents shuffle him off to a boarding school where class systems provide an institutional brutality, and since Erik has vowed to leave his violent ways behind, the challenge from the social/psychological cruelties from upper classmen gets very intense very fast. The movie could have easily been a Z-grade revenge flick, but that is not where this movie is headed.

While Erik tries to remain tough and unresponsive to attack, innocent friends are drawn into the attacks. Should he go on the attack to protect them? Do they want such a defense? No matter how Erik tries to respond (or not respond), the situation becomes worse for those around him. Some major concepts in morality and justice and more are offered here, with no simple solutions. This is a truly complex tale for our very complex times.

I couldn't help but be reminded of another hell-in-high-school movie called "If ...", where violent overthrow of the status quo is presented as a justified response to insane structures. In "Evil," there is a more subtle tale being told.

Trouble Sleeping On Easter Weekend?

Then perhaps this illustrates why it matters ....

'Not Your Typical Bigfoot Movie' Debuts

Other film festivals may have the fame, but the annual SXSW festival has the cool.

One entry from this year's fest is "Not Your Typical Bigfoot Movie", about some folks from Ohio searching for Bigfoot and for the promises of the American Dream. The official site for the movie is here, complete with background and high praise from movie blogs.

The documnetary follows Dallas and Wayne, two men who grapple with Life's big questions and the quest for Bigfoot too. One AICN reviewer says:

"Wayne, a big, hulking guy, breaks down emotionally more than once, unable to control his facial expressions. This guy, God love him, bears his soul in an unforgettable way. There’s one phone call with Wayne that was truly gut-wrenching. There’s more real drama in this doc than I can tell without spoiling it. I do hope you take the time to seek out this amazing little real-life nugget. You will never forget Dallas and Wayne’s world."

The Real, The Distorted and the Virus of American Ideals

The fuming, frantic reactions to the speech made by Democrat Barack Obama has had heads wagging and tongues twisted, which makes me think Obama's comments were quite accurate. Racial divisions hold on in America with a ferocious grip.

It was a wide-ranging speech about perceptions and divisions, about media, and about distorted reality, and about the desire he has to move forward on these ideas and not surrender to them. And yes, it has taken some time for me to read his words and ponder on them. No insta-reactions are justified here on this page.

What is certain is that the media will wallow in the speech and ignore another speech which has equal if not greater relevance - the one made yesterday by the President defending his war in Iraq. It isn't just five years since we began the current war, it's almost five years since he made his dramatic "Mission Accomplished" speech about Iraq too. It isn't and wasn't accomplished, but supporters and enablers are far too shy to call him out. It has also been five years of war in Afghanistan, too, with no clear sign of accomplishment there either. This week his view is "no end in sight".

I have seen and read some notable coverage on the ongoing war, but the television is focused on the speech from Obama. For many folks, his speech is rock-solid proof Obama is a Bad Man, for others proof he is a Good Man. As with so much in politics and in war, we each create what we believe and nurture it, no matter the true reality.

Here's a prediction - no matter how intense the presidential race has been, no matter how intense the summer's nominating conventions will be, the late summer and fall will be an ugly, brutal mess which will be an historic and a shock-filled time for most of us.

I watched the new mini-series on HBO this week about John Adams and the early days of the American Revolution and decision to declare independence. In Adams' time, the issue of slavery and it's moral costs were very much a part of the debate about what kind of nation we would be.

Most interesting to me though, was the inter-cutting of scenes about the wrangling for votes for a declaration of independence and scenes of Adams' wife and children being inoculated against smallpox as their doctor took live pox tissues from one patient and cut into their healthy bodies to insert the diseased samples. Not all could survive this self-induced transmission - a controlled infection. I could not help but see the comparisons of the political efforts and the transmission of the virus. The decisions made in that Continental Congress, like that of Abigail Adams, would mean some would be risking death, but that the promise of a better life for many more would thrive.

It's a metaphor that is most instructive in our times, too.

Test Your Rock and Roll Lyrics Skills

50 very well known rock tune lyrics are presented - but can you guess which songs they are if the words are listed alphabetically, with no words are repeated no matter how many times they are used in the song? Its a good challenge and will only take a few minutes - maybe much more.

I barely scored a half-decent 31 out of 50, so maybe you can score higher. I blame a low coffee level. Here's the link to the "And Great Lyrics Quiz Rock Roll The By" and a few samples of what you'll find there:

First, an easy one for true rock fans -

"a and baby be become can come couldn’t fire funeral get girl hesitate higher i if in is it know liar light lose love mire much my night no now on only our pyre say set that the through time to try untrue wallow was we would yeah you"

Something less easy (or is it??):

"a and answer are bring brother brutality but can ’cause conquer crying don’t dying escalate everybody far father find for going got hair hate here i’ll is judge know lines long love loving many me mother need not of on only our picket punish see signs simply so some talk tell the there’s they thinks to today too us war way we we’re we’ve what’s who with wrong you"


Get down with your bad self and see if you can score 50 out of 50.

Liveblogging Guns at the Supreme Court

Most Americans already consider owning a gun as a guaranteed constitutional right. Is it?

