-Caveat Lector-
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From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Fwd: Arianna's Latest Column
Date: 10/24/02 8:41:00 PM
Dear Friends,
We've had an overwhelming response to the suggestion in my last
column that we mount a citizen's ad campaign aimed at getting
people to stop driving SUVs and other gas-guzzling vehicles -- and
jolting our leaders into taking action.
It's been a busy -- and productive -- last few days. Lawrence
Bender, producer of "Pulp Fiction" and "Good Will Hunting", and
director Scott Burns, co-creator of the "Got Milk?" ad campaign,
have agreed to donate their services to make these ads a reality
through A Band Apart, Lawrence's production company. And to get
these ads on the air we are opening a fund for the sole purpose
of creating these commercials.
Many of you have asked where you can contribute. Since it will
take a long time to answer all these emails individually, here is
the information.
Please make checks payable to:
SUV Ad Fund/A Band Apart
7966 Beverly Boulevard
2nd Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90048
If you would prefer to make your contribution online using
PayPal, please visit either www.salon.com or
www.ariannaonline.com on Monday.
Thank you so much for taking a stand.
------
Will The NRA Once Again Gun Down Common Sense Legislation?
By Arianna Huffington
Let it bleed. That's been the traditional route movie moguls have
taken to win the public's heart. In mayhem-happy Hollywood, it's
become axiomatic that the road to big box office is paved with
dead bodies.
But what becomes of this cinematic bleed-motif when the blood
being spilled is all too real -- and the film being screened is a
withering indictment of America's culture of violence?
We're about to find out, thanks to the eerie synchronicity that
has the nation's attention riveted on the capture of two suspects
in the sniper shootings at the same time that Michael Moore's
"Bowling for Columbine" begins its run in movie houses across
America.
The horror in Maryland, Washington, and Virginia over the last
three weeks makes every frame of "Bowling," Moore's blistering
exploration of America's obsession with guns, resonate with
relevance, frustration, and rage.
If you've ever found yourself watching the news and wondering
what kind of insane country makes it so easy for a madman to arm
himself with weaponry that allows him to blithely mow down his
human prey from up to 500 yards away, take a look at this film.
Featuring Moore's trademark blend of provocative social satire
and deadpan humor, it's filled with memorable moments that, in
their own absurd way, make a dent in the formidable task of
answering that question.
These moments include: a stop at a Michigan bank that gives away
high-powered rifles to customers opening a new account ("Don't
you think it's a little dangerous handing out guns in a bank?"
Moore reasonably asks a bank employee); a barbershop that sells
ammo; and an ambush interview with National Rifle Association
president Charlton Heston.
Indeed, the most trenchant -- and timely -- aspect of the film is
its look at the NRA's in-your-face tactics, brought chillingly to
life with footage from a pro-gun rally the group defiantly
decided to hold in Colorado just 10 days after the Columbine
shootings. Standing in front of a cheering crowd, Heston raises a
vintage rifle over his head and bellows: "From my cold dead
hands!"
The NRA's mindset is particularly pertinent today as we watch the
organization -- and its gun-loving pals in the White House -- use
every weapon in its arsenal to try to derail the sniper-inspired
push to create a national database of ballistic "fingerprints".
Despite powerful evidence that such a system would be a boon to
law enforcement, the NRA has adopted a scattershot,
drive-by-shooting approach to mowing down the idea. The
technology isn't foolproof, the organization's mouthpieces argue.
Ballistic fingerprints can be tampered with. Guns get stolen.
What about the 200 million guns already in circulation? And the
always popular: "Guns don't kill people, people kill people."
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer parroted this bumper sticker
cop-out when he helpfully explained why the president didn't
support a federal ballistic fingerprinting database: "In the case
of the sniper," he said, "the real issue is values." Yeah, like
the value of being able to pick off unsuspecting victims at long
range with a military-style weapon versus the value of sending
your kids to school without having to worry about whether they'll
come home.
The debate over a bullet-tracing system has quickly turned into
what the NRA wants: a case of dueling studies. But making the case
against a bullet database is getting harder and harder. Even
opponents of the system concede that it is effective in matching
up bullets to the guns that fired them at least some of the time.
If such a system were only able to save one innocent person from
being blown away by a crazed killer, wouldn't that be worth it?
Why not give the idea a fighting chance by committing whatever
resources are necessary to improve the promising technology? Does
the NRA's paranoid brain trust really believe that millions of
innocent sportsmen will have their hunting rifles confiscated if
they make this tiny, public-spirited concession?
No matter, Team Bush would rather consign the program, which has
the support of many elected and law enforcement officials --
including the Governor of Maryland (one of two states that have
gone ahead and established statewide bullet-tracing databases on
their own) and the former head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco
and Firearms' crime gun analysis division -- to the political
graveyard of "further study." Maybe by delaying it, the president
can give his NRA chums time to find the increasingly rare
"expert" willing to risk his reputation by claiming there's still
a reason not to start this program.
It's funny how the president turns into a raging Luddite when the
technology in question runs counter to his -- and his financial
benefactors' -- political aims. I'll be sure and remind him of
that the next time he asks for another $7 billion to fund his
pie-in-the-sky missile defense shield. "Mixed results" don't seem
to have given him many qualms there.
The nexus linking art and a breaking news story can be a very
volatile thing. In the wake of the D.C. attacks, Fox wisely
decided to pull "Phone Booth", a sniper-themed thriller, off the
fall release schedule. But those same attacks have made "Bowling
for Columbine" essential viewing for anyone who thinks
schoolchildren should be able to play outside at recess without
fear of being gunned down. I understand the White House has a
very comfortable screening room.
------
If you have any questions or comments, please contact me at
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Forwarded as information only; I don't believe everything I read or send
(but that doesn't stop me from considering it; obviously SOMEBODY thinks it's
important)
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In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without
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profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of
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"Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth
shut."
--- Ernest Hemingway
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