In perhaps the best news of the day the US Post Office honors Mr. Rogers with a stamp.

Courtesy of WLOX:

It was a beautiful day to honor Mister Rogers with a postage stamp. 

The U.S. Postal Service on Friday released a stamp featuring Fred Rogers, the gentle TV host who entertained and educated generations of preschoolers on "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood." 

The stamp pictures Rogers in his trademark cardigan along with King Friday, a puppet character from the show's Neighborhood of Make-Believe sketch. 

A dedication ceremony was held at the Pittsburgh studio where Rogers filmed his beloved PBS show, which aired between 1968 and 2001. Rogers died in 2003 at age 74. 

Among those attending were Rogers' widow, Joanne, and David Newell, who played Mr. McFeely, the deliveryman on "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood."

I can hardly wait to buy my Mr. Rogers stamps so that I can send a little love and tolerance out into the world.

I have actually been thinking about Mr. Rogers quite a bit recently and often wish that he were still around to help offset so much of the hatred and intolerance that we are seeing today.

But then again just imagine how thrilled he would be with the activism of the Parkland students.

By the way for those who are missing Fred Rogers as I am, there is a new documentary about him coming out on June 8th.

Here is the trailer.

Now George Zimmerman is threatening to feed Jay Z to an alligator. No wonder conservatives love him so much.

Courtesy of the Orlando Sentinel: 

It all started with a documentary that Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter and the Weinstein Company are putting together about the 2012 Sanford shooting, as reported by Variety. Zimmerman said a private investigator with the film crew went to the homes of his parents and uncle. 

The uncle, a retired Army command sergeant major, said the private investigator also trespassed, according to Zimmerman. 

Zimmerman said Monday that he will harm Jay-Z if his family is sought out again.

“What I said is I would beat him as if I was Solange, and he would find himself coming out of the south side of a gator if he comes to Florida and bothers my family,” Zimmerman told the Orlando Sentinel. 

Zimmerman was referring to the sister of Beyonce Knowles, Jay-Z’s wife, who famously hit Jay-Z in an elevator. The elevator security footage went viral. 

Rapper Snoop Dogg seems to have jumped into the feud, writing on Instagram: 

“If one hair on Jays hair is touched that’s when the revolution will b televised. ... Trayvon Martin Gone but not forgotten.”

Zimmerman does realize that Jay Z is a very wealthy man who is constantly surrounded by armed bodyguards, right?

This is not some unarmed seveneen year old kid that he is threatening here.

Speaking of Trayvon Martin, get a load of another quote from Zimmerman about this issue:

In a chilling reference to the shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, Zimmerman grimly tells us “I know how to handle people who fuck with me, I have since February 2012.”

You know that almost makes me want Zimmerman to start some shit with Jay Z and Snoop Dogg. 

Then it might be there turn to "stand their ground."

Former Canadian skinhead says that Donald Trump has "normalized" white supremacy.

Courtesy of The Star: 

“I don’t know if you’re a Trump fan,” Galloway says, as I nearly fall out of my chair. “But the guy down south there is enabling this stuff, I believe, by allowing it to be normalized.” 

Galloway believes many prejudiced eyes see Trump as both a modern day prophet and a warrior who is fighting for the white side. Trump has more dog whistles than you’d find inside the Westminster Kennel Club. 

In rhetoric and by tweet, Galloway thinks Trump is making hate great again. “The movement is growing because of the normalized message coming from the United States,” he says. “It’s so often that people are latching on to this.” 

This is from a new documentary called "Skinhead" which will be broadcast tomorrow on Canadian television.

And Canada is not the only place where the number of white supremacists have started to rise.

Courtesy of CNN:

Millions of Americans are shocked by the recent displays of white supremacy on US soil. But it's not just America that is seeing these types of demonstrations. 

This Saturday, an estimated 60,000 people marched through Warsaw on Poland's independence day, with some of the marchers burning flares and carrying banners that read "White Europe" and "Clean Blood." Far-right symbols from the darkest corners of European white supremacy were proudly worn. One marcher said in a television interview that his goal was to "remove Jewry from power." To be clear, Polish leaders afterward said they condemned the hateful messages and stressed many thousands were there to celebrate the country's holiday. 