That's the center of the debate in the DC v. Heller case begin argued today in the Supreme Court. The best source for info comes from SCOTUSblog, which live-blogged the case and they've also got a host of articles, opinions and history on the 2nd Amendment and gun laws. A sample from an analysis today:

"The Supreme Court’s historic argument Tuesday on the meaning of the Constitution’s Second Amendment sent out one quite clear signal: individuals may well wind up with a genuine right to have a gun for self-defense in their home. But what was not similarly clear was what kind of gun that would entail, and thus what kind of limitations government cut put on access or use of a weapon. In an argument that ran 23 minutes beyond the allotted time, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy emerged as a fervent defender of the right of domestic self-defense. At one key point, he suggested that the one Supreme Court precedent that at least hints that gun rights are tied to military not private needs — the 1939 decision in U.S. v. Miller — “may be deficient” in that respect. “Why does any of that have any real relevance to the situation that faces the homeowner today?” Kennedy asked rhetorically."

Whatever the ruling on the case - will it firmly establish or even alter the public perceptions of the laws are or what the 2nd Amendment says?

(photo via)

Deep Thought of the Day

"It's too bad we didn't invest one-third of the Social Security system in the market." (Via)

Goodbye, Volunteer Voters

It's beyond me why WKRN axed one of the best political news blogs in the state. But they did.

ACK's coverage of politics in Tennessee was massive - and his absence affects many. Likewise the once very active WKRN blog Nashville is Talking is silent, too, being converted into a blog aggregator.

As noted before, East TN was and is the blog capital of Tennessee.

5th Anniversary of War in Iraq

When the announcement of a trip to the Middle East by V.P. Cheney was made, reports said it was a push for a peace deal between Israel and Palestine. But the V.P. was there to also say that after 5 years of American-led warfare in Iraq the U.S. and the Iraqis were living in the best of all possible worlds.

Whatever your views the fact remains we are and will remain in the country well into the next year, the next administration and for who knows how long. Casualties, costs both economic and ethical, and more are still to be counted. I mourn for our losses and for the future. Seems all the decisions that led us there and those made in the early days were - at best - full of colossal blunders.

Continuing coverage is here, and here. Attention and knowledge of what's happening is falling away.

Perhaps in 2010 (or beyond) we'll have some effective new policies in place. Perhaps.

In Vermont, something I have never, ever heard of before - two towns have issued "arrest on sight" orders for the President and Vice President, due to war-related issues. Is it worth noting that while the presidential pair have made many trips to Iraq, they won't go to Vermont?

Camera Obscura: My Zombie Brother; Obama Auteurs; Hulu; Giant Bunnies

My brother's zombie movie premiered at the SXSW festival in Austin and the reviews have been just fantastic. Okay, so my brother is only a zombie in the movie "Dance of the Dead", so it isn't really his movie ... but it is in my mind - and his.

The point is the movie, about a zombie horde attacking a high school prom (such fun to write that!!) is a hit with audiences and critics, like Scott Weinberg, and raves from Ain't It Cool News, and here's a choice write-up from Cinematical:

"The zombies rocket-launched out of their graves are only the beginning. That's part of an early, truly impressive sequence where the dead begin rising to life in a graveyard lying in the shadow of a nuclear power plant. It looks like dozens, if not hundreds of zombies start bursting forth, shambling around, crying out for "Brains!" (only one of many, many movie shout-outs). It's an iconic sequence, a turning point in the narrative, and a test for the filmmakers. If they failed to execute it properly, it would derail the entire movie. Director Bishop and his talented team hit the bull's eye with funny, horrific variations on what you might expect, and from there the game is on."

No, they did not mention my brother by name, but they did give a massive approval for the movie and it's zombies and that's close enough. As soon as I get word of the distributor for the flick, I'll post it here.

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It really isn't to far to travel from zombie movies to politics.

Courtesy of this announcement from Knoxville Films blog (and MoveOn.org) you can try your skills out as a would-be filmmaker by cutting a 30-second promo commercial for the Obama For President campaign.

Folks like Oliver Stone, Matt Damon, Eddie Vedder and Naomi Wolf will decide the winner, whose spot will then go on national TV. Entries are due by April 1. Of course, if Obama loses the nomination or the election then you could be the one to blame ... just sayin'.

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The online video service Hulu has just launched so you can view a vast assortment for TV shows and specials, from "Airwolf" to "Buffy", "Ironside" to the "Simpsons" and "Cleopatra 2525" to "Friday Night Lights". They even had one called "My Bare Lady", an awful reality show that ran for 4 episodes on FOX. Also football and the Westminster Kennel shows are available too.

They've also got a big assortment of movies to view too, with promises of much more to come.

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Cinema history indicates there is only one Giant Killer Bunnies movie - "Night of the Lepus" - which airs on Turner Classic Movies at 2:15 a.m. tonite (or is that tomorrow??). I admit, there is a goofy joy to watching this movie. And it offers the tagline "...now from behind the shroud of night they come, a scuttling, shambling horde of creatures destroying all in their path." Ooooohh, scary boys and girls!! Well, not that scary.

Far more scary is another offering from cinema history on Sunday on TCM, the 1943 film "Titanic", a Nazi-propaganda version of the story with a very tragic history. TCM notes:

"In fact, Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels grew so disgruntled with original director Herbert Selpin's political opinions, he had him arrested and murdered during filming ...

"Even the ship that was used during the filming of Titanic ended up in a hellish tragedy. Called the Cap Arcona, the vessel was commissioned to transport liberated prisoners from the brutal Nazi camp, Neuengamme. During what should have been a voyage to freedom, Allied forces accidentally fired at the Cap Arcona and sank it. The vast majority of the prisoners who didn't die as it went under were shot and killed by nearby Nazi forces. Such horror casts a sinister shadow across what little dramatic impact the film itself generates."


Strange cinema history awaits on Sunday.

