I was engaged in a conversation about the whole controversy about saying "Merry Christmas" etc.
This is what I respondeded:

I'm a Jew (although not practicing)...and there are a lot of us in the world who are really tired of everything in the world getting so banal and politically correct. You can't say anything without offending anyone anymore. While the United States is a country of many diverse cultures and religions that invites everybody to "the big table," that doesn't mean that these people need to bulldoze over the prevailing Judeo-Christian culture prevalent un the United States. YOu have a right not to participate in the holiday season and be a Scrooge...but you don't have a right to say that I can't celebrate it...but there is something very beautiful when once a year the world comes together and thinks of the elusive dream of "peace on earth" -- be it with a Hanukah menorah or a yule log in the fireplace. This is not intended as a jab, but apparently you may not have had a positive experience during this time of year, or were raised in an environment of political correctness much in the way the Soviet Russians imposed "Father Frost" and tried unsuccessfully to replace the basic belief systems of millions of people and impose their "religion" of their corrupt and evil ideology.

Where have all the cowboys gone?

This evening I was chatting on line and had someone give me their philosophy of life...and it really gave me pause to think...

I have always lived by the philosophy that my "word' is to be kept. I have always believed that if your "word" is no good then how much better can the rest of you be? I try to do the right things for others that i would have them do for or to me. It isn't always fun...but I think in the long run the "good" will catch up to you.

Why is this concept so hard for some people?

Karma keeps very accurate books.

I have made changes to the way I publish my blogs so that if you wish to receive them automatically when they are published, I will put you on my specific e-mail list that will forward them to you.

"Brokeback Mountain" is a beautiful yet bittersweet study of relationships and how social mores often put a straitjacket on two hearts while still living in the world under wraps. Heath Ledger's performance as "Ennis Del Mar" and Jake Gyllenhall's performance as fellow cowboy "Jack Twist" and Michelle Williams as Ennis' wife rely on complicated interwoven subtexts as Ennis and Jack grow and bond together. "Brokeback Mountain" is not about what some may characterize as "two gay men" who happen to be rough and tough cowboys, but rather, two fragile souls which bond together in a union in the midst of an unforgiving and misunderstanding world. Ang Lee's direction and Gustavo Santaolalla's musical score is sensitive yet never gets in the way of the story. "Brokeback Mountain" has the ingredients to covet all of the awards to win big in the Golden Globes and the Oscars -- especially the hopelessly tightly wound Gordian Knot which drives Heath Ledger's character.

"Brokeback Mountain" gets four popcorn bags out of four.

Copyright © 2005 by Ivars Bezdechi.

I really don't understand why those with more liberal views than I are the first ones to prevent and or demean someone with opposing views than their own....they are always hyperventilating and are prone to heckel those who might have opinions other than their own.. They accuse people on the "right side of the aisle" of hate speech, but they end up doing it themselves by preventing others from expressing themselves. They accuse conservatives of being "intolerant," yet they are being "tolerant" when they preventing an opposing view to be expressed?

Conservative Anne Coulter, in my opinion, is rude and brash. I don't agree with all what she says and how she says it. But just as those at the University of Connecticut put out the red carpet (no pun intended) to whack job Cindy Sheehan (who I really disagree with but defend her right to express her beliefs), they were less than conciliatory to Anne Coulter. What about Anne Coulter's right to freedom of speech? What about her right to express her beliefs? Even Hillary Clinton was the victim of those on the far left who were intolerant of her views.

So many liberal people these days could be accused of being intolerant of diverse views just as they accuse others of being intolerant.... The United States was built on the premise of offering of what has been called a "marketplace of ideas." When others are prevented from expressing themselves, one could look upon this type of behavior as one group trying to have their own monopoly in this so-called "marketplace."

It all comes down to the fact is that by themselves, the Democratic or Republican parties can never win an election without those, so as myself, who are independent. Seeing how the liberals are portraying themselves these days -- I can only suggest that more people would be apt to hear to listen to their point of view if they were more tolerant of others views, not demean them, and not scream so loud.

Hecklers Cause Coulter to Cut UConn Speech

Associated Press
Dec 07 11:14 PM US/Eastern

STORRS, Conn. - Conservative columnist Ann Coulter gave up trying to finish a speech at the University of Connecticut on Wednesday night when boos and jeers from the audience became overwhelming. Coulter cut off the talk after 15 minutes and instead held a half-hour question-and-answer session. "I love to engage in repartee with people who are stupider than I am," Coulter told the 2,600 people at Jorgensen Auditorium.

Coulter's appearance prompted protests from several groups, including Students Against Hate and the Puerto Rican/Latin American Cultural Center. They criticized her for spreading a message of hate and intolerance. Nearly 100 students gathered inside the Student Union for a rally against Coulter. About a half-dozen people held protest signs outside the auditorium. After a book signing following her appearance, Coulter called the audience's reaction "typical." Coulter, originally from New Canaan, Conn., has a history of bashing Democrats in best-selling books, frequent television appearances and speeches. Harding University in Arkansas dropped her from its lecture series in September, citing her abrasive image. Last April, the president of the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota denounced a speech on the campus by Coulter, calling it hateful.

In October 2004, University of Arizona police arrested two men who ran on stage and threw custard pies at Coulter; one of the pies glanced off her shoulder. In her speech at UConn, Coulter called Bill Clinton an "executive buffoon" who won the presidency only because Ross Perot took 19 percent of the vote. She called California Sen. Barbara Boxer a good candidate for the Democrats because "she is a woman and she's learning disabled."

During the question-and-answer session, someone asked Coulter if she really was against a woman's right to vote. "Not having women vote is a joke," she said, reversing comments she has previously made. Eric Knudsen, a 19-year-old sophomore journalism and social welfare major at UConn, didn't attend the speech. "We encourage diverse opinion at UConn, but this is blatant hate speech," said Knudsen, head of Students Against Hate. Kareem Mohni, a 20-year-old junior and a member of a campus Republicans group, said he was disgusted with the Jorgensen crowd. "It really appalled me that we're not able to come together as a group and listen to a different view in a respectful environment," he said.