Locally Speaking 2.0

So let's talk about the NC senate race. There are four democrats who are interested in taking on  the Joker Elizabeth Dole. 

The one you have probably heard the most about is Kay Hagan. A current state senator, Hagan shares her stances on the budget, education, energy/environment, health care, immigration, the military and national security on her Web site. A few highlights: budget-wise she talks of working toward balancing our national budget; on the environment she wants to push for water conservation to help with drought problems like NC has had; under health care, she would push for extending coverage for all children; on military issues, she is the aunt of two current military members and is for the recent GI bill.

The next candidate is John Ross Hendrix. A former Republican who apparently got fed up with the GOP and switched sides, he kind of comes off on his Web site as a crackpot. But don't just take my word for it, see for yourself—under his long list of issues on his home page he has one for conspiracy theory. He calls it the Troll Conspiracy. Methinks this isn't going to get him a lot of votes. While I think he is just kidding, what I read of his site sounds like the rantings of my dad, amusing, but not necessarily the sort of thing that gets one elected.

Next we have Duskin Lassiter. There doesn't seem to be any personal info on his Web site (listen I don't need to know what brand of toothpaste someone uses, but I like to know what they do, etc.). He does link from each issue page to a 12-page manifesto of sorts detailing all his stands and at the very end mentions he is a self-employed, working class individual (and no I didn't read the whole 12 pages).  Overall, the site itself looks a little home made, and what he lays out on it a bit simplistic. He may be a great guy, but I don't think he has a serious chance from the looks of this.

Finally we have Jim Neal. He's an MBA, money-type and if you are looking for an impressive Web site, his is it (he looks like a TV anchor). He seems to be the only real competition for Hagan. On his site he links to some articles that are very critical of Hagan and basically say she is a Republican in Democratic clothing. On his issues page he talks about his opponent but I was confused about whether he meant Dole or Hagan.  He doesn't seem to say much about the actual mechanics of what he would do on the issues, such as health care, economic security, Iraq and energy independence. He does go on quite a bit about entrepreneurship in the state though. Some of the stuff I read about him compared him to John Edwards in terms of his stance on things. Speaking of personal info, apparently he is openly gay.

Oh hell. Apparently there are two others as well, the News-Record.com didn't list them, but a link from a recent Channel 14 Carolina story mentions Hagan, Neal, Lassiter and then Howard Staley and Marcus W. Williams. Uncle, people, Uncle! Look them up yourselves if you care.

8 Days

In a mere eight days my fellow North Carolinians will head to the voting booth. My hope is that they will come out in record numbers as they recognize and celebrate the fact that they actually have the opportunity to make a difference in the presidential primary season, something our state hasn't had in a LONG time.

I had a friend email me this morning about something political and presumed I was voting for a particular candidate. I replied that I wasn't sure who I was voting for yet. Surprisingly enough (no more so than to myself) I am still very undecided about the presidential primary. There are many things about both Obama and Clinton that I like and admire; likewise there are things that give me pause.

I will say this, that whatever decision I make on May 6 it is a decision I will be keeping to myself. I have to give my husband credit for this one, I actually asked him the other day if he had made up his mind and he said he wasn't going to tell me. Now of course I have my suspicions as to who he is leaning towards and was a bit miffed that he wasn't going to tell me, but once I listened to his reasoning I got behind the whole idea. 

We used to live in a society that thought it wasn't polite to talk about your religion or politics. Obviously that has changed dramatically. While I LOVE talking about politics I can see where the idea of taking a little of that back, making it a bit more private isn't such a bad thing. 

So expect me to be sporting with pride my "I Voted" sticker next Tuesday, but just don't expect me to tell you who that vote was for (but you can guess it was for a democrat!).

GOP 1; Women 0

Yesterday the Republicans in the Senate blocked a bill that would reverse a recent Supreme Court decision that made it harder for women to sue their employers for wage discrimination. The White House said it opposed discrimination, but of course, promised to veto the bill should it have passed the Senate (the House had already passed it). FYI—both Clinton and Obama headed back to vote, while McCain did not. Guess Mac doesn't care about working women.

