Various thoughts on current events with an emphasis on politics, legal issues, books, movies and whatever is on my mind. Emails can be sent to almostsanejoe@aol.com; please put "blog comments" in the subject line.
After rereadingThe Sunflower Forest, I checked out this much more recent true account. The author has many books about the very troubled children she counseled over the years.
It is well written. I did find it basically falling into a holding pattern. Suddenly, in the last quarter or so of the book, a "really? didn't expect that" key turning point (her sister abused her).
The girl, around 10, caused a lot of trouble. But she was still only a girl. And in a lot of pain. The events took place some time ago (you can tell because the author is old and here she has a young child), so we know things (appeared to) worked out okay for her.
For instance, they can reform qualified immunity or address national injunctions. If you wish to count them as court reforms. But he does generally cover the gambit.
The No King's Act or an amendment doing that also can be tossed in. Ditto something about abortion or some other major "mistake" of the current Supreme Court. These are basically Court reforms.
We can expand the Court and/or (the first shouldn't foreclose the second) have term limits. Term limits, realistically, require a constitutional amendment. They probably do constitutionally. Also, realistically, it will be hard to pass legislatively since many moderates will think so.
I have talked about expansion. I respect the demand, though I'm wary about it. I doubt it will happen. If it does happen, we should also have the ability to do many other things.
Term limits should have broad support. Enough?
Well, push other reforms; maybe there will be more support for it to be a compromise. It's time for some amendments.
Take away some of the Court’s power to decide specific categories of cases. The Constitution says that Congress has some power to impose such limits, but how much may depend upon whether the Court would strike down any such measure as an unconstitutional interference with its independence, which the Court vigorously defends.
They can also require the Supreme Court to take more cases. That might not be ideal, though some people do want them to do that. Another approach is to channel certain cases to a particular circuit (D.C. leans liberal) or reduce the power of single judges somehow.
He also notes Congress can require a supermajority before a law can be declared unconstitutional. I'm not honestly sure about the constitutionality of that approach. Ohio used to have that (see the opinion below in Mapp v. Ohio).
The Court can be required to explain itself in the shadow docket. That can include providing the votes on certain orders or other actions. I think that might be gamed somehow, such as having one go around and the final on the record vote will largely be unanimous.
The last three are the most likely. They can "fast track" responses to Court rulings. They can (and very well should) have binding ethics legislation. And they can (the current chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee supports this) require video.
If the Democrats do win control of one or both houses, they should significantly focus on the Supreme Court, including investigations and fact-finding. That includes hearings about specific cases and issues.
Prof. Melissa Murray, a co-host of the Strict Scrutiny Podcast, took part in a pre-Dobbs hearing about abortion access. This is the sort of thing we need.
Some people are PASSIONATE that we need court expansion. Well, I doubt it will happen. But okay.
Dolly Parton has had serious health problems recently, so the news is not totally surprising. We just don't like to hear it. She was eighty years old.
My mom listened to a country music radio station while we grew up. So I had exposure to country music while growing up in New York City. I like various country music singers.
I like Dolly Parton. Erik Loomis provides a largely positive obituary here, including honoring her talent and business savvy. He references a 1960s song about a pregnant woman committing suicide after being abandoned.
She was a feminist. One thing he notes is that she did not speak out against her state's anti-trans legislation.
Parton is regularly cited as an LGBTQ ally. She was careful not to bluntly oppose certain laws. But people knew where she stood. In the 1980s, she said this:
“I got a huge gay following and some really macho-looking women,” Parton told Andy Warhol in a conversation for a 1984 Interview cover story. “To me, people are people. … Many of my friends are gay, male and female. I don’t judge people. I don’t care what people do in their bedrooms and people shouldn’t care what I do in mine.”
The anti-LGBTQ movement is based on hate, lack of empathy, and scare tactics. People, however, overall found same sex marriage not a big deal. Parton was accepting, loving, and knew it was not a big scary thing.