Perspective

Here are some thoughts and insights worth your time:

From Aunt B. --

"One black man attaining the presidency when half of the prisoners in the U.S. prison system are black men, when one in ten black men between the ages of 20 and 35 are in prison, and when one in three black men in their thirties has a prison record (which means that one in three black men of prime voting age cannot vote) is not going to fix the problems in the black community. But it does suggest possibilities.

One white woman attaining the presidency when thirty percent of female murder victims are killed by a husband or boyfriend, when one in four hundred of us is a victim of rape, attempted rape, or sexual assault every year, and when almost thirty percent of single moms live in poverty is not going to fix the problems of women. But it does suggest possibilities.

Patriarchy as usual is never about suggesting possibilities to people who don’t have power."

From White's Creek --

"The danger from Terrorism is essentially a myth. I have heard it described as being somewhere between the danger from Killer Bees, which everyone seems to be afraid of but have actually killed no one in the USA, and Drunk Drivers, which few folks react in fear regarding but which kill about 17,000 people a year in the USA."

From Cory Doctorow --

"[During World War 2, England's] message to the people wasn't "Take your shoes off" or "place your liquids in this bag". Instead, King George's printer stuck up millions of royal red posters bearing the legend "KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON."

The approaches are markedly different - eternal (even fearful) vigilance, versus a reassured, Zen-like calm. Which one makes us more secure?"

From Russ McBee --

"Half the world -- nearly three billion people -- live on less than two dollars a day."

The Mediocre Is The Message

Heck of a week, America.

The endless news cycle offered via television can't be a good thing to consume in any quantity. I do limit myself for sake of my own dubious sanity. Perhaps the burnout factor was linked to my viewing for the first time some (I could not stomach all) of the 30-minute gossip-fest called TMZ. Some clueless chuckleheads standing in a faux newsroom talking about which celebrity was seen doing something mundane in their private life. Fame and information all tumble together into a rather nasty slurry and pointless non-event.

But I did sense some ugly parallels to the TV news biz, where the screeching, endless hours of pundits-in-the-pulpits define themselves by defaming and defending personalities whose names and minute activities make up the "news". If you don't notice such common themes, then my explanations of them will not offer you illumination.

For me, what I sense most is this lack of depth, a lack of useful investigative coverage. We are proffered slabs of scandal instead, with just enough time for a breakaway report to a separate potential scandal, then back to a panel discussion of chattering nonsense about the scandal of the moment.

This week has been a feeding frenzy about former Governor Spitzer and former congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro. Hookers and racism make for hefty ratings. I do feel for the folks in the TV news biz - their income depends on being ratings winners not on in-depth reporting. So much advertising revenue from drug companies, insurance companies, banking and finance companies, car makers, and a host of others who these days are in dismal shape in a blooper-reel of failures and corruption, so I'm sure they prefer the focus be on anything except them.

Fame and the deconstruction of Fame is so much more camera-cuddly.

If the old adage "The medium is the message" remains valid, then the message isn't a good one. It's a continued state of self-absorption which may well cause many folks to actually disappear into an individual gravitational collapse leaving only a black hole where once a person existed and now only a dark place which sucks in any flickering light remains.

A Clean, Well-Written Argument

Simplicity is praised and inner thoughts revealed by the nation's Supreme Court Justices in a series of video interviews which have been made available on the internet.

The growing popularity of those videos and the comments made on them were featured in a recent article from Law.com (click here for their story). Some samples:

"Chief Justice John Roberts Jr., for example, thinks lengthy citations to Web sites that are now common in briefs are an "obscene" distraction "with all those letters strung together," though he does not offer an alternative. Another bias: Roberts thinks the word "which" should be avoided almost every time. "It slows me down; it starts to sound like one of those old 19th century contracts -- ‘which' and ‘wherefore.'"

Justice Stephen Breyer seconds that emotion. "If I see [a brief that is] 50 pages, it can be 50 pages, but I'm already going to groan." On the other hand, he says, "If I see 30, I think, well, he thinks he has really got the law on his side because he only took up 30."

Justice Anthony Kennedy, it turns out, hates when lawyers turn nouns into verbs by tacking on "-ize" at the end, as in "incentivize." Such showy, made-up words, he sniffs, are "like wearing a very ugly cravat."

And Justice Antonin Scalia can't stand it when briefs refer to a precedent "and its progeny." He growls, "I think it was wonderful the first time it was used. It is trite now. Terribly trite. Get some other expression."

Typographical errors are a credibility killer, Scalia adds. "My goodness, if you can't even proofread your brief, how careful can I assume you are" in citing relevant cases?

Scalia also thinks that lawyers are wasting their time when they write a summary of their argument at the beginning of a brief. "I mean, why would I read the summary if I'm going to read the brief? Can you tell me why I should read it?"

But if you skip the summary to please Scalia, you risk annoying Justice Clarence Thomas. He tells Garner the summary section is the most important part, acting as a preview "like giving you, you know, what's going to be on TV next week."

Rep. Davis Feeds Fear, Tells A Whopper

"There are more illegals in Hamblen County than anywhere else in the world, not just Tennessee or America.”

That's what Congressman David Davis told local, state and federal officials who met in Morristown's City Hall on Friday. But does anyone other than Rep. Davis really believe what he says?

I'm not sure what point Rep. Davis was trying to make, but the truth is, his statement is totally false.

The population of Hamblen County is about 61,000. Statewide, statistics show that the illegal immigrant population is less than 50,000. The number one state for illegal immigrants is California, with an estimated 2.6 million illegal immigrants. Here's a reality check for the congressman: even if every illegal immigrant in Tennessee lived in Hamblen County, it would not make what Rep. Davis said true.