The Lily Ledbetter bill was named for the Alabama woman who the Supreme Court ruled wasn't allowed to sue Goodyear Tire because she had waited longer than 180 days from the first incident of the discrimination to file suit.

Read more about it here. I personally love what Mitch McConnell, Senate Republican leader had to say about the bill, "The fundamental problem is that it creates massive new opportunities to sue." Basically the GOP acknowledges that women are getting shafted, but they just don't want companies to be held accountable for that. Nice.

I don't know about ya'll but most places I have worked at have frowned on discussing your salary. But with the majority of women still making 23% less than their male coworkers I am certain that I was making less (and probably still am) than males in my position—even after taking into account experience and education. Of course the kicker is in some cases the woman may have more of both and still be coming up short.

I didn't realize that a penis was SO magical! Makes me proud to be an American.

Gosh thanks Senate Republicans!

Locally Speaking

I know many of my readers are local to me (alas global domination escapes me) and it has been requested that I turn my keen skills of analysis towards some of our upcoming local primary election stand-offs. (Yes, I added the part about keen skills, it is my blog, whatcha gonna do?)

Let's start with the NC race for the governor. There are two democrats running—Bev Purdue and Richard Moore—and three republicans—Bill Graham, Bob Orr, and Fred Smith.

Perdue is currently Lt. Governor of the state, she was a teacher and has a Ph.D. in education. The NC NOW PAC has endorsed her. On her Web site (bevperdue.com) she lists her major issues as: Building a New NC; Health care; Education; Water/Drought; Protecting Our Environment; Protecting Our Military Bases; Standing Up for Working Families; Economic Incentives; Transportation Reform; Creating 21st Jobs.

Richard Moore is a lawyer that has served in the NC House and served under Jim Hunt as the Secretary of the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety. He is currently State Treasurer. On his site (richardmoore.org) he lists as his issues: Rewarding Hard Work; Better Financial Management and Reform; Educating New Generations; Affordable Health Care; Defending the Environment.

According to articles in the Raleigh News & Observer and the Winston-Salem Journal after Moore and Perdue debated, they agreed on most policy issues but clashed over the lottery and state community college and university tuitions. 

Perdue has voted for tuition increases and cast the tie-breaker vote for the lottery. Moore believes that tuition has gone up too much and that the lottery over-promised and under-delivered. The two also disagreed on the death penalty. Both support it, but Perdue believes there should be a moratorium and that the system has some big flaws currently.

Now for the ugliness of politics—Perdue has gotten an endorsement from the NRA (something her site doesn't mention, but Moore's does). Perdue has also pledged to stop running negative ads, something the Moore campaign has not backed away from. 

So I guess it is time to consider the GOP candidates. Bill Graham's list of issues includes such lovely nuggets as supporting the sanctity of marriage, protecting the second amendment (yes, everyone absolutely needs an automatic weapon and I KNOW that is what our founding fathers intended!) and protecting innocent life (complete with a picture of a pudgy checked baby wrapped in a bath towel). Sorry people, I can't be impartial on this one. ICK. If you simply must investigate further, here's his Web site. 

Next. Bob Orr was on the State Supreme Court and Court of Appeals and he was in the Army. Under issues he lists on his Web site: Economic Development; Education; Healthcare; Honest Government; Immigration; Transportation. Under Immigration one of his points deals with not letting the kids of illegal immigrants go to school. Now I don't doubt it costs the state big bucks to educate the children of illegal parents, but it doesn't seem right to punish the kids and damage their futures (causing them to not have an education and rely even more on government assistance). But then I am a bleeding heart liberal. Overall though nothing screams wack job that I came across.

Finally Fred Smith.  He is a state senator and served in the US Army Jag Corps and was CEO of his own company. On his site under issues he has the obligatory nod to the 2nd amendment and the "culture of life." There is also an editorial Smith wrote about "Defending the Family." Sorry folks, gonna have to file him (with Graham) in the nut job category.

There you have it. The five candidates of note for Governor. And I even said nice things about one of the republican candidates and so far the earth has not tilted off its axis.