When asked, early on, she made jokes about gays now having the same problems as straights. [I heard a form of this on today's Gay USA episode.]
Of course, she didn't really think marriage was bad. She was married for almost sixty years.
When the COVID-19 pandemic upended lives around the world, country music legend Dolly Parton found her own way to lead in a crisis.
Her $1 million donation to Vanderbilt University Medical Center to help expedite development of the Moderna vaccine gained international recognition. A Guardian correspondent even suggested naming the shot, "The Dolly."
Parton didn't stop there. Photographers captured her on March 2, 2021, donning a face mask and getting the vaccine in a public show of trust. During a scary and confusing crisis, she was a voice of calm, singing improvised lyrics of "Vaccine" to the tune of her megahit "Jolene."
Trump offerred her a Medal of Freedom. She begged off, concerned about traveling during COVID and other reasons. Later, Dolly was wary about Biden giving her one. It might be seen as "political" if she accepted. She had red and blue fans.
He announced flags will be flown at half-mast in her honor.
The actor Tim Curry also died. Many honor his many roles, especially his gender bending role in the Rocky Horror Picture Show. He was gloriously "weird."
Dolly Parton was pretty outrageous too. Let us allow their spirit to live on, even as we wish "another 80-year-old died." Anyway, I don't think Dolly would have liked people saying that.
I sometimes watch DVDs with someone who has not watched many of the films that many have seen. I recently re-watched Enchanted with her. Last night was B&B. The animated version.
(Years later, we had the live-action version. Kevin Kline played the grandfather.)
Multiple familiar actors do the voices, including the person who later played the gruff police officer Lenny on Law & Order, though some might remember him from Dirty Dancing.
[Jerry Orbach had done some stage work.*]
The film has some good songs. It also has scary parts, including when wolves threaten Belle.
The "heavy" is also a rather cruel character. His flunky reminds somewhat of the flunky in Enchanted.
His being a sexist boor is one thing. Then, he goes next level. Again, I can see some parents being like the mother of "Chip," and thinking their children were too young for some of this.
True enough, the original fairy tales were rather dark. But we generally have a sanitized version. Up to a point. Not quite as dark as this.
One thing that is somewhat lost is that this is supposed to be taking place in France. A few of the servants are French, but Belle and many of the others do not sound very French.
I guess the original edit was deemed inappropriate.
The film is about true love conquering all -- both familial (Belle sacrifices herself for her father) and romantic (a beauty falls for a beast). Also, about the dangers of appearances. Dreaming of more.
And, of course, the power of reading.
The true symbol that all is well is when they kiss. For the value of a true love kiss, see either Enchanted or a Hallmark Channel film. A kiss is a standard finale.
==
* Jerry Orbach, to be clear, did a significant amount of stage work. Many people only know him as "Lenny."
His first appearance on the show -- the actor -- was a one-episode guest role portraying someone else. If footnotes are not the place for trivia, what is?
Other Films
To toss it in there, since the film is so popular, they decided to do some spin-offs. Oh, you mean after the events of the film? No silly.
People like the enchanted castle stuff. So, looking at the plot summaries, the stories generally involve stuff that would have taken place during the film.
It might not be completely clear (it wasn't for me), but the "time skip" entry here suggests the film takes place over an extended period. So, there is plenty of time for additional "enchanted" content.
As to the live-action film, there was also one back in the day. Tubi shows me there are multiple live-action versions without all the enchanted details.
I once started watching the live-action version of the animated film that this entry discusses. It didn't really, including the lead, catch my interest.
It also tosses in various extra details, which aren't really necessary and might be counterproductive. Still, I think I will try to watch it again.
She has some interesting content, especially related to LGBTQ and disability issues. She is a lesbian mother and with various disabilities. She has a quirky voice though you can tell here (when she is tired) it is somewhat an affect.
We can be overwhelmed with all of this content. But it also is amazing, huh? Should I check up more on stuff that would turn me off? Probably. You know, watch a bit of Fox News or a dubious podcaster. OTOH, there is so much other stuff. Oh well.
