Culture, Bush-bashing and more

It's that time of the year again, when writers in newsrooms across the country put their heads together to come up with the top stories of 2005. Here at the T-G, we've already submitted our ideas and have voted on what we think were the most important events in Bedford County over the past year.

Of course, there will be many stories; whether local, national and international, that some will feel have been excluded or overlooked. Here are just a few items that were on my radar screen this year that I feel deserve some attention.

"Culture" as usual

Tennessee politics and the typical associated shenanigans were in the news a lot this year, with legislators led from Capitol Hill in handcuffs, state troopers found to have criminal records and reports of sexual harassment being commonplace at the state level.

With indictments over bribes, high-level sting operations by the feds, alleged political contributions for promotions and other related tales creating headlines this past year, we learned a new phrase: "Part of the culture."

According to some, it was the "culture" in the halls of power that led to several lawmakers being indicted for allegedly accepting bribes. It was also the long standing "culture" in the Tennessee Highway Patrol that explained the practice of getting moved up the ladder by giving money to certain lawmakers.

Actually, one can use "culture" to defend just about any type of behavior. News reports of "honor killings" in certain countries, where family members slaughter one or all their daughters, is explained at part of the "culture" in those parts of the world. So is the practice of chopping off heads of the infidels by terrorists ... it's part of their "culture."

In fact, "culture" is being used more and more to explain just about every type of human failing or misbehavior.

It will be interesting to see how much more "culture" our culture will put up with in 2006.

Blame game

One thing I've noticed about 2005: It was all George W. Bush's fault.

Yep. The world is totally unprepared when the floor of the Indian Ocean unexpectedly rips apart and kills over 200,000 people ... and it's Bush's fault. A massive storm bares down on the Gulf Coast, thousands refuse to leave and are killed ... and guess whose fault it is? Certainly not the people who were begged to evacuate.

In fact, nearly every calamity, event and news item this year has all been laid at the feet of the president. Can't find a job? Blame Bush. Can't pay the bills, take care of the kids or have bad health? Point the finger at the guy in the White House. Bad weather? That's global warming, which can be tracked right back to a certain someone not signing a piece of paper. When brave soldiers fall in combat, you know who is to blame, and it's not the terrorists.

According to some, Bush really is the most powerful man in the world, exhibiting god-like powers and smiting those who displease him.

Actually, this appears to be part of what columnist Charles Krauthammer called Bush Derangement Syndrome, which is defined as "the acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal people in reaction to the policies, the presidency -- nay -- the very existence of George W. Bush."

I expect the syndrome to spread during this new year ... especially as the elections roll around.

Give me a scandal...ANY scandal

Another symptom of Bush Derangement Syndrome seems to be the unending quest by some in the mainstream media to find some sort of scandal related to the War on Terror to pin on the president. There have been many attempts all this year along these lines and I expect to see many more in the future.

The latest one involves the National Security Agency's terrorist eavesdropping program that was leaked in the New York Times, just in time for the release of a new book.

The president was furious, indicating that the leak harmed national security, hinting at a Justice Department investigation. Of course, the usual suspects were also upset over this too. A representative of Al Qaeda was quoted as stating, "How dare you eavesdrop on us while we're trying to kill all of you! We are outraged!"

Well, not really ... but you get the idea.

It took about two minutes of Internet research to learn that this practice goes all the way back to the days of Jimmy Carter. For almost 30 years, the president has had the constitutional authority to acquire foreign intelligence without a warrant or any other type of judicial blessing, and this has been acknowledged by courts and a number of administrations, both Republican and Democrat. Executive Orders of both presidents Carter and Clinton approved these intelligence efforts.

There's plenty of outrage these days about us violating the rights of terrorists, but where is all the outrage at disclosing National Security information? At press time, we learned that the Justice Department is going to investigate the leaks pertaining to government wiretapping and security programs. However, I doubt the big media will cover this leak investigation as closely as the one we saw involving Valerie Plane because there won't be any chance of nailing Karl Rove.

Hollywood redux

No one like a good movie as much as this writer, but the past few years have been lean ones when it comes to someone actually coming up with an good, original story for the big screen. With a few exceptions, theaters have been full of sequels, remakes, comic book adaptations and tales with a thinly veiled political or social agenda.

I could fill a whole page with the list of remakes of old TV shows, classic and not-so-classic films, along with mega-budget "blockbusters" that barely covered their production costs even after huge DVD sales. Studios dug up the cartoon "Fat Albert" and the 60's sitcom "Bewitched" and turned them into massive flops.

The remake of the 70's cultural sewer known as "The Dukes of Hazzard" proved that audiences will still shell out the bucks for low-brow "humor," car chases, overt insults of southerners in general and scantly-clad tabloid fodder that only appears for five minutes of screen time.

What is worse is that many mainstream film critics try to push movies onto an unsuspecting public that would appeal to only very small percentages of the population. Gay cowboys might have been hip when the Village People were still selling albums, but according to many top critics, everyone should race out to see this latest tale of forbidden love and sheep in "Brokeback Mountain."

The online magazine Slate just published their top 20 films of the year and I only recognized a few. One was called "The Aristocrats," rated NC-17, which consisted of top comedians telling the same filthy joke over and over. "Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic" is touted as "provocative" by some critics, but instead features offensive "comic" stand-up routines about the Holocaust, 9/11 and starving African children. Another highly recommended flick is "Mysterious Skin," a tale so twisted, sordid and sick that even a basic plot description would not be fit for a family newspaper.

And they wonder why box office numbers are so low.

Brian Mosely is a Times-Gazette staff writer.