Neil deGrasse Tyson Liberal Elite

Neil deGrasse Tyson

Could it be possible that the heralded scientific spokesman, Neil deGrasseTyson, hosting the re-invigorated television science program, Cosmos, is indeed one of the liberal elite that we hear about so much these days? The term "liberal elite" often carries the implicit connotation that the individuals described by the term are hypocritical. When Mr. Tyson recently broadcast his views on the age of the universe on his PBS program, his stance could easily have been taken as an implication that secular views on the age of the universe are a “done deal”. He based this information upon the agreed secular definitions of science fact about the speed of light and it’s true nature in the reality of the universe. The implication could very well be that everyone should just accept that as truth. This attitude is one that many today are increasingly labeling as an elitist position. 

In this program he presumably de-bunked the Creationist “belief” (italics mine) that the universe is only around 6,000 years old. His scientific focus was upon the Crab Nebula; 6,500 light-years or so away from Earth. He explains that the nebula is the result of an exploding star larger than our own sun. The light seen from this nebula takes about 6,500 light-years to reach our eyes. This, of course, works primarily in a static or slower than light universe where nothing else moves along with or as fast as the path of light. Therefore, calculations of distance and time can be problematic.

To assume that Creationists who oppose his science fact, with their own science fact, are simply wrong because they do not rely on the secular viewpoints of the definition of science results and configurations, is to indeed find Mr. Neil deGrasse Tyson on only one side of an argument which indeed possesses alternative views to the so called “liberal elite”. Some of these views are provided by faith to be sure, but others are also provided by good old scientific research itself. To ignore the science side of the opposing view points merely because The Bible, a spiritual book, is involved is to be less than honest toward ones own scientific veracity. If opposing views based upon science research and fact do indeed exist, than they should never be ignored by scientists. 

It would be quite easy, one might attest, to claim that the Big Bang, a dearly held position on the origins of the universe, could have somehow begun and then continued in the 14th of a second that it would require, without light itself, but that would be against known physical laws. Similarly, if the universe had light at its beginning, then it follows that light has always traveled along side of an expanding universe. If the universe were only a week old, then light itself, no matter the speed of it, would not only be seen by those traveling the cosmos in the same direction with light, but light itself would only be a week old. However, this argument isn’t necessary considering the offerings from the Creationist science community.

What are indeed those science issues that Mr. Neil deGrasse Tyson has ignored in his “liberal elite” positions? Briefly, there are many, and some of course include the faith in a universe created with age, and fully functional to support the planned forms of life. However, not everything necessitates a reliance on a universe created with age. For one, distant starlight has never been an adequate argument against a young earth due to the lack of rigidity of the flow of time. Science knows all about the relativity of time and the inaccuracies of clocks, which exist at different physical points in relation to the varying strength of gravity at different locations, right here on our own home planet. Gravity can be so strong that it does indeed affect time and light. 

Science also knows that there are multiple rotating galaxies that could not have lasted billions of years due to the laws of physics that would command them to become twisted conflagrations. Also, there are hot blue stars out in the void which themselves cannot last billions of years. Without going too deeply into any one of these science FACTS, it would be ingenuous to attest to one singular view point toward any science proof or concept which did not present the whole of the matter as it has been unveiled by scientific process itself.

Creation science has called Mr. Neil deGrasse Tyson “on the carpet” to allow for equal time from a science view point not singularly his own or even that of a labeled liberal elite. His response will attest to his “elitist” position and reveal to his public base the depth to which he feels science needs to be exposed to the masses even when it doesn’t necessarily line up with his own views. In the end, it will always be the people who decide if they are getting the whole story. In the interest of science, I hope Mr. Tyson can see his way to equal time for all scientific positions. 

Firefox Enters World War Sex

Brendan Eich

One has to wonder if indeed the recent protests by the Gay lobby over the CEO of Firefox’s contributions to Proposition 8 in California, isn’t symptomatic of a greater world wide war over sex and an individual’s right to choose his own predilection for it accordingly. Brendan Eich,  Mozilla's new CEO made a $1,000 contribution to the California ballot measure back in 2008. It wasn’t until 2012 that the information was uncovered. Now in 2014, the Homosexual Rights lobby is making a stand and calling for everyone to utilize another browser for internet use.

