Priests, Pols And Pricey Popcorn
Wednesday - April 07, 2010
The Catholic Church must - absolutely must - begin to put the lives of innocent children above those in the priesthood who are nothing more than pedophiles draped in black with a white collar.
The church must - absolutely must - identify, investigate, capture and assist in the prosecution of those who use their positions of spiritual authority to violate children.
However, a distinction must be declared that Catholics, despite the shortcomings of some of the men of his church, remain faithful to the lord and his word.
A recent Real Clear Politics poll (http://www.real-clearpolitics.com) finds that 33 percent ofAmericans surveyed believe that America is headed in the wrong direction. Is it any wonder?
The conduct of the Obama administration in its relentless pursuit of health care reform gravitated away from a debate about the merits of the bill and morphed into a back-door, quid pro quo deal-making marathon with importance placed on vote counting rather than beneficial content.
On the GOP side, it was reprehensible that a sitting member of Congress would blurt out “baby killer” on the floor of the People’s House. Political gamesmanship with a tinge of “the ends justifies the means” repels most Americans, as indicated by the same poll reporting that only 18 percent believe Congress is doing a good job.
Solution?
Until we treat voting with the respect it deserves (Hawaii is ranked last in voter participation) how can we expect excellence when our silence eliminates accountability and consequence?
I recommend the following movies out in theaters now: How To Train Your Dragon, Brooklyn’s Finest and The Hurt Locker.Avoid at all cost if you value your time: The Tooth Fairy, The Bounty Hunter, Green Zone, She’s Out Of My League and Repo Men.
On those days when I pick up my daughter from school, I’ll try to grab a matinee. Unfortunately, I am at the mercy of the clock, so I will see films I normally would not choose. Usually being selective, it’s a good exercise to see just how much useless drivel is available at $8.50 a pop. Holy smokes, there are some incredibly poor commercial flicks out there!
But there is nothing more obscene than the prices of drinks and snacks at the movie house. I appreciate a profit, but $4.25 for a bottle of water? The cost to the theater can’t be more than 50 cents per unit. An almost 500 percent markup? How about sodas? At nearly $4 for a regular-sized beverage, the pour cost on syrup and CO2 water is about 20 cents for a 16-ounce drink.
But the big daddy of markup is the ever-popular movie theater popcorn. According to the University of California Irvine economics department, the markup on an ounce of popcorn is 1,275 percent! For a family of four to go to the movies, with snacks, can cost upward of $70-plus.
With a recent bump in local ticket prices, how much longer will you be able to go to the multiplex?
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