Camera Obscura: War as Comedy in "Thunder Tropic'; Buffy Crosses Over

A new comedy from Ben Stiller aims satire at actors and warfare in "Tropic Thunder", out in late summer, but the photo out this week got all the buzz as it showed Robert Downey Jr playing a 'committed actor' who decides to dye his skin to play a black character.

The photo is here at EW.com and the movie set-up sounds very funny:

"Downey plays one of a team of self-indulgent stars cast in the modern equivalent of Apocalypse Now. Stiller plays an action hero who has just adopted a baby from Asia but worries that ''all the good ones are gone.'' Black portrays a comedian known for performing multiple roles in a single film — his latest is called The Fatties: Fart 2. But when the film's director (Steve Coogan) and writer (Nick Nolte) get fed up with their prima donna cast, they drop them into the jungle to fend for themselves. The actors think they're doing some sort of full-immersion filmmaking, but the danger they're in is very real."

Also leaked from early screenings - Tom Cruise dons a fat suit to play a studio boss in the movie. And has it really taken some 29 years to lampoon "Apocalypse Now"??

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In the ongoing 8th Season (in comic book form) of the TV show "Buffy The Vampire Slayer", the plucky vamp killer wakes up naked in bed next to a new girlfriend. Dating a Slayer has always been problematic and so when this issue of the comic "Wolves At The Gate" hit stores this week, even the NYTimes covered the story. Writer Drew Goddard says:

"I guess the stakes are different in that we have more freedom in comics," said "Wolves" scribe Drew Goddard, who was a writer for "Buffy" on TV and more recently penned the movie "Cloverfield." "Even though we’ve still got a ways to go, we’ve made tremendous progress with regard to portrayals of human sexuality in pop culture over the last 10 years or so. So the stage just feels different now. I’m sure people can argue that Willow/Tara broke a lot of ground in that regard, but it’s not like we go into these things saying, ’How can we make a grand political statement here?’ We just try to do what feels right for the characters. The rest takes care of itself."

A new comic is also set to take up the TV series Angel where it left off, too, but I doubt we'll see him in a same sex romp. All the Whedon-Buffy-Angel news you can handle is here.

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From iconic images to words now. The University Press of Kentucky has just released a new book of film history and the historical films of the 1930s called "Reconstructing American Historical Cinema" by J.E. Smyth. In the past, Hollywood's writers were seldom recognized as prime movers in cinema, that esteem being given to directors or producers instead. And over-arching film theory classes often invoke odd correlations between politics and filmmakers.

Smyth's book instead makes compelling arguments that it was the writers who retold American stories to American audiences in ways that forever shaped how we see ourselves and our myths. An excerpt from the book is here.

More Details on Statewide Cable Franchise Plan

A new plan and a new agency to create rules and regulations for a proposed change in the laws regarding cable franchises has something of a compromise to it. The full bill can be read here.

The one large problem I have with this legislation is that it alters the existing laws so that AT&T would not have to participate in the current system of making agreements at the local level for franchise agreements. The fact remains that they could make such agreements now to start providing service, and creating a new agency and new laws still smack of fixing something that is not broken.

There are pluses to the proposed change in law - it does preserve the current Public, Education and Government (PEG) or at least states that new franchise agreements include provisions for PEG channels.

It also irks me that while every resident of the state could be impacted by the proposed changes to the state law, the state's media has devoted more coverage of useless, grandstanding legislation which had no chance of passage. With so much info available to news agencies and anyone else with access to the internet why is it that more info is typically available from bloggers?

No doubt the technology in telecommunications has been and is rapidly changing and perhaps changes to how such agencies are governed is needed. So shouldn't that be the priority for our elected officials?

The Best Of Your Cup of Joe

A random tag from Russ McBee asks for you humble host (me) to point out five posts here which I like best. However, I am going to monkey with the tag meme and include some samples from the posts which I think are some of the best so far.

Oh and these are the "rules":

** Post about the meme and link back to the person that tagged you.

** Go back to your archives and link to your five favorite posts.

Link One: must be about family
Link Two: must be about friends
Link Three: must be about yourself
Link Four: must be about something you love
Link Five: can be anything you choose

** Tag five other people (at least two must be new acquaintances so that you can get to know them better).

First, this post comes from my first month of blogging and is an essay by my sister-in-law as she urged college students to create really good stories - but there is much more here. Her example focused on her cousin Gisele, who disappeared into the horrifying world of concentration camps during World War 2. By sheer chance, a commenter on that post prompted another search for information about Gisele and something astonishing happened. Please read the post here and be sure to read the comments to learn what happened. Here's a sample from that post:

" In fact, I’ve since learned, no one knows how or where or even if she died. The last thing we know about Gisele is that she resided for a while at Theresienstadt, a concentration camp in Czechoslovakia that was for most of the people who passed through there, the last stop before the Auschwitz.

I said the best stories are complex, but it’s not always easy to live with complexity. A cautionary tale about a girl who got bitten by a monkey is a lot easier to live with than a complicated narrative about a girl who disappeared in the crucible of World War II and whose fate will probably never be known. But just because you carry a story around in your head for years and years, doesn’t mean it’s right. And I’d rather have the complex story because even with its incomplete ending, it tells the truth. We like simple stories because they are easy to understand and their lessons are clear and easy to follow. Complex stories make us work to discover their meanings, if there are any, and their implications for our own lives can make us uncomfortable."

After this turn of events, any doubts I had back in 2005 about what good might possibly come from blogging immediately vanished and I have never had second thoughts again.