Images from Warsaw immediately bring to mind this summer's deadly rallies in Charlottesville, Virginia, and for good reason: A thread of anguish and hatred connects white supremacists across the Atlantic with the ones in America. Indeed, one of the most underreported stories of Charlottesville is that Richard Spencer, David Duke, and Matthew Heimbach -- three prominent rally organizers -- have all been involved with European white nationalist individuals or organizations.

I don't think any of us are even remotely surprised that Donald Trump is helping the spread of white supremacy here in America, but to find that the same is happening not just in Canada, but around the world as well, is more than a little unsettling.

I still remember when America was considered a beacon for hope around the world.

And now suddenly the man that occupies our highest office is considered an inspiration for hatred, racism, and religious intolerance.

Dutch documentary reveals the connections between Donald Trump and Russian mobsters.

Courtesy of Alternet: 

Donald Trump's business partners have included Russian oligarchs and convicted mobsters, which could make the president guilty of criminal racketeering charges. 

That's one of the eyebrow-raising takeaways from a 45-minute Dutch documentary that aired last week, titled The Dubious Friends of Donald Trump, Part 1: The Russians. The first installment of the investigative reporting series, produced by Zembla, does what no American TV network has yet dared to do—take a deep look at the organized crime links and corrupt international business strategies used by Trump and his partners in his properties. 

It starts with Trump's luxury tower in the lower Manhattan neighborhood of Soho, where his partner in building that highrise was Bayrock LLC, whose primary investor was a Russian mining oligarch and another major investor was a convicted Russian mobster named Felix Sater. 

"Why did 60 Minutes pass on the Bayrock story in 2016? Why did ABC News' Brian Ross pass on the Trump Soho [Tower] story in 2015? Why has no major network done any kind of documentary on what the Dutch just did?" asks James Henry, a corporate lawyer-turned-financial investigative reporter who writes for DCReport.org. Henry is one of several investigative reporters whose work on Trump's shady business empire is profiled in the film. 

The documentary shows how Trump not only helped hide the identity of his mobster business partner, prompting an ongoing lawsuit accusing Trump of criminal racketeering, but also how Trump used that internal company crisis to demand more money. It goes on to show how Russian oligarchs saw Trump's properties as a way to get their money out of Russia, and describes the international financial networks that are akin to a pyramid scheme for money laundering. It also notes how the law firm of Trump's political adviser, former New York City mayor Rudy Guiliani, helped set up a money-laundering account in the Netherlands used by Bayrock. 

If you are wondering if this has anything to do with that investigation into Russian money laundering that got shut down recently, well duh. 

This is the kind of information that they are desperately trying to hide, and that is why it needs to be spread far and wide.

Just another reminder of how far down the rabbit hole we have fallen.

Courtesy of US Uncut:

Idiocracy has been a long-cherished sci-fi satire in cult circles, telling the tale of two people who wake up from a cryogenic sleep to find that the country has become a wasteland of anti-intellectualism. 

Now, ten years later, the co-writer of the cult comedy classic, Etan Cohen, thinks that the movie is satire no longer, marveling that his movie has gone from fiction to non-fiction. On Twitter today, Cohen used his movie to perfectly sum up our current political climate. 

I never expected #idiocracy to become a documentary.

— Etan Cohen (@etanjc) February 24, 2016

 Speaking with The Hill, he quipped that “I thought the worst thing that would come was everyone wearing Crocs.” Cohen’s jokes come from a place of disenchanted exhaustion. Many voters are sharing in this exhaustion during an election season where a reality show host who gloated recently “I love the poorly educated!” is a frontrunner for President of the United States of America.

I have only watched this movie once because I thought it was a little too stupid, and unbelievable. But now I'm actually afraid to watch and see how accurately it reflects our current reality.

