A Few Websites of the Day

I've spent most of my free time getting things set up and writing my intro post. I may add to this post later but for now, here are a few links that I visited today:


1. From CNN HEROES - Runner Gets Homeless On Right Track

2. From Consortium News - (The Late) M. L. King Still Silenced

3. My favorite columnist - Leonard Pitts - I'll probably link him a lot and highlight specific columns.

4. Perceval Press - an independent publishing house started by Viggo Mortensen. They publish books of art, poetry, photography, essays and more. The website not only has a listing of the books they publish but also recommendations, most of which are of a liberal political persuasion. Mortensen is very liberal and he posts a lot of links to news stories and editorials on the homepage. The site also displays a lot of the photography and art found in the books they publish and that have not yet been published. It's a beautiful site but I am biased. I don't always agree with Mortensen but more often than not I do. I also am very much against the belief that celebrities should, to quote critics of the Dixie Chicks, "shut up and sing." There are plenty of celebrities who talk a lot who I do not agree with but it seems to me that it is the liberals who are most often criticized for speaking up while conservatives are more tolerated and even encouraged to get involved in politics. Examples? Ronald Reagan, Charlton Heston and Arnold Schwarzenegger, to name a few. I do not resent these people being involved in politics. I resent the double standard applied to liberal celebrities. Of course, people shouldn't give celebrities more credit just because they are famous but people also shouldn't dismiss celebrities only because they are famous. I personally think it is only responsible for people like Viggo Mortensen to use their celebrity to better the world and raise awareness.

5. Speaking of the Dixie Chicks - I recently watched the 2007 documentary, Shut Up & Sing. As I'm sure you can guess by what I say above, I loved this movie. It reinforced what I already felt about the incident and the band. I loved their music before this all happened and have even more respect for them after Natalie Maines spoke out and yet more after watching this movie.


That's it for now! I may come back to some of these things another time but I also may not :)

Have a good one!