One has to wonder if the lobby itself isn’t developing a “headhunter” mentality in defending their position in the public eye. Recent news has been rife with the mention of this ongoing battle, as is most recently provided by the Phil Robertson scandal involving statements he has made which imperiled the “Duck Dynasty" television show for a brief time until public outcry pressured for his return. 

Author Linda Harvey, who runs a pro-family ministry called Mission America, is now also under attack for a book she has written entitled: Maybe He’s Not Gay. This book, which outlines her reasons pre-pubescent children do not need to be confronted with sexual choices, came under brutal attack by activists who had not even read her book. In the meantime, she has asked Amazon.com to take the book down for offered sale and it is now, for the present time, only offered on her website. 

American food chain, Chic-fil-A was also targeted by a homosexual rights group. They referred to the chain’s food as “hate-filled homophobic Chicken.” They have also attempted to prevent Chick-fil-A from doing business in the state of Illinois. 

The problem isn’t simply a North American one, though much of the impetus for the lobby does indeed come from the United States. The fight, as it were, has appeared across the world. On Dec. 31, the Moscow Theological Academy, the Russian Orthodox Church's top learning institution, removed Deacon Andrei Kuraev from his position within the organization. They claim he regularly appeared in the media with shocking statements, and his activity is overly tumultuous. It was not the deacon's stand on political prisoners or outrageous stunts by musical acts that resulted in his dismissal. Instead, it was a LiveJournal post about a teacher from the Kazan Seminary who was fired for making homosexual advances to students and then given a better job elsewhere. Kuraev believes this exemplifies a broader "gay metastasis" in the church.

BBC News anchor, Clare Balding, was a victim of an abusive internet attack on Twitter over her decision to front the BBC's coverage of the Winter Olympics despite Russia's laws against gays. Miss Balding, herself a lesbian who is about to tie the knot in the near future, felt no remorse or animosity toward those who opposed her. Her attitude is admirable considering that much of the abuse contained slanderous and defamatory language, which incidentally, came from those who support gay rights.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni recently announced his intention to sign a bill dubbed the “jail the gays” bill,  saying he was declaring “war on the homosexual lobby”. In a recent statement, Pope Francis has himself referred to there being a Gay lobby and for there to be a need to have something done in relation to the lobby. He certainly did not mention any sort of “war” on the Gay lobby, but it is clear that conflict can certainly be coming on the horizon with the Pope and the Catholic Church, that is to say, more so than is already present.

Considering the larger scope of the ongoing world war over sex and the inclusion of Firefox CEO Brendan Eich in the issue, despite the action in question being a private one of his own choice and also that of it being an issue from the year 2008, one has to wonder if things aren’t getting to the point that the gay lobby itself is becoming as militant as those they claim to be in contention with. Can we now look forward to the American people losing their right to place votes, as was the case for the Proposition 8 ballot in California, when votes were tossed out after the measure passed? Do businesses like Chic-fil-A not have a right to do business because they don’t agree with the Gay lobby? Will high ranking officials, celebrities and business persons be forced to “go into the closet” in order to allow the Gay rights activists the freedom to not have the burden of opposing view points? 

Brendan Eich and Firefox appear to be only the latest victims dragged into a war over sex that appears to be happening all over the world. It is a fight that may or may not be won in the trenches of legislation, but it is one that will certainly wear out its welcome in the hearts of the public. Just what happens when this resistance lowers is anyone’s guess. When the picket lines are crossed, and the songs of peace and freedom end, what sort of world will we find as a result of the division and animosity created by movements on both sides - simply over sexual preference? 

Captain America on the Edge

Captain America is living on the edge these days. He does this right along with the rest of us, in both movie adventure and, questionably, the real lives we live every day. The Winter Soldier’s story writing and movie making bring us the best of what movies have to offer us today in the way of real life resonance and technical know how which is both involving and uniquely emotionally compelling. 

One may groan at the thought of yet another superhero movie in the offering, and rightfully so some my attest due to the last ten years of post 9/11 movie making, but you would be remiss to skip this second installment of Captain America. We’re no longer in the 1940's folks. The enemy is at our doorstep, in our backyards, and has a very, very big gun aimed right at us.