I swear the next person who says "Americans are smart" in my vicinity is going to get punched in the nose.

I don't think that Michael Moore's next movie is going to win him any conservative fans either.

Looks pretty good, I think I will definitely put that in my Netflix queue.

Gee I wonder how the Right Wing will respond.

Oh that's right, we already know.

Sarah Palin has ghostwriter launch a defense against preacher's comments on daughter's blog, which she then links to on her Facebook page while hiding behind Trig.

Sarah Palin hiding behind her favorite shield, while holding his arms so he won't smack her.

Okay so as you know there is a documentary which we discussed here on Saturday about an Evangelical minister's confusion as to how Christians can be both pro-life and pro-gun.

The documentary features Palin's speech at the NRA, which of course means that she must defend.

However since she is such an incredible coward, that defense takes the form of a pathetic Facebook post, which links to Bristol's blog, where Nancy French launches a tirade on her behalf, while Bristol scouts new locations for her next selfie.

And this woman still has supporters?

Here is the Facebook post: 

Preacher calling me out with his holier-than-thou condemnation for being both pro-Second Amendment and pro-life? I couldn't be prouder. And typically twisting context to fit his bizarre rant... er, "sermon?" Bring it on. Good job, shepherd. Don't think too many Americans will be led astray by you standing at the pulpit on this one.

Does anybody else actually hear their brain cells screaming as they die while reading this?

Palin then links to a rather lengthy screed by Nancy French attacking the minister in the film, and bitching that he is being hypocritical by not calling out pro-choice people over the "murders" they support.

The entire post is way too long and batshit crazy to cut and paste here in its entirety, but here are a few samples just to give you an idea of the lunacy.

The movie is nothing more than liberal propaganda camouflaged as “thoughtful commentary.” The pastor says he caters to the conservatives and Tea Party activists as the camera pans over some photos of the pastor with famous conservatives – including what looks like the Pastor Saeed prayer vigil with Ted Cruz and one of my mom and dad with (apparently) the pastor and perhaps his wife. It looks like it was taken in Alaska. (I asked Mom about it – she doesn’t remember taking that photo and doesn’t remember meeting them.) 

It speaks to the weapon issue, though he conveniently skips the Bible passages that talk about being armed and protecting one’s family. The pastor says he doesn’t want to be labeled as a “liberal,” though he spouts leftist talking points from the first moments of the movie.

(There's a passage in the Bible about being armed with assault weapons?  Man you forget so much when you haven't read something for a decade or three.)

Here’s my question. Since the number of deaths per year by gun users is dwarfed by the number of people killed through abortions, where’s the moment in the movie when he turns to Lucy and challenges HER beliefs that allow babies to get killed? (Lucy is of course pro-choice.) Oh, that’s right — because it’s produce by a pro-abortion activist.

(Now I am not sure which kind of "produce" Nancy is referring to here, so I will go out on a limb and suggest it is probably lettuce which I am told the Palins put on their mooseburgers and call "salad.")

The Pastor keeps asking the most inane question “Can Christians be pro-life and pro-guns?” Maybe he thinks that the swelling emotional music behind the words somehow make them more “important.”

(Or it could just be a very important question even without the music. You know for those of us who DON'T have Soldier of Fortune magazine sharing the same bookshelf as the Bible.)

He must not know the importance of guns to my family, and many other families just like us. 

We use those guns to FILL OUR FREEZER. To “live off the land” if you want to call it that. (Once again the Palins live less than a mile away from Wal-mart and have many fast food joints and fine restaurants quite near their home.) We use those guns to PROTECT ourselves, like many, many other people. (The Palins have NEVER used a firearm to protect themselves. And we know that because if they had we would have NEVER stopped hearing about it.) Gun’s aren’t used strictly for violence like people want to paint them to be. I carry and I know by carrying its keeping my kids and my household a whole lot safer from creeps like we unfortunately face everyday. (Is that why when that last stalker showed up at her house she ran to her Mommy's to hide out?)

It must be nice to sit back in your pew and let others defend you. (Uh, should I point out the obvious here?)

