About: James Butler

James Butler is a student at Austin Peay State University pursuing a double major in both Chemistry and French. On campus he is particularly active with the Gay Straight Alliance and also somewhat less so with the AP Playhouse. Politically, he is often described as a libertarian, although he would personally affiliate himself with Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism.


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Email: jbutler19@apmail.apsu.edu

James Butler's Articles:

Local Pastor Presents New Book at Austin Peay State University

By James Butler | April 12, 2007 |

 

This evening, Thursday April 12 at 8pm, local pastor David Shelton of the CCC will present his new book, The Rainbow Kingdom: Christianity and the Homosexual Reconciled in the Kinbrough building’s Genty Auditorium. The event is being hosted by Austin Peay’s Gay Straight Alliance. This is the GSA’s first attempt this semester to bring in an outside guest speaker.

In his book, Shelton tackles the question “Can a person be both gay and a christian?” According to Shelton the answer is a resounding “yes!” However, unlike other books that have been devoted to this topic, Shelton’s work attempts to take a conversational tone with the reader. According to Shelton the research dissertation tone of other works on this topic detracts from its usability as a resource for gay christians. The book is already gathering positive reviews.

Shelton and the Gay Straight Alliance would like to invite everyone out to the Gentry Auditorium (Kimbrough Building, Room 119) tonight to hear his presentation on the book. There will be light refreshments served and the evening is expected to have a moderate turnout and proceed without incident. Check back later for more detailed coverage of the event after it is done.

Sections: Events | No Comments

 

Viacom Sues YouTube, and About Time Too.

By James Butler | March 14, 2007 |

 

Video website extraordinaire YouTube, now owned by search engine mogul Google, may find itself in deep trouble before long. Not long after CEO Eric Schmidt commented that media companies will have no choice but to work with online sites, the Viacom Company, owners of MTV, Comedy Central, and Paramount, responded with a 1 billion USD lawsuit claiming that YouTube has committed something to the order 160,000 copyright violations. At issue is whether YouTube has actually violated the rights of Viacom. YouTube asserts that it has met legal and moral requirements by removing content upon request of the copyright holder. Viacom disagrees contending that the basic business model of YouTube is based on copyright infringement. Viacom contends that, “Their business model, which is based on building traffic and selling advertising off of unlicensed content, is clearly illegal and is in obvious conflict with copyright laws.”  

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Sections: Opinion | 4 Comments

 

Ann Coulter: Poster Child of America’s Political Commentators

By James Butler | March 10, 2007 |

 

Well, it has been a few days but there’s still quite a bit of hubbub about Anne Coulter implying, yes implying not outright stating, that hopeful John Edwards is a “faggot” igniting a firestorm of criticism from both Republicans and Democrats alike. Consider the entirety of Coulter’s speech, however. Other high points include ridiculing Al Gore (in regards to his weight), criticism of Senator Clinton (her most rational comments of the night, as they could be construed as legitimate criticism), and a rather lengthy section on Barrack Obama (whom she called something to the effect of Barrack Osama) and his family heritage. When taken in that context are Coulter’s comments about Edwards anything other than normal? Not really. The woman does it for a living as the Republican equivalent to Michael Moore and Al Franken (who, incidentally are just as bad as Coulter). So, certainly, by all means, get rid of Ann Coulter, but do it in a manner that will actually work.

I recently received electronic mail from a friend of mine encouraging people to write to the companies responsible for bringing Coulter’s venomous rhetoric into the public and encourage those companies to end their relationship with Coulter. The suggestion is actually a great idea. The media operates in a free market (or at least, in name) meaning that as long as Coulter attracts significant attention and makes them money she will continue to be featured by various media. The best method of getting rid of Coulter, and coincidentally all the other two-bit venomous commentators of America, is to convince the people that air their rhetoric that it would be in their economic best interests to sever their ties with them. Of course, a necessary corollary to this plan is to stop paying attention to the likes of Coulter, or to make a joke on Coulter’s own words, let her encourage us to conserve energy when we see her on TV by cutting it off and ignoring her.

Sections: Opinion | No Comments

 

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