In todays headline filled information society, we’ve all become begrudgingly aware that something, someone at sometime has come stalking us all. It might not be an overt villain like say, the Red Skull from Captain America: The First Avenger, but it might be something more insidious, more ethereal than can be displayed upon a movie screen whose character is torn from the pages of a comic book. This is a villainy threat that we all have a nagging feeling about and are made aware of now almost on a daily basis. 

In this latest installment, the writers are proving themselves “hip” to the social wonder-ings we’ve all developed as we watch rapid and dangerous changes take place within our surrounding world. In the guise of villainous bad guys, including corporate, governmental and also from the source of impossible technical fantasy, we’re reminded of that which has been made public on the information highway. This highway, like Captain America: The Winter Soldier, has become rife with “speeding cars” and “tragic accidents”.  

Fictional bad guys from the Marvel Universe have become the hidden secret societies of today. Captain America, with his “Gomer Pyle” type affectations, is drawn to the edge of this so-called alternative agenda which has come our way in the form of the argument over how much freedom must be sacrificed in order to maintain social balance. Our world may have no other worlds to conquer for it’s 7 billion inhabitants, except perhaps, it’s own. These bad guys could easily have been subjects of real life speculation such as the Freemasons, the Illuminatti and others who have supposedly directed history behind the scenes for generations now, all in an attempt to bring about their concept of how the world should be. There is even the mention of the now well known concept of a New World Order. What’s frightening is that this NWO may be something we, as ordinary citizens may have no choice about living within, and there will be NO Captain America to pull us back from the edge. 

We’ve all become regularly aware of the subject matter being covered here, and the cold reality that it doesn’t just belong to a country somewhere over there who is threatening our life over here, but your next door neighbor just might like the New World Order’s agenda. If you look closely at some of the scenes in this film, and some dang exciting ones there are, you’ll see technical prowess seamlessly placed into the mix between real life and what is done in the computer. 

In one scene Captain America is lowered down onto a ship by his comrade the Falcon and then they both start to walk toward the camera. If you are not looking closely, you won’t catch the fact that the landing moment is all computer generated image and we really don’t see the actors walking towards us until a moment later when real life and movie magic are miraculously made into one. If you consider it, it’s kind of a hidden commentary on the subject matter at hand that this sort of thing happens all over this film with the viewer never realizing it. It is a good thing, of course, to not be reminded that I am indeed in a movie, but the film is a product of it’s own times, in technology, social conscience, and the draw of the characterizations of the actors upon the viewing public. The viewer won’t even realize it’s insidious effects whether pro or con.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier lives on the edge of all of our lives in both the large an small segments that affect us all. Marvel is almost genius in its realization of what would make a great movie for today’s viewing public, and one has to wonder just how long and how hard the crew that produced this heartfelt, wickedly smart and thoroughly engaging film, had to work in order to bring us a movie that drops right into the center of our lives. Consider the fact that a movie called Captain America has already broken records around the world before it had even opened in the United States, and you get a real feel for how the whole world has become aware of life on the edge.   

5 0f 5 stars        

Son of God

A lot of people have given poor reviews for this epic, but I really have to wonder if they are purists or atheists. Surely, this is as familiar as Christmas itself, but is given some dramatic flair and human view points of the "political" positions of the side line principals which is barely ever explored in grander, more "by the book" movies on this subject from the past. I think that slight shift and exploration was a needed and, if i might say, novel approach inside of a story we all know too well. Writing, performances, camera work, and musical score are excellent, so I think those efforts need to be addressed and appreciated as well. The major problem others have told me about are the slight variations on the requirements of certain roles, which are adjusted for dramatic cursive, and not necessarily cannon to the text - and I can agree to a point on this. I'm willing to allow Nicodemus to have more of a role as the "independent" between the two extremes and Judas to have human confusion and regret, if not only for the literary tension and depth that it creates. Such "creative writing" to dress the narrative is not dangerous enough to turn the truth into a lie. Parents may want to ensure that little ones understand that the writers aren't being pin point accurate in some spots, on character and also chronological issues, but this is movie making, and it's not to the point where Jesus has a relationship with Mary Magdelen or some such thing. With that in mind, it IS possible to have an engaging experience with this film making.