No Deal

I had already suspected that George W. Bush had a little too much time on his hands, but it was confirmed the other night when he, I shit you not, appeared on Deal or No Deal. I am a bit pokey in commenting on this, but goodness.

Not only did he try and crack wise about being on a show with high approval ratings, but he asked if Howie Mandel would be interested in helping do a deal or no deal with Congress on the budget.

Feel free to view the travesty for yourself.

I have been rather swamped today (when you day starts with a nightmare about your brother dangling a mangled mouse over your face, it isn't exactly a sign that it is going to be a good one—feel free to offer interpretations on that one btw) so I haven't really read any of the reactions about Clinton's Pennsylvania win.

But listen, we knew she was going to win, it all just hinged on how much Obama would erode her margin. Even if she had won by only one percentage point, Clinton wasn't going to drop out. So the media just needs to sit on it. This is going to go on for several more weeks. Just enjoy the fact that you are being given something to report on and shut up. (That especially goes to the nimrods at MSNBC who tried to imply that Obama flipped Clinton off. The dude at the end of the clip is right, this just shows how they have nothing of substance to talk about. And that is no one's fault but their own. Here are two candidates with some substance, try asking them about their policies or plans why dontcha ya?)

Downward Spiral

It was bad enough when CNN decided to give time to that bonehead Glenn Beck. But the once un-biased news network has lowered the bar even further by hiring Tony Snow of former White House Press Secretary fame, as well as a former "contributor" to Fox News.

Eegads.

There was actually another topic that aroused my ire since yesterday, but dang if my allergy-befuddled brain hasn't lost hold of it. When it returns, you will be the first to know.

Female Firsts

Time to put on my feminist hat:

Danica Patrick has won the Indy Japan 300 [CORRECTED]. 

WOW! We may not get a female president this November, but there are plenty of other ways that women are breaking boundaries. First woman EVER to win tan Indy car race [CORRECTED].

Now, I may mock racing in general (How hard can it REALLY be to drive in a circle? It maybe boring, but hard?) I don't doubt that being a female in that world is tough with a capital T.

So all manner of applause and support for Ms. Patrick. Very impressive, indeedy. (Read full coverage at the NY Times.)

And yes, tomorrow is the primary in Pennsylvania. We will discuss that tomorrow or the next day. Or when I feel up to it.

Bush and the Pope

It almost sounds like the punchline for a joke that would begin, "George W. Bush and the Pope walk into a bar . . ."

Yesterday after speaking at the White House, Bush told the Pope:

Thank you your Holiness. Awesome speech.

I SHIT YOU NOT.

A Poetic Thought

I get this daily emails with poems and literary facts called the Writer's Almanac with Garrison Keiller. It is provided through American Public Media. Today's poem seems apropos to my previous post (The Sound of Silence) about the debate. It is called "Fix" and it is by Alicia Suskin Ostriker.

Here is the last three lines of the poem, if you want the whole thing, go here:

So what is it, this moon-shaped blankness?

What the hell is it? America is perplexed.

We would fix it if we knew what was broken.

The Sound of Silence

If two candidates aren't asked any real questions, can you really say that there was a debate?

Think of that question as a tree in the woods kind of thing. I watched the debate from about 8.25 pm to about 8.50 pm when I had had MORE than enough. During that 25 minutes the ABC moderators didn't ask a single policy based question. It was all Bosnia sniper fire, bitterness and it was wrong, wrong, wrong. 

Listen, I know that there isn't much difference between Obama and Clinton in terms of policy, but is it too much to expect to have that be the main point of a debate? I wasn't a debater in high school, but I thought the point was to take an idea and talk about the two different sides. Are their two sides in need of debate about whether Clinton came under sniper fire in Bosnia? 

I am just completely disgusted with the news media right now. Why do they continue to make an issue of this damn flag pin thing? Are we Americans really so stupid that we can't believe someone is patriotic unless they are drapped in the freakin' flag??? Maybe Colbert was right the other night when he suggested to Michelle Obama that her husband should dress up as the Statue of Liberty.