Second choice - a post about friends. For a few days last summer, I was in a panic when the sweet and lovable Sophie, The Editor's dog, somehow escaped the house and was missing for several days. What I learned from that experience was large - both Sophie, The Editor and I learned how fantastic our friends could be and dozens of other bloggers across Tennessee became new friends to us all. The full post in which I express both my sadness and joy is here and much happiness about her return and my thanks to many folks here. It was a drama and half, folks, maybe even two.

Third choice - a post about myself. There is no doubt my most revealing post (in many ways) was presented here. How revealing? Here's a sample:

"Have I ever told you about the time I went fishing and lost my pants and had to run naked to my truck? It is a true story.

Oddly, that post has been kinda popular. You'd be amazed at the number of folks who Google the phrase "naked fishing."

Fourth choice - a post about something I love. Well, dang. I post often on the topic of movies, and I loves both watching them and writing about them. But love for living things, that's what this next post is about. It's about an absent friend and my celebration of her life. WARNING: The post may elicit some tears. A sample:

"When I got to the animal hospital with her this afternoon, she waited in the truck while I spoke to the vet. An assistant asked me what color of fur she had (I have no idea why that was important) Before I could even think to answer, the words "She's golden" came out of my mouth. She is and always will be.

I have one more post to offer, just my own choice of a post I like. I am not sure which if any you dear reader might like. So I pick this one here, called Martian. One reader thought I must have been stoned-to-the-bejesus to write that. No, just me pondering the galaxy and the past and the future. Plus, the little NASA movie link in the post is still active. And I remain impressed with what I see.

"Maybe the best way to think of it is as development property -- a slow development, true. But I can almost see it all as part of the view of Our backyard. I have to use my imagination, to consider time and distance and what Life requires or how Life must adapt. I have to be willing to consider so many theories, and if I dismiss the possibilities, then I limit my view and I might as well stay in the caves."

OK, that's some of the ones I have liked best. I hope you have enjoyed these pages one-tenth as much as I enjoy making them.

Here's my choices for other bloggers to try out this meme -- the always thoughtful Alice, along with Valley Grrrl, The Editor, Tennessee Jed and Cathy at Domestic Psychology.

AT&T Cable Franchise Bill Advances in House

Last year when Rep. Charles Curtiss proposed changes to the law to allow AT&T to by-pass locally controlled franchises for cable service, the giant telecom decided to abandon efforts to change the law. This year, they may not be happy with the bill, which passed a committee vote yesterday, but they may take what they can get.

A key element to Curtiss' bill - HB3959, which you can read here - is the creation of a new state agency made up of local state officials to oversee any new agreements. Though the agency would only exist until 2011 unless the state legislature renews it.

Since the state and AT&T have begun doing more business together, will this guarantee the bill's passage?

Far more background here.

Puppy Killing and Imminent Doom

Is it optimistic to say that pessimism always springs anew?

Wait, let me back up and explain a little here. On Monday, as I did some of the reading of news and such which had stacked up over the weekend, I ran across a couple of stories which seemed about as dark and gloomy as could be. A grim start to the week, thought I.

One story currently raging on websites doesn't seem to have anything good about it. It's a dark deed, done cheerfully in a dire time and all on video. Some debate remains as to whether it is a real event or some viral prank. I'm not posting this video but you can link to it via this Digg site and the name of the video is US Soldier Throws Puppy Off Cliff.

Grim stuff from some soldiers deployed in the Middle East. Online rabid response is large -- reports claim a Marine from Hawaii is the culprit and that the events are under investigation.

As a person who holds animals and dogs in high esteem, I can't imagine what might make some people think killing a wee puppy is funny or anything short of sociopathic. But let's be honest - we've been at war in the Middle East for years now - children, women, men and soldiers from around the world have died. Were we to see individual video accounts of each and every death, hosted on some online video service then I'd think the grim nastiness of death would choke us all.

For some time the nation has conditionally accepted the idea of a clean and concise war with concepts like "surgical strikes" and precise attacks -- but the bottom line is very clear - people die in and around war zones in ways which overwhelm the senses. Currently we don't even see images of flag-draped coffins of soldiers, so a video of killing a puppy seems enormously heinous. As much as the idea of that video bothers me - what we don't see and don't know about is far more troubling. There's no way a video like this can somehow reverse or revise our nation's military action.

Stumbling across that video sure made Monday a grim day. And it just kept getting worse.

A scientist in England was featured in a report on climactic upheaval and apocalypse in which he cheerily and ominously advised: "Enjoy life while you can."

The report on the views of James Lovelock declares any and all attempts to halt a climactic doomsday are all useless.

"There have been seven disasters since humans came on the earth, very similar to the one that's just about to happen. I think these events keep separating the wheat from the chaff. And eventually we'll have a human on the planet that really does understand it and can live with it properly. That's the source of my optimism."

Finding an expert to predict imminent doom and human helplessness is not that tough.

- Unreturned books and fines at the library prompt arrest and jail-time.

-- Your coffee thermos could explode at any time.

Having a positive outlook after a Monday with these reports, that is far more difficult.

Congressman Davis Says Gasoline Price High Due To Democrats

1st District Congressman David Davis provides his views on the causes of the skyrocketing cost of gasoline and oil - he blames Nancy Pelosi and them mean ol' Democrats. Yessir, that's all there is to it. If only blame could be converted to energy .....

"Davis said he voted against the latest energy proposal to come before the House because it contained billions of dollars in tax increases on American oil companies.

“I’ve never known a business to actually pay a tax. Businesses take taxes and fees and pass them on to their customer. ... The same thing is going to happen to energy,” he said.

Davis reiterated his contention that America needs energy legislation to reward those who partake in alternative energy practices and allows the United States to drill for oil on American soil.

