Nashville celebrity draws international attention to continuing Haitian plight, but she can't generate local interest

Nashvillian film star Nicole Kidman was in Haiti this week as a UNIFEM Goodwill Ambassador trying to draw attention to the plight of Haitian women and children in shelters since last January's earthquake. However, you would not know it from any the local media, who have remained mum on the goodwill effort. Despite her best attempts to bring attention to the forgotten tragedy, Nashville is not paying attention as far as I know.

We are Nashville. We are provincial.

UPDATE: Still no local reportage on Kidman's Haiti effort, but last night USA Today put up a story on it:

Kidman, who won an Oscar for 2002's The Hours, says philanthropy is a big part of her life. "I'm just constantly trying to give a voice to the women around the world, women everywhere, who are in need of help. If there's anything to be had from having worked for 23 to 25 years of my life, I'm so glad to now be able to do this. I don't mind being used like that," she says.

Why Does a Governor with No Foreign Policy Experience Assume that a Protest Ahmadinejad Rally is about Her?

Sarah Palin blamed Democrats for a Jewish group disinviting her to speak at a rally to protest Mahamoud Ahmadinejad's appearance at a United Nations assembly next week. Why would she take attention away from the cause of checking Iran's nuclear ambitions in order to put it on her absence? Has her new-found celebrity, her 15 minutes of fame gone to her head?

Compare and Contrast and Contrast: English Only

[English First] is not mean-spirited or divisive.

- - Eric Crafton in his motion to approve last night

The U.N. recently adopted English as its working language — the only people that objected were the French ... That made it an added bonus in my opinion.

- -Eric Crafton in his motion to approve last night

I don't want to be anything like the United Nations.

- - Eric Crafton in his motion to defer on December 5, 2006

This morning's mainstream media coverage once again ignored or overlooked the inconsistencies. The covering City Paper reporter downplayed Crafton's mean-spirited comments as "sarcastic" and portrayed them as entertaining to the public in the gallery.

On a side note: English Only/First/Whatever supporter Randy Foster appealed to the Statue of Liberty and its English language plaque in his comments on the bill. Minor detail: the Statue of Liberty (or La liberté éclairant le monde) was given to America as a gift by the French, who supported the American Revolution. A replica stands in Paris, facing the original in New York Harbor.

Those rotten French. I suddenly have cravings for "Freedom Toast" and a cup of coffee from Portland Brews; maybe the Crème Brulée Roast, or as I like to call it, "Freedom Pudding Roast" (HT: Will Forte, SNL).


UPDATE: I updated Mr. Crafton's exact December 5, 2006 quote above and the corresponding link, which now takes you directly to the video tape of the quote.