I don't know what else to say about this other than I think our news media is doing the American people a HUGE disservice. And they should be ashamed of themselves.

Keystone Comments

"You've got conservative whites here, and I think there are some whites who are probably not ready to vote for an African-American candidate." Ed Rendell, Pennsylvania Governor, April 15, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Isn't it interesting that the press is still trying to make a big deal out of Obama's "bitter" remark, but the Pennsylvania Governor makes the following statement (which is just as sadly true as what Obama said in my humble opinion) and little is heard about it?

In fact when I googled Rendell and Obama, it came up at the very bottom of the first page.

IN OTHER NEWS: The McCain Edition

• If you have heard about McCain's "gas-tax holiday" idea your initial reaction may be YIPPEE. Well, sorry, but you might want to curb that enthusiasm just a wee bit. It is a bad, bad, bad idea. It would actually end up costing us $11 billion a year and cause gas prices to increase even more. Don't believe me? Read more here. 
• Despite his recent comments on The View, McCain is not going to be lending his support to the bipartisan renewal and expansion of the GI bill I discussed previously. Salon has more.
• And in case you had planned to prepare a McCain family favorite for dinner tonight, per the recipes offered up on the GOP candidates Web site (courtesy of his gracious wife, Cindy) you might want to call up Paula Deen or Rachel Ray and offer them your thanks instead. Apparently the recipes were lifted WORD FOR WORD from Foodtv.com. Really? Come on guys, you couldn't take the five minutes it would have required to get Mrs. McCain to share her secret Mac n' cheese recipe (stir in one injured war veteran and add lots of velvetta!)? This is just sad.

Pouting

Seriously people . . . Could someone freakin leave a comment or two??? I hate to whine and pout (Ok, that's a lie. I like it and am in fact quite good at it.), but I am not feeling appreciated here.

Anyone . . . Bueller, Bueller?

Is there something you want me to look into and post more about? Anon, don't you have some right-leaning comment to make about me hugging trees? What about my six other loyal readers . . . Is there a topic you want me to lay off? Can anyone tell me who to vote for?

The voices in my head are getting rowdy and need some interaction. They get bored just talking to themselves.

Breakin' da Law

Yes another post about McCain. 

(And trust me it has not been my intention to pile on 'ole Mac—things just seem to be working out that way in the past couple of days. "But Broad," you say, "what about the whole 'bitter' thing Obama said?" Frankly I think it is a non-story, but I may weigh in on it later if I get really bored. We're talking looking for split ends in my hair bored. I am still yo-yoing on the whole Clinton vs. Obama thing and frankly that issue has only added to my back and forth—and not in the way you might think. Frankly I just need a breather from it all, so it sucks to be McCain.)

McCain applied for and was accepted by the public financing system for his presidential campaign. Great, big whoop you say. The problems is that when you apply for this public money, there are some rules attached, rules that McCain has conveniently been ignoring. Yes our war hero has BROKEN THE LAW.  What's more he has admitted it. As part of the agreement for him to receive these public funds, his campaign can't spend more than $56,757,500 million during the primary (is it just me or does this number seem completely random?).

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) has asked McCain some questions about loans he has taken out and Mac ain't answering. He's also saying these rules don't apply to him for some reason. You can read all the dets here: firedoglake.com.

The FEC is a bit short on commissioners to tackle this issue (due to guess who? yes, your friends and mine the current administration!) so meanwhile several groups, including the DNC have filed suit to compel them to act on McCain's transgressions.

So now we sit back and see what happens—ie in regards to McCain as well as whether or not the mainstream press takes notice.

The Old College Try

I have been meaning to jump into the ongoing hullabaloo about the GI bill, but McCain's recent appearance on The View has finally compelled me to get down to it. (Yes it has come to this, even the GOP will go play suck up with Babawawa and her minions to get the daytime TV viewer to vote for them. I wonder if Elisabeth Hasselbeck offered to stir his coffee for him or anything?)

