The race to the bottom with profanity started with Hollywood

When the f-bombs began to fly

After I read Michael Ryan’s Nov. 18 column on the use of profanity (6B, “Are we doomed to a have a profane dialogue and culture?”), I recalled that when I growing up, the term “cuss like a sailor” meant something.

That began to change in 1968, when the Motion Picture Association of America film rating system went into effect. Filmmakers then had carte blanche to use bad language as long as they got it rated properly.

Life imitates art, and it wasn’t long until this kind of language filtered into everyday life. Martin Scorsese led the charge with early films such as “Mean Streets” and “Taxi Driver.” His “The Wolf of Wall Street” holds the record for a commercial release at 506 f-bombs, according to Wikipedia.

What’s sad is that for the most part, bad words in movies are place-holders for where the writer would used something far better, given the time and motivation to do so. This is true also for those who utter them.

Caught up in a new kind of dogma

“The dogma of intolerance must not live within the GOP” was the headline of Cynthia M. Allen’s Nov. 16 commentary. (9A) I would ask her if she has noticed her Republican Party recently? It thrives on intolerance, hate, bigotry, racism, discrimination and division. Without these attributes, there would be no modern GOP.

Name-callers are un-American

After reading Bud Kennedy’s Nov. 18 column, it’s apparent that some far-right Christian pastors believe in name-calling like little children. (1B, “A Texas pastor calls Democrats ‘godless’: ‘God will not bless America’”) No only that, but they don’t believe in the Establishment Clause of our Constitution, which clearly establishes a separation of church and state.

These are the people who should be taken to court, charged as un-American and deported.

Ranked-choice voting is unfair

America was founded on a principle of “one man one vote.” It seems Maine has come up with a system to circumvent this time-honored tradition. It’s called ranked-choice voting.

For U.S. Senate and House seats, voters rank all the candidates on the ballot. If the one who gets the most votes on election night doesn’t win at least 50 percent of the vote, then the lowest-ranked candidate is eliminated, his or her votes are reallocated by ranking and the votes are retabulated until one candidate reaches a majority. This means Maine voters get two swipes at the election.

This can’t be constitutional. Yet, Rep. Bruce Poliquin, who initially got the most votes, lost to Democrat Jared Golden, who finished second. Since the Green Party typically garners less than 2 percent of the vote, there is no chance that party’s candidate will win, but there is every chance the Democrat will get more second-place votes than the Republican.

How loud would the screaming be if the shoe were on the other foot?

Journalists should crack down

Why don’t members of the free press collectively generate a code of conduct for reporters and eliminate the need for federal regulations?

Apparently, the free press refuses to hold itself accountable, as CNN’s Jim Acosta recently proved with his conduct at a news conference with President Donald Trump. That must mean the media is content to let the government hold them accountable.

The free press and the American public are the losers.