“(Pelosi) has blocked energy drilling in (the Alaskan Wildlife Refuge), basically doing away with clean coal technology and basically doing away with the advance of nuclear energy,” he said. “Those are the things that make us competitive globally. ... Heritage (Foundation) said the current energy bill would move gas from $3 a gallon to $5 a gallon. ... (Democrats) believe you can tax and spend yourself into prosperity, and it can’t be done. ... China is going from bicycles to cars, and America is going from cars to bicycles if you follow the logic that is coming out of the leadership in Washington, and that’s not where we need to go.”

When asked how he has worked with House Democrats on a bipartisan basis, Davis cited the recently passed economic stimulus package as an example.

“That had some good leadership in it from Speaker Pelosi and President Bush,” he said of the package. “When people get those (tax rebates from the package), I hope they go out and buy some American products.”

-----
"Davis also pledged to compete hard for his re-election against his primary opponent, Johnson City Mayor Phil Roe.

“I won Washington County last time (in 2006),” Davis said. “My opponent is from Washington County, and I think I will win Washington County again. ... I think I will win the election again. I will do the things it takes to win.”

Even if whatever it takes is blaming others.

Now go buy something American, you slackers!!

Weekly Best of Tennessee Blogs

Time for the first ever Leap Year edition of your weekly roundup of Tennessee bloggers via TennViews.

• 55-40 Memphis: Second biggest fear, plus: Beale Street tribute hits a sour note.

• Andy Axel (at KnoxViews): TNGOP playing politics with the State Constitution,

• Aunt B.: On the TNGOP attempt to establish guilt by association, plus leave Bill Hobbs alone!

• BlountViews: How embarrassing would it be to be a member of the TNGOP right now?

• Carole Borges: Obama's formula for success: radical centrism.

• The Crone Speaks: On the failure of the abortion amendment, plus the TNGOP apparently never got the Karl Rove memo, and, notes to Clinton and Obama from candidates who dropped out.

• Cup of Joe Powell: On the Bill Hobbs implosion, plus cheers for the TNGOP, bonus: Vampires!

• Don Williams: Help fight mountaintop removal.

• The Donkey's Mouth: TNGOP: Gutter politics, McCain denounces, scolded by RNC.

• Enclave: Gathering the NAFTA pitchforks, plus TNGOP: Leave Obama's momma out of it, part 1 and part 2.

• Fletch: Cute by any other name, what do you see, and barking at the moon is a full time job.

• KnoxViews: Where in the world is Smokey? Plus: respect for Hillary, and who will answer the call?

• Lean Left: KTK: Obama comes out for gay rights and a weight is lifted

• Left of the Dial: Money fuels the debate over XM/SIRIUS merger

• Left Wing Cracker: RIP Rep. Gary Rowe, plus Hobbs has outdone himself.

• Liberadio: 2008 election results leaked, plus a little desensitizing.

• Loose TN Canon: Hobbs deleted my comments!

• NewsComa: Hobbs wins the Tennessee Wanker award and it's only February!

• Pesky Fly: Obama brings out the knives.

• Progressive Nashville: Something in the Arizona water? Plus: TNGOP thinks cheap stunts are acceptable behavior.

• Resonance: Superdelegates jumping between bandwagons, plus slacker Silent Clarence.

• RoaneViews: Chris Lugo: Nuclear free Tennessee, plus: When a potential business recruit comes to Roane County, does Leslie show them the new Jail?

• Russ McBee: Bernake predicts bank failures, plus a note to Bill Hobbs.

• Sean Braisted: Celebrity endorsements. Plus: Save Bill Hobbs!

• Sharon Cobb: Tennessee medical hero Stan Brock on 60 Minutes tonight, here's a backgrounder. Plus: Elect Hussein Obama!

• Silence Isn't Golden: Bigots for McCain, Republicans should show the same support for Tennessee that they do for Israel, natural allies in the fight against discrimination and justice. Bonus: Fulmer for Sheriff!

• Southern Beale: Prison Nation, fun with FISA.

• Tennessee Guerilla Women: Hillary tag teamed on SNL, plus some interesting quotes from Obama re. the Iraq war vote.

• TennViews: TNGOP playing politics with long-term care for seniors , plus TNGOP: There is such a thing as bad publicity, Gutterball, as it unfolded.

• Vibinc: Motivational waterboarding? Seriously, he's not making this up!

• Whites Creek Journal: Surviving Leap Day, plus: Obama fathered TWO black babies!

• Women's Health News: Workplace lactation, plus the Nipple Project.

TN GOP Excited By Publicity Smear

Tennessee Republicans cheered and gave a standing ovation to the leadership of Robin Smith, and to her Communications Director Bill Hobbs and passed a resolution of solid support for their work this week to smear the Barack Obama campagin.

Funny - I wonder do they know Obama was not the victor in the Tennessee Democrat Primary?

And no wonder they don't promote their own national party line for their own candidate John McCain. The TN GOP solidly back the far-distant second place vote-getter, Mike Huckabee.

So, what was the standing ovation for? Perhaps for making the TN GOP feel important for a moment?

Smith says:

"The issue is over. There are no consequences. … There was no hammer that fell. Bill Hobbs’ job, my job, no one’s job has ever been in jeopardy.

"I don’t know who is churning the story. But what I can tell you is that it has energized our party.”

Camera Obscura: 30 Days of Night and Other Vampire Classics

It's seldom that I have high expectations for a movie which actually meet or surpass the final product. Especially a horror movie these days. Expectations are pretty low, really, for that genre after the gushing spurt of recent movie franchises like "Saw", "Hostel", etc.

