On The Orlando Nightclub Terror Attack

There are really no words for what is now the worst mass shooting in United States history.  I am still trying to understand why the gunman, who supposedly had mental issues (go figure), but pledged allegiance to ISIS, did what he did.  I heard also that he was enraged by the sight of two men kissing.

Which brings me to my next thought.  Why target a gay nightclub?  Though I believe I answered my own question before, why gay people?  What could they have possibly done to this man that he felt the need to shoot dead 49 people?  If it is indeed true that he was not just motivated by other terror attacks, but also hatred of gays, he will be answering for that in the afterlife, as he was shot dead by SWAT teams.

The shooter was known to the FBI, and should not have been able to get a gun.  He purchased his guns legally, he had licenses.

But I'm not going to focus on the thorny issue of gun control.  I'm confident that there are those in the media doing so already.  I will focus, though, on hate.  It has no place in our society, whether it's against gays, Muslims (who are feeling the heat yet again from this attack), or any other group of people.  An attack on one group is an attack on everyone.

We need to rise above hate, period.  As one Facebook friend asked after learning of the shooting, "Where is the LOVE?"  Hate led to this heinous act, and hate is very likely driving the reaction to the shooting.  We all need to come together for the victims of this tragedy.  And we must do everything in our power to make sure that something like this never happens again.

On The Brock Turner Rape Case

Think about what a Facebook friend had to say about the case of Brock Turner.....

"The whole Brock Turner case has been bothering me for days. I've got nieces, coworkers and friends in the same age group, after all. The more I read about it, the more incensed I get.

Rape is sexual assault. If you have sex with someone without their consent, that's rape. If someone isn't aware of what you're doing to them sexually because they're drunk/unconscious/drugged, that's rape.

It doesn't matter whether it was "20 minutes of action", or five minutes or ten. How long it lasted does not lessen what it is.

You've probably read about his amazing swim times, then 20 minutes of action. Are we supposed to applaud that 20 minutes or feel sorry that it was just 20 minutes of action?

Dude redefined "dumb jock" all the more and made it worse.

Friends with children, say "yes" and "no" to your kids within reason. I know you love them, but not teaching them what "no" means is doing them a disservice. Teach your kids how to say yes and no, even if it means they'll say yes and no to you every now and then.

Once they become teenagers and young adults, they need to know when a yes is a yes and a no is a no."

Brock Turner is the Stanford University swimmer accused and then convicted of raping an unconscious woman.  The judge in his case sentenced him to very little prison time, believing that jail would have a negative impact on him.  Turner's father then said his son was jailed for "20 minutes of action."

What Turner (and his father) obviously fail to understand is that he committed a crime, for which he should have received a harsh prison term, and probably would have, if he was less well known, or well off, or especially if he was a person of color.

If a woman says no to sex, and a man forces himself on her, it is rape.  If a woman is incapacitated, and cannot consent, and a man forces himself on her, it is rape.  How many ways can one possibly say this?

Brock Turner practically got away with committing a crime, when he should have received the same treatment and scrutiny given to Bill Cosby.  Rape is wrong, period.  No means no, period.  If a man doesn't understand this, he has no business going near a woman.

Comment....as you see fit.

THE NO CHILL ZONE Oscars Report

First of all, let me say that I did not watch the 88th annual Academy Awards on ABC last night.

However, it was less because of an intentional boycott, and more because of an inability to pick up the local television station(s) in my area, and no access to cable.

However, thanks to the Internet and social media, I know some of the highlights from last night's broadcast.

Alejandro Inarritu won the Best Director Oscar for "The Revenant."

Leonardo Dicaprio (finally) won his first Oscar for Best Actor, also in "The Revenant."

Brie Larson won Best Actress for her role in the movie "Room."

"Spotlight" won the Oscar for Best Picture.

"Mad Max:  Fury Road" won the most Oscars last night.

Vice President Joe Biden made an appearance, along with Lady Gaga (who performed "Til It Happens To You"), to talk about rape culture in Hollywood.

