Tebow the Letter

Hello, hello! I'm back with a first song that is probably a favorite of many, and I bring some interesting stories from today as well. This tune exemplifies a great first song in that it perfectly set the tone for the band in a very big, loud way. It also has awesomely cheesy vocals:

Van Halen - Runnin' With the Devil

First, we have news from France and their campaign to save Muslim women from themselves: President Sarkozy has reminded everyone that burqas and niqabs are "not welcome" in French society because they are a symbol of oppression, and a parliamentary committee has drawn up an almost 200-page report proposing a ban on face veils in hospitals, schools, government offices, and transport. It also states that people showing signs of "radical religious practice" should be refused residence cards and citizenship. I'm sorry, I have tried to look at this from all different kinds of angles and I realize what a complex, multi-faceted issue this actually is, but I just can't imagine how a ban on face veiling could be anything but xenophobic and discriminatory. Bad form, France.

Oh, and if you're interested, BBC News has a little piece on current issues surrounding the veil across Europe.

I guess this is just a day for news that pisses me off. I learned recently that a Super Bowl commercial paid for by evangelical group Focus on the Family and starring Tim Tebow will air that magical evening during which I typically spend about 15 minutes hovering around the chips before wandering off into a back room and falling asleep on something soft. Actually, I really enjoyed the last Super Bowl and watched nearly every minute. Oh, but I'm getting off track. Anyway, said commercial will tell the story of Tim Tebow's mother and how doctors recommended that she have an abortion. She refused to have the abortion, and lo and behold, her son turned out to be Tim Tebow, amazing college athlete.

That is indeed a nice story (especially for those who actually know what a "Tim Tebow" is -- sounds like the mascot of a hardware store to me), but there's something fishy going on here. Now, I'll admit that I know next to nothing about logic or what makes a sound logical argument, but something about denying women the right to choose what they do with their bodies because their baby might grow up to be the mascot of a popular hardware store seems a bit funny to me. In fact, denying a woman her right to choose what she does with her body because her child could grow up to be president doesn't seem any better. Incidentally, I also feel like there might have been better things for Focus on the Family to spend 2.8 million dollars on.

Actually, none of this upsets me too much because I know that this kind of stuff really only stirs up the people who were already behind it in the first place, and it will simply piss off most people on the fence, thus making them more likely to either stay on the fence or go to the other side, because you can generally count on people to be spiteful. Boy, that was pretty cynical. If you want to read a little more about it, I highly recommend a very thoughtful piece by Melissa McEwan in the Guardian.

Finally, it seems I've been taken in by all of Apple's obnoxious media buzz for whatever reason, so I feel the need to mention that tomorrow morning, Apple is likely to unveil their new tablet device! There are all kinds of fake images and ads floating around exciting all kinds of nerds in all kinds of inappropriate ways, but there are very few facts out there. I read one thing from a former Apple employee who apparently said that the way in which users interact with the tablet will be "very surprising."

Ooooooh.

Hm, one of the tags on this post seems somehow out of place.