But it just sounds cheap and cowardly to me. I think Christians have a DUTY to carry and protect the innocent. (Seriously WHICH Bible are these people reading?)

If you want to know what the Bible REALLY says about topics like this, buy my Mom’s new devotional instead of watching this new film.

So after that last remark you almost have to wonder if Palin was REALLY upset about the way she was characterized in this documentary, or if she just saw this as a way to play the victim and pimp her new book?

Well I certainly have my theory.

You know this whole thing where Nancy French pretends to be Bristol, and Sarah pretends that her daughter loves her and is using her blog to defend her, is becoming more than a little psychotic.

I actually know at least two different therapists who would love to have a group session with Sarah, Bristol, and Nancy just to help sort out the different identities and to determine the level of psychosis.

New documentary about the incongruous connection between the pro-life and pro-gun advocates features a very familiar face.

Courtesy of Addicting Info:  

The documentary The Armor of Light is opening Oct. 30, and features an Evangelical minister who walks the audience through the question, “is it possible to be both pro-gun and pro-life?” Reverend Rob Schenck is an anti-abortion activist and serves as a fixture on the political far right, but he breaks with the cult to press conservatives on the conflict in their so-called values. 

The trailer of the documentary opens on the keynote address Sarah Palin gave to the 2014 NRA convention feeding the fear that the government is coming for people’s guns and 2nd Amendment rights are being stripped away by the left. Palin told the audience “Gals, now, ya know, ammo is expensive! Don’t waste a bullet on a warning shot.” She got a standing ovation for the line.

Who better to demonstrate the lunacy of the Christian pro-gun than Sarah Palin?

After all she is essentially the epitome of everything wrong with both the Christian fundamentalists and those who believe the 2nd Amendment is the ONLY Constitutional right worth defending.

Speaking of Palin as it turns out we were not the only ones horrified over her Facebook post yesterday:

If you want to understand the type of thinking progressives forces are up against in the eternal struggle for America’s sanity, look no further than Sarah Palin – the country’s greatest example of banal mediocrity and willful ignorance. Palin isn’t completely stupid, she’s just very not-bright, which in the Fox News era translates into huge amounts of influence and success. Palin has hacked America’s Id and now speaks for it via her facebook page. 

In another gnawingly irritating and downright bizarre screed against Obama for his fictional transgressions against ‘real Americans’ (white people), Palin has outdone herself with a wonderful mixture of sexual innuendo, racism and violent rage.

Like I said Sarah Palin is the perfect example to use when you are demonstrating the ignorance of a particular group or the negativity of a particular movement.

In fact her major contribution to the world seems to be as a measuring tool to determine just how batshit crazy or hateful a person, organization, or political movement is by comparison. 

Alabama Klu Klux Klan brags about having members who are teachers, politicians, and military members. Has agenda strikingly similar to that of today's Republican party.

Okay that was a little troubling.

What is even more troubling is that their agenda items look kind of familiar: 

1. “The recognition that America was founded as a Christian nation.” 
2. “The recognition that America was founded as a white nation.” 
3. “Abolish all affirmative action programs.” 
4. “Put American Troops on the Borders and Stop the Flood of Illegals.” 
5. “Abolish all anti-gun laws and encourage every adult to own a weapon.” 
6. “Drug testing all welfare recipients.” 
7. “Privatization of the public school system.” 
8. “Restoring individual freedom to Christian America.” 
9. “Sovereignty of the states.” 
10. Outlaw abortion. 
11. Outlaw homosexuality.

 Gee where have I heard almost all of those before? 

This documentary actually premieres tonight on the BBC.

If I were you I would probably watch it with all of the lights on, because this is the kind of thing which can certainly cause nightmares. Especially when you consider just how mainstream some of their ideas are now becoming.

Documentary exposes the inhumane canned lion hunt industry in Africa.