But the night belonged to host Chris Rock, whose opening monologue raised a lot of eyebrows.

And we even had a brief appearance from controversial actress, FOX News personality, and Patheos columnist Stacey Dash.

Congratulations to all the winners at the ceremony.  Many will say that your trophies are well deserved.

That being said, do I wish that the nominees were more diverse?  Absolutely!  But was I really surprised when they failed to nominate people of color for two years in a row?  No.

The unfortunate fact is, the people who have been nominating films and individuals have been reflected in who even gets a shot at a trophy in the first place.  Most of them, according to many figures (you can Google them if you'd like) are white, male, and old.
New Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs has promised to diversify the nominating body of the Academy, and I hope she follows through. 

There are good actors and directors of color there; the Academy (and Hollywood, generally) just have to give them a fair chance.  There have also been some good films with actors of color.  Again, just give them a chance, not just because they are black or brown, but perhaps because they are worthy.

Maybe at next year's Oscars we will see some progress, if not necessarily wins, for people of color in Hollywood.  Until then, we must keep up the fight to be seen and heard.

Are there any other major stories from last night's broadcast that I may have missed?  Leave them in the comments section.

News Wrap Up, February 24th, 2016

It's time for THE NO CHILL ZONE News Wrap Up.

First, I had the (dis)pleasure of reading a piece on so called "white guilt," by FOX News contributor and Patheos columnist Stacey Dash.  Apparently, a school showed a video on "white guilt," and not surprisingly, people were not happy, including African American conservative Dash.

I will spare you what she had to say, but if you ask me, there is NO SUCH THING as "white guilt."  When I lived in New York City, and even living here in Connecticut, when I pass by white people (especially white women), they look at me as if I am a physical threat.  And when I worked as a cashier last year, I dealt with white customers who acted as if they were superior to me.

And let's not forget that racism and bigotry are still a huge problem in America, as shown by recent events.

White guilt.  WHAT white guilt?

Second, I read an article on SpoiledNYC that said that The Bronx was the least friendly of the five boroughs.

Well, you could have fooled me.  I think ALL five boroughs are unfriendly, but whatever.  I don't have to live there anymore, so I really shouldn't care that much.

Finally, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump won last night's Nevada caucuses.  But he also made headlines for saying that he loves "poorly educated" people, who in part delivered the win for him.

I suppose that Trump does love the poorly educated.  Those are the people that he easily can get over on.

But it's not these people lack education.  It's more that they lack information, getting it only from a few sources.

In any case, there is an old saying..."When you stand for nothing, you fall for anything."  That can pretty much sum up ALL of Trump's supporters.

Comment...as you see fit.

On The Recent New York City Slashings

Over the last few weeks, innocent people, minding their own business, have been the victims of random slashings in New York City.  These attacks obviously have a lot of residents concerned for their safety, and wondering who is going to be the next victim.

These attacks are not being carried out by one person.  It seems that every other day, there is a new victim, and another unhinged person that is responsible.  I see the stories on the local newscasts about this wave a slashings, and wonder, What the hell is going on?

What boggles my mind as well is that so many attacks happened in the neighborhoods of Manhattan, such as Greenwich Village and SoHo.  I always believed those enclaves to be safe, and well protected.

The Mayor of New York City,  Bill de Blasio, says crime is at its lowest levels in a long time.  Yet, these slashings are trending upward.  It might be time to address the problem.

A few of the individuals arrested for the attacks have mental illnesses.  They should be getting treated for their issues.  But I think these folks are falling through the cracks (Correct me if I'm wrong).  I would certainly hope that they are getting help now, although they should be held responsible for their crimes.  There is certainly no excuse for attacking innocent people.

Hopefully, this is just a phase, and as the days and weeks go by, we will hear fewer stories about someone getting slashed for walking down a street.  To have to fear for one's safety, or that of a loved one, is insane.  I hope this nonsense stops sooner rather than later.

On The Paris Terror Attacks

The following post was written on Facebook by a friend, whom like all of us, was angered by the attacks in Paris that left 129 dead and over 300 hurt, many critically.