4  out of 5 stars

 Man of Steel

A film that brings the best aspects of the Justice League type Superman to the real live screen, but with just as much depth as the 2-D animated series. Cavill and Adams bring all the best of "actor ability" to their respective parts as Superman and Lois Lane, directed well enough by Snyder to show us their earnest positions and motivations, but we fail to receive much in the way of motivation to root for them. Much as we want to believe that this is a "first contact" type film, Lois Lane seems a bit too ready to accept that she's smack dab in the middle of science fiction type realities that her character can't possibly piece together while in the midst of facing certain death at every turn. Cavill's Clark Kent does a bit better with a boy/man who like many of the audience when they were a child, might often wonder if they are the only one going through strange life moments that may or may not also belong to the rest of the surrounding society. Kent comes out of his bizarre childhood experiences simply befuddled, instead of deeply psychologically scarred, and then somberly comes to grip with the self revelation of his own history which would truly take a SUPER man to come to grips with. We believe his understanding and commitment to his new found life, but boy Kent just doesn't "fall apart" enough to make us want to be glad to root for him once he becomes steady in his new found role.

Michael Shannon's General Zod has an eclectic mix of good and bad points in his own motivation which leaves one actually considering his position as not necessarily wrong, just different from Russel Crowe's Jar-El. Zod is actually a hometown hero who is tragically attempting to maintain the status quo of his society's existence, an existence he is deeply committed to keeping alive. We can understand his position to a point, and even consider that perhaps the concept of genetic engineering, loathed by us Freedom loving Americans, is perhaps better nipped in the bud than allowed to flourish for centuries, before we condemn a man who is only attempting to preserve his way of life. We get his argument position, no matter how seemingly wrong it is, but we're held back once again from committing to him because of his wanton disregard for alien life, namely the Earth's alien life, at the expense of maintaining the dream lost by circumstances beyond his control.

Jar-El and his wife, Lara-Lor Van are tragically accepting of the end of their lives and their world, and this makes them unfortunately one dimensional in comparison to the motivation behind Zod and his people. We CAN root for them... of course.... and the actors bring a sense of grief and inevitability to their roles which sits wholly on one side of the issue. Despite this, they are still off the scale of human empathy to the point where we can commit to feel for them, and the glod-black-silver color motif of Krypton itself is so befret from color and visual relevance for the audience that one feels trapped in an 18th century french mausoleum.

The relief comes from the ordinary humans of Ma and Pa Kent, played with their own understandable somberness by Kevin Costner and Diane Lane. Superman is one lucky guy to have come from heroic, self sacrificing parents and then landed on a world where good and just farmers take him in and give him the stability he needs to deal with an encroaching reality that would turn most kids into psychopaths. Earth itself is damned lucky not to have an unstoppable monster that could have resulted from this scenario, just as easily as the global protector Superman does become. However, in the case of the overall film, only Ma and Pa Kent bring to us the soul and heart we're looking for when supporting the good guys. Costner is great at keeping his shirt on for his son in explaining his son's position and then committing to his own prime directive in dealing with Clark's otherworldly history. Diane Lane proves that beauty has a face at any age, and her Martha Kent is as open and supporting of her adoptive son as we would like to expect ANY mom of Earth to be when her child is set apart from the cumulative standard. These folks we know... we understand and we wish they were a larger part of the overall principle so that their heart and soul could leave us "wowed' when the movie is over.

This is simply not the case, however, as the principles already discussed seem less human in their all too ready acceptance of an incredibly bizarre plot which is understood to be something earth DOESN'T see everyday. In the end, after all the amazing fight scenes from the planet's floor and then out into space and back, we're left with the feeling we've been eating dessert for lunch. Don't get me wrong here, there are some amazing set pieces, and wonderful screen shots that would make classic art posters that few could imagine creating with just a pen and pencil, but is it enough to be able to knock out the audience visually? And you can believe it, it does indeed entertain in that aspect! But it's also hard to ignore the fact that all the explosions and falling buildings and disaster footage could not have gotten past the inevitable death toll that followed the destruction of Metropolis. Superman did have to break a few eggs to make an omelet, but the movie ignores the carnage that we're all becoming increasingly aware of in our own everyday reality, and that too is a bit of a cheat. Superman is as equally wrong in his disregard for the destruction and death that had to follow this movie's plot as Zod was in wanting to terraform Earth at the expense of it's inhabitants. But he's Superman, so we forgive him. .... and really, what choice does he have for most of the events that happen here? Snyder's movie is indeed a tour def force of movie making, I just wish I could have gotten my gut more involved in the proceedings.