Happy Bill of Rights Day...

Congress: "Oh, yeah, here's the National Defense Authorization Act that gives the executive branch the power to take away basic rights set out in the Bill of Rights. This is all for your safety. You're welcome."

"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised 'for the good of its victimes' may be the most oppressive." -C.S. Lewis

......

I've spent quite a bit of time today writing all of my representatives. Every single one of them voted for the travesty. In fact, EVERYONE from my home state other than Ron Paul voted for it which REALLY disappoints me.

I urge you, readers, please see if your representatives voted for it and if they did, send them angry (but hopefully polite) letters and withdraw your support!
~
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."-Edmund Burke

Yes, I Cry During Happy Movies

Lady Brainsample has had three days in a row of being almost completely happy, so she wishes to make a blog post. Not only was yesterday a mostly happy day, but Friday she found out there is a SLIGHT chance she may be able to get an A in the dreaded Business Law class.

But that's not the point of this blog post, so she will switch from third person back to first.

I saw The Muppets. (the movie, not them in general...)

Now, when I found out last June that they were making a new Muppet movie that was going to be a theatrical release, I was skeptical. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the Muppets. Always have. But the last thing they made that had to do with the Muppets (I think it was some sort of TV or direct to DVD-type special called Letters to Santa or something like that...) failed to please.
It wasn't that it was BAD bad, but it wasn't the regular caliber of proper Muppet productions. It was a predictable plot with mediocre music that was obviously contrived to squeeze money out of the franchise. Honestly, the last great Muppet movie was probably Muppets From Space.

Even the movie before that (It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas) wasn't that great. There were moments I absolutely LOVED, (see this blog post) but overall, it was just meh.
But anyway, up until it actually came out, I was skeptical. Then one of Mom's old friends saw it and said that if it didn't win Best Picture, the Oscars would be exposed for the sham that they are.

Ok, that's encouraging. Hope slightly restored.
Then I heard the beginning of the latest Overthinking It podcast, in which they were planning to discuss the movie. Before I stopped listening to it, (didn't want to hear spoilers) they said all sorts of stuff about how you MUST see this movie, etc., etc., etc.

Ok, I'm excited.

I was not disappointed. So, I echo others. GO SEE THIS MOVIE.

There are SO many things I loved about this movie. The music was outstanding, the non-Muppet actors did a fine job, the Muppets themselves looked GREAT.
The story was great; reading the synopsis, I thought I would be able to predict where the story was going to go, but I didn't.

But what was really awesome was a feeling I got that was similar to how I felt watching Toy Story 3. When I saw Toy Story 3, it felt really relevant to me because Andy was going to college, he was the same age as I am; so it was like they made the movie not only for all the kids of this generation, but also for the generation that grew up with the Toy Story movies.

Similarly, with the Muppet movie, when we finally meet Kermit again, he talks about how they've waned in popularity, but in spite of that, Walter, the greatest Muppet fan, loves them and eggs them on to put on another show. Whenever Kermit said something about people not knowing who they were or caring anymore, my mental thoughts were, "I still love y'all!!!"

All of the Muppets reuniting again in the story was incredibly awesome, Kermit finally admits that he loved Miss Piggy, and I don't know how to write about other stuff that I loved without sounding so inCREDibly sappy.
Even more sappy than I sound when I tell you readers that I cried. A whole lot. Not just during sad parts! During all the happy angsty parts. When Kermit and Piggy finally started singing Rainbow Connection together, I completely lost it.

Final comments: Jim Parsons was AWESOME as his appearance as the human version of Walter; Chris Cooper makes a great villain; and I loved that Uncle Deadly (one of the less well-known Muppets) got to have a featured role and turned good at the end.

And because I haven't posted anything about my cats recently, I'll show y'all my attempt to get Trillian (our newest) to take a picture with me.
It didn't go as planned, ha ha.

More Truth in Webcomics

Comic credit goes here. I own nothing.

Just Because I'm Paranoid

This is disgusting.

Whether you're Democrat, Republican, or Libertarian, this should make you mad. John McCain has obviously not read the Bill of Rights lately, or he would have encountered some amendments such as this one:

Amendment IV: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, again unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

....or how about this one:

Amendment V: "No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation."

...or maybe this one:

Amendment VI: "In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense."

.........

"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."-Ben Franklin
My finding this story today after having watched Red Dawn last night makes for an incredibly brain-loaded day of thinking of contingency plans. But my thoughts on Red Dawn will have to go onto another blog post.