The controversy over Monty Python’s Life of Brian

It should be no secret to regular readers of the blog that I am a big fan of all things Pythonia. The five surviving members of the six-person troupe are currently having a reunion stage show and this made me recall the controversy over the release of Monty Python’s Life of Brian back in 1979, one of the funniest films of all time. It amazes me that there was so much opposition to the film from Christians and Jews at the time of its release. Most of the opposition seemed to be from religious authorities and the heads of lay groups of prudes whose job it is to be offended, because they have taken it upon themselves to be the protectors of the delicate sensibilities of the general public.
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Truth or no consequences

Legendary journalist I. F. Stone said, “Every government is run by liars and nothing they say should be believed.” But it used to be the case that if they were caught in a flat out lie, they paid at least some price, at a minimum in some form of public shaming and the lie usually was not repeated. But that no longer seems to be the case and we now have zombie lies that never die and zombie liars who don’t stop repeating them.
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Public equality, private subjugation

The US Supreme court issued on its last day two decisions that went against women and workers. In one case, they asserted that certain classes of companies had the right to not pay for contraceptive coverage as part of their health insurance offering to their employees while in the other they limited the rights of people to form unions. In both cases, they were continuing the steady process of chipping away at the rights of women and workers.
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John Oliver on income inequality

He delivers a righteous rant on the absurd way that most Americans have this incredibly unrealistic sense of optimism about their future economic prospects and thus actually support the things that keep them poor, breed income inequality, and feed the greed of the rich. He notes how American politicians, including president Obama shy away from the idea that they are promoting class warfare. I personally am in favor of it and promote it every chance I get.
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