Courtesy of MSNBC: 

The death of a beloved lion named Cecil, at the hands of an American hunter in Zimbabwe, struck a nerve around the globe. The debate about the ethics of that hunt still provokes strong emotions. On Wednesday, October 7th, MSNBC will focus on another side of the industry, the legal side. Blood Lions, a one hour documentary, takes viewers inside the seldom seen world of the “canned hunting” industry in South Africa.

Also known as captive bred lion hunting, canned hunts allow hunters to select their lion ahead of time and complete a hunt in a matter of just three days. Canned hunts provide a cheaper, faster, and a surefire way of hunting predatory animals, compared to wild lion hunts which may last weeks with a much lower probability of success. Americans are largely fueling the industry, with 62% of the trophies being imported into the United States, according to Humane Society International. 

The documentary includes the perspective of both proponents of this practice who say that hunting helps preserve Africa’s lion population and conservationists who are quick to dispute that claim.

So I have been seeing advertisements for this show popping up on MSNBC quite regularly lately, and it never ceases to anger me when I do.

I am not the biggest fan of trophy hunting in the first place, but the idea of raising these magnificent animals in a cage for their entire lives simply to allow some fat asshole to murder them in an enclosure from which they cannot escape, so that he can finally feel like a man, just makes me want to vomit.

I understand the need to hunt for food, but I will NEVER understand the desire to kill something just to kill it. And to kill a tame animal raised by humans is even more revolting.

In my opinion THIS is the only manner in which people and lions should interact.

Two of Josh Duggar's sisters, and his mother, appear on TLC program about child sex abuse. Oh this ought to be good.

Courtesy of People:  

Jessa (Duggar) Seewald and Jill (Duggar) Dillard appeared on TLC's documentary Breaking the Silence Sunday, seeking education to address the aftermath of the abuse they faced at the hands of brother Josh Duggar more than a decade ago.

"It's amazing to understand that there are so many people that deal with this exact same thing in their own families," said Jill, 24. 

"So just being educated is very good." Jessa, 22, noted, "I feel like this should be a discussion people are having, even regularly. I think that it shouldn't be a taboo subject, that we should be bringing awareness to child sexual abuse and talking about this." 

Okay I'm confused.

Didn't the Duggar family do just about everything they could think of, including the threat of a lawsuit, to keep people from talking about Josh Duggar's molestation of at least five young girls, including his own sisters?

And doesn't the family still claim that none of the victims even knew they were being abused?

Michele Duggar also appeared on the program and here is what she said:

"I was so glad that my girls and I were able to do this together and that we could just be a support and encouragement to each other to be able to gain more information about this important topic," said Michelle, 48. 

Yes well that's all well and good but it does not really speak to the fact that the family's refusal to get Josh Duggar the treatment he really needed early on, and their ignorance about his predatory impulses, allowed him to victimize his own siblings as well as other young women who made the mistake of sleeping over at the Duggar household.

Not only that but the fact that Josh was also recently outed as a paying customer for the online cheating website Ashley Madison, and that he paid for sex with a porn star, should also suggest that Josh's problems were not due to childlike curiosity, but rather to a pathological need for illicit sexual encounters that may very well have resulted from his upbringing and the example set by his parents.

If true than the problems in the Duggar family are undoubtedly more problematic than we have been led to believe, and they should be the last people trotted out as "victims" in any sense of the word.

Michael Moore announces new documentary "Where to Invade Next" about America's need for infinite war.

Here's the 6-min video from the Periscope I just did regarding my new film, WHERE TO INVADE NEXT. #W2IN #TIFF15 https://t.co/lKhLhTPUpn

— Michael Moore (@MMFlint) July 28, 2015

Courtesy of The Guardian:  

Michael Moore’s new film, Where to Invade Next, explores how the US government maintains a state of “infinite war”, according to the Oscar-winning documentary film-maker. 

He said Where to Invade Next, which was filmed across three continents, was “epic in nature”, but made quietly with a small crew. “There’s usually someone chasing us,” he said. It seems the film, which premieres at the Toronto film festival in September, will cover some of the same ground as his Palme d’Or-winning Fahrenheit 9/11, a critique of the Bush administration’s “war on terror” detailing the various dictatorships that have been supported by the US administration in the interests of maintaining conflicts that profited America. Fahrenheit 9/11 is the highest-grossing documentary of all time, taking close to $120m (£75m) at the US box office. 

