I love John Travolta. He's a great actor, and physically he aged from one handsome man into another. He has charisma and a great sense of humor, and I love the fact that he absolutely loves flying (piloting the plane).

I feel really bad for the Travoltas because they just lost their eldest son in a really tragic way. A seemingly healthy young man, he apparently fell, possibly due to a seizure, and hit his head. At this point it's unclear whether he died from head trauma, or from a seizure, but one this is for sure, the media is out for BLOOD!

This is a perfect illustration of why I absolutely hate our culture's media. In our culture, the idea of "news" is not an event, but the speculation that the media can conjure up to fill in the void of factual data.

The Travoltas are Scientologists. I thought Scientology was just downright freaky, and just another stupid celebrity fashion statement until I heard an old Dennis Leary clip defending the character of Tom Cruise by comparing it's main beliefs to those of Catholicism.
Then it seemed pretty plausible, relatively speaking.

So apparently Scientologists have a problem with the way modern medicine tends to over medicate the human body.
Well, I do, too. But I have some friends that practice homeopathic medicine that I doubt would get thrown under a bus the way the media is trying to do to the Travolta family.

Basically (it seems to me) the media focus regarding the death of John Travolta's son, Jett, is on the religion that the family practices, and the (alleged) fact that traditional (if there is such a thing for a religion that's only 40 years old) Scientology suggests or encourages the use of medication very sparingly. -It's not like they don't use any.

The media has been dragging ex-Scientologists out from the woodwork to participate in their circus shows in an attempt to attribute Jett's death to neglect on the part of his parents, due to the religion they practice.
Thing is, I never hear the media host ask these "Ex-Scientologist" clowns just what religion they now practice. Seems to me it would be relevant to their overall credibility in their assesment of Scientology.

My feeling is that all religions aside of Christianity and Judaism are "newsworthy" to these media assholes. These "media assholes" of which I speak are not the idiots behind the desk reading the tripe... -They're just doing what they get paid big bucks to do. The ones I'm referring to are the marketeers and profiteers of anything they can call "news" that they can sell to an already biased public.

Though in this instance my gripe is against the media in this country and the disrespect that they demonstrate (even to a grieving family), it could not exist without a consuming public with equally disturbingly low moral scruples.
Since the overwhelming majority of the American public fancies themselves Christians, I believe that does play a role in how we collectively stone others in the media spotlight, be they people fighting religious oppression in a far off land, or a beloved actor with a history of making us all smile.

I feel that the hypocrisy that Christian celebrities or politicians have to perpetrate has to be downright criminal in order to ever make that same spotlight shine upon them.


Discuss...

Why types of news sources are you talking about? I read cnn.com daily, my local newspaper daily, and listen to NPR. And aside from the initial report of the death, I haven't heard or read any reference to this issue.

Now, if you mean tabloids, then that type of spin is to be expected.

I love John Travolta. He's a great actor, and physically he aged from one handsome man into another. He has charisma and a great sense of humor, and I love the fact that he absolutely loves flying (piloting the plane).


Since the overwhelming majority of the American public fancies themselves Christians, I believe that does play a role in how we collectively stone others in the media spotlight, be they people fighting religious oppression in a far off land, or a beloved actor with a history of making us all smile.

I feel that the hypocrisy that Christian celebrities or politicians have to perpetrate has to be downright criminal in order to ever make that same spotlight shine upon them.


Discuss...

Despite your overt homosexual attraction to Mr Travolta, I have to agree with you. We are part of the problem and guilty as charged. However, you will not find a word of oppression in the message of the gospel. I've recently seen it expressed this way, it's like we're beggars who are trying to tell other beggars where we've found some bread.

"overt homosexual attraction"?
Why, because I can openly share the fact that I think he's attractive, charasmatic, and I enjoy his acting while still maintainting my confidence in my heterosexuality?
Are all you christian-wannabes so preoccupied with homosexuality?

"overt homosexual attraction"?
Why, because I can openly share the fact that I think he's attractive, charasmatic, and I enjoy his acting while still maintainting my confidence in my heterosexuality?
Are all you christian-wannabes so preoccupied with homosexuality?

This is a man-law rule, it has nothing to do with Christianity. You've used too much physically descriptive flattery describing your love for him.

well, i did hear a story about touching penises. but i digress. i too am sceptical of john's appearent neglect of treating his son properly. but truely his son showed he was loved. so only john will be guilty of is listening to ignorance...what you will typically find in all religion. and that should cover all religion in some sort of fashion.

actually, I see Hollywood and the mass media in general as overwhelmingly secular-progressive/far left


You dont see it that way, your just mimicking Bill O'Rielly...thats one of his favorite taglines.

Do you ever thing for yourself?

I haven't paid much attention to it, but did they ever figure out whether the kid was getting meds for it?

well, i did hear a story about touching penises. but i digress.


SIR!....





Its only gay if the balls touch. :gay2: :D

I dunno, Queen. It trailed off the media front lines.
I do know from experience that seizures are very detrimentol to the brayn e .















...What were we talkin' bout?

My seizure disorder is in the lateral temporal lobe, so my short term memory is unaffected, but there is damage to my long term memory. If the seizures occur (and are allowed to recur) in the hippocampi, (mesial temporal lobe), you could effectively end up a blithering idiot. Worse than no control, however, is toying with anti seizure meds. Allowing a sudden drop in serum levels induces synaptic over-response and can result in "status epilepticus", a sort of perpetual seizure state.
This almost killed me once.

Aside of this, it's just a matter of smacking your head good 'n hard upon impact, and it's all over. -Not a bad way to go, really. You just feel like you're fainting.
Waking up is the really bad part.

YOU'RE a "begger", mark? And you're just trying to help us all?

Burn in hell, mark. I hope you go nuts and spend the rest of your days in a rubber room, screaming in agony, believing you're in the lake of fire.

I dunno, Queen. It trailed off the media front lines.
I do know from experience that seizures are very detrimentol to the brayn e .















...What were we talkin' bout?

My seizure disorder is in the lateral temporal lobe, so my short term memory is unaffected, but there is damage to my long term memory. If the seizures occur (and are allowed to recur) in the hippocampi, (mesial temporal lobe), you could effectively end up a blithering idiot. Worse than no control, however, is toying with anti seizure meds. Allowing a sudden drop in serum levels induces synaptic over-response and can result in "status epilepticus", a sort of perpetual seizure state.
This almost killed me once.

Aside of this, it's just a matter of smacking your head good 'n hard upon impact, and it's all over. -Not a bad way to go, really. You just feel like you're fainting.
Waking up is the really bad part.

yeah, it's a nasty condition, and I know the meds result in their own issues.. plus, like I said, I don't know anything about his particular condition or whether he was on meds/had ever been on meds or what the status of that whole thing was. I've just heard so many stories about the cumulative brain damage from untreated seizure disorders that I don't see why a parent wouldn't at least TRY.. without meds, at best you're risking that your child is going to end up with brain damage, and at worst you're risking what actually happened here