""One cannot negotiate with psychopaths from the middle ages" How much more must civilized people endure? Buildings taken down, subway attacks, hotel attacks, and on and on it goes. Now Paris. The French have discovered the unintended consequences of open borders. They have now closed them (a little late in the game perhaps). We as Americas stand outraged over the color of coffee cups; outraged expressed by those who celebrate on Thanksgiving by standing outside retail stores determined to be the first one open after the last belch is expressed from dinner. They would (and have) killed for the last I-phone. We have crippled our police officers from doing their job, We teach our children the joys of collectivism and the folly of individualism. We elect politicians who pretend to be like us while they live in their mansions as they bathe in their millions. We have accepted and even embrace mediocrity. We laugh and revel in circus while Rome burns. The best quote of the day from (Facebook friend)'s good friend (name redacted) Destroy them now...I will ask for God's forgiveness afterward. (Facebook friend) begs forgivness for this rare political rant however this is now well beyond the scope of tolerance. Perhaps that this action that has gotten even the French to give up their espressos, pane chocolate, and a 4 day work week to retaliate,,may finally wake nations to do what they need to do quickly and decisively."

I do agree with this Facebook friend (to a certain extent) about getting outraged over trivial items.  And I am glad that the non issue that was the red cup debacle is on the back burner.  We get too worked up over nonsense, which I have been saying all along.  The smallest slights set us off.  Seriously, people, grow the hell up.

Speaking of people who need to grow up, many conservative wing nuts took to social media blaming politicians like President Obama for the Paris attacks (as if he were the one who destabilized an entire region by invading the wrong country in response to 9/11, which led to the establishment of ISIS, among other bad things).  One even suggested that if France's gun laws were not so strict, more lives could have been saved.  But what is to be expected from those always giving the NRA loonies a blow job?

Here is what is known about the attacks thus far.....

129 people are dead, including an American college student.  Over 300 are hurt, many critically.  ISIS has come forward to claim responsibility for the attacks.  France has declared a state of emergency, and has closed it's borders.  All of the attackers are dead, according to police.

I hope that Paris can fully recover from these senseless attacks.  And there is no reason to believe that they won't.  They will back, bigger, better, and stronger than ever.

We need to come together to help France, and to bring those responsible for these attacks to justice.  Really, now is not the time to point fingers and place blame.  We must stand united against terrorism.  Whining about whose fault it is will not get us anywhere.

Comment...as you see fit.

News Wrap Up, November 10th, 2015

It's time for THE NO CHILL ZONE News Wrap Up.

First, let the so-called " War on Christmas" begin!  First, Starbucks Coffee is under fire for putting their drinks in red cups.  And a mall in Long Island, New York, had to change their holiday display after customers complained about it not being in sync with Christmas.

So, this is what people are whining about (now), huh?  Red coffee cups and a modern holiday display.  Meanwhile, we have people starving, homeless, and in poverty to ring in the season this year.

Priorities, people!  GET THEM STRAIGHT.

Second, amid racial tensions, the president and a chancellor of the University of Missouri announced their resignations.  The last straw was that black players on the school's football team refused to play until the president stepped down.

Like comedian and radio personality D.L. Hughley said, "I guess black lives matter on the football field!"

The resignations are a good thing, considering that the race issues could have (and should have) been addressed promptly, rather than letting them spiral out of control.  Hopefully, a lesson learned for the school leadership going forward.

Finally, the publication Deadspin.com released pages of information and graphic images related to embattled Dallas Cowboys player Greg Hardy's domestic violence case.  Hardy was suspended ten games before the NFL players union intervened and got the ban reduced to four games.

The documents provide a blow by blow account of the night in question that led to Hardy's arrest.  He was convicted,  but he appealed and his conviction was tossed, because his ex - girlfriend victim failed to show up to court (It is alleged that he paid her off).

A man who puts his hands on a woman is NOT A MAN AT ALL.  This is not my opinion.  This is the cold hard truth.  Justice did not get Hardy, but God will.

Comment...As you see fit.