But having read the original source material of the graphic novel for "30 Days of Night" and seeing that actor Danny Huston was playing the leader of a group of some brutal, nosferatu-style vampires who invade an Alaska town just about to endure 30 days without any sunshine -- well, I was hopeful. I finally saw the film this week and hope was fulfilled.

There are no joking characters, no re-invention of the vampire myths, just a relentless and bloody apocalypse where horrible nightmares have taken the form of flesh. This is no movie for the timid or squeamish, it is a visceral attack on the senses. Once the basic location and characters are provided, the town is devoured and survival is doubtful.

The vamps don't speak English, but there are subtitles for their toothy talk. The absence of recognizable language makes the non-human nature stand out even more. There's a scene where Huston dips his dagger-like fingers into a pool of blood and primps his hair with it which was understated but blood-curdling. If such ancient, powerful and deadly creatures existed and they decided to plot against us ... then yes, human survival is unlikely. One plot-line from the comic book which was dropped was a debate among the vamps about the wisdom of taking out an entire town, but towards the end of the film that idea emerges as an important aspect of what has been happening and how it will all end.

The music here is terrific - ambient tones which seem like the sounds of something freezing, slowly. And mention too should be made of actor Ben Foster's role as The Stranger who enters the town just ahead of the monsters. He's got a knack for creating deeply disturbing characters onscreen, as he did in "3:10 to Yuma" and "Alpha Dog." Not a guy I want to get to know.

For some time now, I have wondered if vampire tales would survive the bad movie, all-emo creations of Anne Rice, or the black leather emo version of "Underworld, or the god-awful and nearly musical comedy version of them in "Van Helsing". Thankfully, they have not died out - yet.

In the past, even the classic Count Dracula had to survive feasting on hippies and surrounded by blaxpoitation funk music, as in "Dracula A.D. 1972". The movie is like a time-capsule of silly post-60s trends, has it's own Wikipedia page, and even features a character called Johnny Alucard ... aka Johnny Dracula. Now there's a film title for you.

Sam Raimi's company Ghost House produced "30 Days" but they also made another vamp film which they decided not to release to theaters last year. Look for it on DVD - it's called "Rise: Blood Hunter" and does at least provide both Lucy Liu and Carla Gugino as battling/loving vampire chicks. Sounds like all they missed was having Johnny Dracula around. And maybe a scene in a go-go club.

Made in 2005 and still getting an unusual snub from Raimi's company and distributors, it may be one of the new so-bad-it-might-be-good movies. Background on the making and the snubbing are offered here.

Famous children of famous folks are at work on what appears to be another comedy vampire story called "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead". Jake Hoffman (son of Dustin) plays an out-of-work actor who is cast in a version of Hamlet being directed by a vampire. Sean Lennon (son of John) is working on the music and the movie also features Devon Aoki, Ralph Macchio, Lindsay Lohan, Asia Argento and Marilyn Manson. (No word on who is playing Johnny Dracula.)

Getting Polled

(cartoon via) (oh and click to embiggen!)

TN GOP Spokesman Bill Hobbs Implodes

Bill Hobbs, spokesman for the TN GOP, showed how he uses smear tactics on Monday, but smear tactics are the easy spots, the Free Spots on the Bingo Card of politics. The 'writing' isn't so much of a 'hit piece' as it is a job of a hack, and a lazy one at that. Rather than campaign for his party, he campaigns against something ... anything, really, which might be perceived by some potential voter, as a negative.

He wrote a compilation of semi-factual hooey about Senator Obama, included a picture of him next to the words "muslim garb" (with funny little asterik mark which noted at the bottom of the web page reads "Clarification: The garb Sen. Obama is wearing is not 'muslim' but Somali-tribal garb." (NOTE: Before I could finish posting this this evening, the Press Release in question took the photo out and added the following to their clarification: " ..we have deleted the photo. Also, in order to diffuse attempts by Democrats and the Left to divert attention from the main point of this release - that Sen. Obama has surrounded himself with advisers and recieved endorsements from people who are anti-Semitic and anti-Israel - we have deleted the use of Barack Obama’s middle name."

The Hobbs piece for the state GOP is headlined "Anti-Semites For Obama." I'll link to it here, but who knows how long it will actually stand as is before being revised. (NOTE 2: Apparently TN Republican Senator Lamar Alexander told the state GOP to take down the photo and the press release. The internets is a fast thing, huh?) Wonder how fast Hobbs will be booted/demoted/transfered/ or tries to save his bacon and apologizes??

(And gosh, if I had only known I could tell just by someone's name they were EEEEVIL, why I'd never have to fear for my safety! Thanks, Bill! Thanks TN Republicans!!)

Round-ups aplenty of Bill Hobbs Foot-In-Mouth disease are offered here at No Silence Here, Volunteer Voters (even the McCain campaign disses Hobb's tactics.)

I Am Legume

Heh, the post title today is a pun ... see, my brother sent me this link to a news story on the ribbon-cutting yesterday of the giant seed vault up in Norway (some call it a Noah's Ark, some call it a Doomsday Vault, so ... see the title is an ... oh never mind.)

Maybe I should have gone with the joke made by the Canadian plant gene curator, who said "You can't start a new world without beer."

This massive project to store and protect food plant seeds is on Svalbard Island in Norway is so remote that:

"... with as many polar bears as human beings estimated to live there. The local tourist guide advises visitors not just to always carry a gun when outside the village, but to know how to use it as well."

See, that I Am Legume joke really works here ... oh, never mind.

Weekly Best of TN Blogs (Late Edition!)