“The issue of the United States at infinite war is something that has concerned me for quite some time, and provides the necessary satire for this film,” said Moore in the Periscope broadcast. 

“[There’s] this constant need it seems to always have an enemy – where’s the next enemy so we can keep this whole military industrial complex alive, and keep the companies that make a lot of money from this in business. I’ve always been a little bothered by that, so that’s where the comedy comes from.”

Sounds like a very timely film.

Gee I wonder how the Right Wing will respond to it?

Oh yeah, we already know that don't we?

"When God Left the Building" a documentary on the decrease in church attendance in America.

Courtesy of the film's website:  

A pervasive part of the American fabric is fraying and decaying before our eyes. THE CHURCH IS WITHERING. 

Though the vast majority (77%) of Americans identify themselves as Christians, they have largely stopped attending church. LESS THAN 20% OF THE POPULATION now makes it to church in a typical week. Some 4000 churches are closing every year. It’s a major and unprecedented social upheaval. 

The film follows a church that has seen its attendance plunge from 900 to 40. In addition to external cultural factors that affect all churches, this church is disintegrating from the inside from a variety of human storms. A pastor who doesn’t know who or what God is. Fights over petty things. A faction of angry ex-members that devises a plan to take over the church. 

Throughout the story, cameras also visit other dying churches—as well as innovative new forms of church that are thriving. These range from a ministry in a Pennsylvania pub to an outreach in Los Angeles that brings joy to skid-row moms. 

By the end of the film, viewers will EXPERIENCE HOPE and a refreshing glimpse into how faith may be pursued in the future.

As you may have noticed this is not an anti-religion documentary but really one exploring the reasons behind the decrease in church attendance and suggesting that perhaps there needs to be a new paradigm created to meet the needs of today's believer. 

You may be surprised to learn that I have nothing against that idea.

I actually have nothing against people embracing ancient superstitions so long as they do not bleed into the political spectrum, undermine science, or negatively impact our education system.

After all people believe in all kinds of things, like Tarot card reading, horoscopes, feng shui, and all kinds of silly things. The only time that I find that offensive is if they try to push their superstitious nonsense onto others.

That is essentially why I am not at all sad to see that church attendance is dramatically down these days. 

While I am perfectly fine with individuals believing in nonsense, I am not at all comfortable with large groups who believe that nonsense and then feel it is their duty to convince others to believe it as well.

There are deleted scenes from "Jesus Camp" that may be even creepier than the actual documentary.

So Rachael's "gifts" are conversing with imaginary beings, speaking gibberish, and seeing things that are not there.

Yeah we have a definition for that in the secular world as well, and it's called "Schizophrenia."

"Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch’s War on Journalism" is now available online. If you haven't seen it...well there is really no excuse for having never seen it.

Courtesy of Raw Story:  

The film charts the rise of Fox News, outlining the marketing-based techniques that make the channel such “compelling” viewing — the “Fox News Alert,” the blurring of journalism and commentary, and the deceptive use of the chyron, i.e. the lower third of the viewing area on a typical television screen. 

In addition to that, the film also reviews Fox New’s coverage both of the 2000 presidential election and the run-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, demonstrating how the network successfully established the talking points used by those in the so-called “liberal media.”

Personally I have watched this documentary about three times now.

Typically I have to watch it incrementally because I get so pissed off I want to pick Sean Hannity up by his ankles and beat Roger Ailes to death with him.

HBO films documentary on Scientology. Has 160 lawyers looking at it before broadcast. You know that might not be enough.

Courtesy of CNN:  

HBO is backing a documentary based on "Going Clear," a book about Scientology and Hollywood -- and isn't taking any chances with the legal side of things. 