Here's the (late) edition of the weekly best of Tennessee blogs via TennViews. I was especially honored to have my weekly movie feature Camera Obscura honored with some linkage. And a big woot! for Cormac McCarthy and the Coens.

• 10,000 Monkeys and a Camera: McCain: the Aftermath: The straight talk express hits a speed bump. Plus, the buzz on the Wisconsin and Hawaii primaries.

• 55-40 Memphis: Clinton supporters are "the Rottweilers of politics." Plus: MO-bama!

• Ablogination: Hang it up, Hillary: Why Clinton should exit gracefully.

• Andy Axel (at KnoxViews): Home-Grown Terrorists Face Federal Charges: Charges pending in mosque firebombing, and how you donate to help rebuild it. Plus: McCain feels for the family.

• Aunt B.: Is helping take care of her dad and reminiscing.

• BlountViews: Liveblogging the TDOT Pellissippi Parkway Extension hearing, and commentary. Also, The Blount County Children's Home is at risk because of politics and development, and new immigration laws are working to create an invisible fence.

• Carole Borges (a new addition to the blogroll and roundup): According to the League of Conservation Voters John McCain has earned himself a big fat zero. Also, the "poverty draft."

• The Crone Speaks: Slave Labor: Moving Down the Economic Ladder: Growing poverty is creating a "slave labor" class. Plus: Some compelling reasons to vote for Hillary, and Bush's support of Musharraf.

• Cup of Joe Powell: Are Connected Tennessee backers a front for AT&T? Plus, the immigration situation in Hamblen County prompts Rep. David Davis (R, TN-1) to call for Homeland Security intervention. Also, check out this week's Oscar edition of Joe Powell's weekly Camera Obscura series on films and film making.

• Don Williams: An open letter to Hillary’s most ardent Obama bashers: Obama supporters have the high moral ground.

• The Donkey's Mouth: Conservation Voters give high marks to Tennessee Congressional Dems, plus TNGOP's Bill Hobbs says one thing on blogs and another in official press releases. Plus: The nominee must answer to TNGOP Chairwoman Robin Smith.

• Enclave: Questioning Bill O'Reilly's lynching remarks, the Darwinian tone of reporting on Nashville's homeless, and an unnoticed story about the Texas debate.

• Fletch: Gullscapes, Storms on the Horizon, A Dream and the Wind.

• KnoxViews: Campfield reports House wasting valuable time!, lively Texas debate discussion, and a convenience voting project in East Tennessee.

• Lean Left: Kevin: Mixing the Races is a Communist Plot!, KTK: Feeling Michele Obama's frustration, and Tgirsch: Chris Matthew's job is not journalism, it's to stir up...

• Left of the Dial: "I’m glad Bruce Pearl isn’t a cult leader because otherwise I might be selling all my worldly possessions right now."

• Left Wing Cracker: LWC goes to 11 in naming his ten favorite blogs and why.

• Liberadio: Bold general election predictions, Obama robbed in New York, and the year of the underdog in which Democrats growl.

• Loose TN Canon: Wisconsin primary says GAME OVER for Republicans.

• NewsComa: It's not about the sex, it's about the political favors. Plus, blogs are changing the rules.

• Pesky Fly: Nikki Tinker surrogate attacks against Cohen are the moral equivalent of receiving stolen goods, and more on the "are bloggers journalists" question. Plus: How to protest.

• Progressive Nashville: Life after Castro won't begin just yet, psychology of the candidates, and NYT dropped the ball.

• Resonance: Revealing campaign website traffic. Plus, an Obama/Bloomberg insurgency?

• RoaneViews: Thoughts on The Game. Plus: Eclipse of Sanity?

• Russ McBee: Serbian punk nationalists on the rampage, plus some interesting numbers.

• Sean Braisted: It doesn't look like Clinton intends to salvage her dignity. Plus: [R.] Neal over at Knox Views seems perplexed as to why Hillary couldn't "bring on the wonk to expose Obama's lack of depth on policy." This is a fascinating quote to me, because I think it sums up the arrogance of the Clinton camp really well. [..] Hillary is banking on the uneducated white vote to boost her campaign.

• Sharon Cobb: Karl Rove trolling in Alabama, Obama wins the debate, and Clinton and McCain are trying to "boil the hope" out of you.

• Silence Isn't Golden: Some working people are more important to Clinton than others, memo to Hobbs: Better Uses For $8 Million , on O'Reilly's racist remarks silence is complicity, plus Act Now To Save RIF!. Oh, I almost forgot. GoldnI exclusive: Tuke in!

• Southern Beale: It seems John McCain’s "straight talk" is as crooked as a dog’s hind leg. Plus, a bright future for solar energy.

• Tennessee Guerilla Women: Clinton: Shame on you Barack Obama, Hillary's accomplishments, and Women Have Seen this Movie, We Know the Drill

• TennViews: Pam Strickland is looking for leads for a project on how "health care and legal issues contribute to the cumulative problems of poor children, particularly children of color." Plus: Student voter registration: Yes you can, and, Clinton at the State of the Black Union, and Brian's Memphis showdown preview, with a rundown of what Tennessee had to do, which they did.

• Vibinc: Crunches the delegate numbers and comes to some interesting conclusions.

• Whites Creek Journal: Whites Creek Steve's impressive Great Backyard Bird Count list, plus more commentary on the bill to require DNA testing of fathers listed on Tennessee birth certificates.

• Women's Health News: Rachel critiques CNN's Tips for Savvy Medical Web Surfing with some valuable tips of her own, plus more on DNA testing for birth certificates.