"We have probably 160 lawyers" looking at the film, HBO Documentary Films President Sheila Nevins told The Hollywood Reporter. (HBO, like CNN, is a unit of Time Warner.) 

"Going Clear," by Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Lawrence Wright ("The Looming Tower"), digs into the life of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard and the influence his church has had on its believers, many of whom have close ties to Hollywood.

I have believed for years that Scientology exists solely as an opportunity for religious people to recognize how fundamentally ridiculous ALL religions are.

It is true that Scientology is filled with the so much batshit crazy that I tend to believe that L.Ron Hubbard was just putting everybody on, and would be shocked to learn that not only did his completely made up religion survive, but that it prospered.  However if you if you really examine religions, there is really NONE that stand up to even the most basic scrutiny. (Golden plates transcribed in "reform Egyptian" that only Joseph Smith ever saw? Seriously Mormons?)

And the list of famous people who follow Scientology is jaw dropping. From Tom Cruise, John Travolta, and Sharon Stone to J.D. Salinger, William S. Burroughs, and Van Morrison there are a number of highly intelligent and talented people who buy into its bullshit.

Well I certainly hope that HBO is adequately prepared for the backlash, because the Scientologists are famously litigious and not know for taking perceived attacks on their beliefs lightly.

After South Park's hilarious Scientology episode the "church" went after Trey Parker and Matt Stone with everything they had. Fortunately they found nothing they could use against the duo, but it was not for lack of trying.

Katie Couric turns her sights to gun violence.

Courtesy of the Hollywood Reporter:  

Katie Couric and Stephanie Soechtig, who tackled childhood obesity in this year's documentary Fed Up, are setting their sights on an even bigger hot-button issue: gun violence. 

"Much like Fed Up traced the history of the obesity epidemic, this film will trace the history of guns and their impact on society," says Couric, currently Yahoo's global news anchor. "We hope we can deconstruct this complex issue and give people a better understanding of existing and proposed gun laws and take a closer look at one of the most polarizing issues of our time." 

Soechtig, who co-wrote and directed Fed Up, tells THR she will helm the new doc, which will trace U.S. gun-control laws and gun violence as well as the backstory of the NRA. Soechtig, 37, and Couric, 57, have been working on initial research and plan to have Couric produce, conduct interviews and narrate, as she did with Fed Up, which premiered at Sundance in January, grossed $1.5 million in theaters via Radius-Weinstein Co and is available on iTunes and Amazon.

I would actually expect this documentary to do better than Fed Up did in theaters simply because gun violence is in the news far more frequently and people are paying very close attention to it right now.

I know I will promote the hell out of it, and embed clips as soon as they become available.

Some might say that Couric cannot really have much of an impact, but all I have to say to that is I would not put anything past somebody who could stop the Palin momentum in 2008 with a mere handful of interviews the way she did.

Look out NRA. Katie's coming!

"To Be Takei." New documentary about the life of George Takei.

Courtesy of Fox News:  

Takei's life is the subject of a new documentary, "To Be Takei," which is available on Direct TV from July 3 to August 5 and will be released in theaters August 22. The film explores everything from Takei's childhood imprisonment in a Japanese internment camp to his relationship with his husband, Brad. 

"It documents my story, my life, from the time I was a child imprisoned in US camps, barbed-wire prison camps, simply because we happened to look like the people who bombed Pearl Harbor," Takei said. 

Takei preaches acceptance in diversity in every facet of life - which is why he posts "Star Wars" content as often as he shares "Star Trek" photos. 

"'Star Trek' was science fiction. 'Star Wars' is science fantasy, and that's a lot of fun too," Takei said. "We're a diverse country with many different races, many different religions, many different histories and backgrounds and we have to respect each other and that's the essential message of our documentary 'To Be Takei.'"

Seriously is there anybody who does not love George Takei?

I remember really being a fan of his during his Star Trek days, but what he is doing these days on social media is actually more impressive than the fact that as a gay Asian actor he played such in important role in an iconic television series that his still believed to this day.

By the way if you are not following George on Twitter you are really missing out.

Did you ever wonder what happened to that kid Levi from the documentary "Jesus Camp?" Well here you go.

So apparently his indoctrination took.

I find it interesting that he did not find anything wrong with how the documentary portrayed him, and in fact seems to think of it as a positive thing. Yet he is still firmly entrenched in the world that the film exposed.

But wait he's seen babies raised from the dead? Does he work in a ICU?

I can honestly say that I don't think any documentary upset me as much as Jesus Camp did.

At the end of the film I was actually shaking and very upset with how these impressionable children were being lied to and manipulated.

Perhaps the filmmakers should do a follow up to see where all of those kids ended up, and if their faith is still as strong as Levi's?

I would watch that.

Theoretical physicist, Lawrence Krauss, responds to surprising news that he participated in the making of "documentary" promoting geocentricism.

For all who asked: Some clips of me apparently were mined for movie on geocentricism. So stupid does disservice to word nonsense. Ignore it.
— Lawrence Krauss (@LKrauss1) April 8, 2014

Courtesy of Slate:  

A month or so ago, and again last night, my email, Facebook, and Twitter accounts began to buzz about clips of me appearing in some purported new documentary film promoting … wait for it … geocentrism! The notion that anyone in the 21st century could take seriously the notion that the sun orbits the Earth, or that the Earth is the center of the universe, is almost unbelievable. I say almost, because one of the trials and tribulations of being a scientist with some element of popular celebrity is that I get bombarded regularly by all sorts of claims, and have become painfully aware that ideas as old as the notion that the Earth is flat never seem to die out completely. Nevertheless, even after being inured to such things, I was surprised to learn of the premise of the film, until I learned that its producer also apparently questions the Holocaust. It is tempting to say that both claims are obscene nonsense, but I believe that does a disservice to the word nonsense. 

So, the question I had to face after discovering this abuse of my words was what to do about it. I have no recollection of being interviewed for such a film, and of course had I known of its premise I would have refused. So, either the producers used clips of me that were in the public domain, or they bought them from other production companies that I may have given some rights to distribute my interviews to, or they may have interviewed me under false pretenses, in which case I probably signed some release. I simply don’t know. 

Many people have suggested I litigate. But this approach seems to me to be completely wrong because it would elevate the profile of something that shouldn’t even rise to the level of popular discussion. The best thing we can all do when faced by nonsense like that, or equivalent silliness promoted by biblical fundamentalists who claim that science supports a literal interpretation of the Bible, is to ignore it in public forums, and not shine any light on the authors of this trash. As far as this particular film is concerned, one might hope that it has high production value that cost the producers a lot of money. Then, when no one beyond the three people in the country who may somehow have missed the last 500 years of science and history during their education watches the film, we can hope that the whole misbegotten enterprise will bankrupt the production company, or at least severely cramp its style.

I have to agree with Professor Krauss here, though it might be fun to watch this idiot defend his unauthorized  use of the clips, it would also provide attention to something which does not deserve any.

However I am not sure I agree with him when it comes to his policy of ignoring those who espouse a literal interpretation of the Bible, and try to interject it into politics and education.

While I understand how distasteful it is to engage with mental midgets, there a lot of stupid people in the country who see them as visionaries or prophets.

It would certainly serve the greater good if there were always somebody ready and willing to shame these imbeciles every time they opened their slack jawed mouths.

You know, besides me of course.

As for Kate Mulgrew, the narrator of this piece of fiction, she is none to happy to have her name associated with it either:

“I am not a geocentrist, nor am I in any way a proponent of geocentrism,” Mulgrew said in her statement. “More importantly, I do not subscribe to anything Robert Sungenis has written regarding science and history and, had I known of his involvement, would most certainly have avoided this documentary. I was a voice for hire, and a misinformed one, at that.” 

You know I don't think it exactly helps to convince people that you have a point of view worth considering, when it turns out you had to manipulate stolen film footage of scientists into making it appear they agree with you, and then trick an actress into narrating your "documentary."

I'm just saying.

(P.S. Here is my earlier post about this film.)