If you have the time and nothing else to do you can catch the whole thing here. What really interests me is McCain's comments on the GI bill. A little background first:

James Webb, the Virginia senator, a democrat and also a veteran of Vietnam has authored some legislation (along with fellow senator and vet and Republican, Chuck Hagel) that would revamp the GI bill. You may remember that a generation of Americans used the bill to pay for college after WWII, resulting in a strong middle class and a great period of prosperity for the United States. While, times they have changed. Today, the benefits for vets have shrunk and what used to pay for four years at any school, now won't cover three years at a public university. (Side note: members of the National Guard receive even less help.)

So in steps Webb. He estimates that it would cost about $2 billion (according to Newsweek's Anna Quindlen, this is about half what we spend a year on recruitment, and what we are spending in a couple of days in Iraq). The Department of Defense has been balking over the bill—saying that giving the soldiers more educational opportunities would hurt retention. We wouldn't want you to be short on warm bodies to send off to die, now would we!

Here is where McCain enters the picture. He hasn't endorsed or supported the bill, despite the fact that he, of course, received his college education at the Naval Academy, courtesy of the American tax-payer. Think he forgot? However, on The View he makes the statement that "[O]ne of the things we ought to do is provide them [the vets] significant educational benefits in return for serving."

WTF????? Does Walters and Whoopi have some magic power or is McCain simply pandering yet again. Maybe he needs a definition of significant. He has in the last couple of days flip flopped on his plan on how to fix the current mortgage crisis so maybe this is just his week to change his mind.

Back to the vets, Quindlen cites statistics from the Bureau of Labor that unemployment among young vets is THREE TIMES the national average. Apparently there are already some Iraqi vets who are homeless and/or suffering from substance abuse problems. So definitely giving these young people the option of higher education would be a good thing. Maybe if they felt they had a hope for the future and a chance for a good job after they are cast aside by this administration they wouldn't be in such straits.

Quindlen concludes by quoting Harry Colmery, the man who created the original GI bill:

"If we can spend 200 to 300 billion dollars to teach our men and women to kill, why quibble over a billion or so to help them to have the opportunity to earn economic independence and to enjoy the fruits of freedom?"

I don't think there is much else to say.

How Low Can He Go?

The latest AP-Ipsos poll has Bush's approval ratings at 28 percent, a new low for 'ole Dubya. Apparently he is so distraught he is heading off to Crawford for a few days of brush clearing. (Is it just me or could Bush singlehandedly be causing global warming by getting rid of all that brush?)

Meanwhile he may not have hit poor Harry Truman's all-time approval rating low of 23, but here's hopin'.

In the vein of how low can he go . . . there have been some rumblings about the possibility of Bush using executive privilege to pay for the next round of war spending, if Congress doesn't approve the $108 billion request that he currently has before them. I have been searching for some definite info on this and can't come up with anything, but I will keep looking. If you know of anything, please leave a comment.

Breakin' It Down IV: The Final Billions

In previous episodes (Breakin' It Down I, II & III), our heroes told you the ways they would spend your hard earned pesos: health care, education, defense and keeping those pesky Canadians up north. (Damn it! I specifically asked them for a sit n' spin—where's that????)

Anyway, in this final look (courtesy of Newsweek) we discover that all three candidates are in agreement as to the third and final area that they would lavish the most money on for their budget: Energy.

Obama: He wants to create a green job corps, double the money we put toward research for clean energy and establish a federal clean tech venture capital fund for $50 billion. (Does this mean Kermit can come out of retirement?) Overall, he has a 10 year plan with $150 billion pledged to take us to the next energy level. There's also something about auctioning carbon emission rights to offset costs. Total—$60 billion/in the first four years

Clinton: Clinton also has a 10 year, $150 billion plan. Go figure. Part one—$50 billion for an energy fund (courtesy, in part, of higher taxes on the oil companies. YAHOO!). Part two—a doubling of the funding for basic energy research. Part three—another $20 billion for something called Green Vehicle Bonds. Total—$58 billion/in the first four years

McCain: Way back in Aught Seven, Mac cosponsored the Climate Stewardship Innovation Act. Them's a lot of pretty words the mean $3.7 billion in federal subsidies are headed toward building new nuclear power plants (Look Ma! I'm glowing!). Going even further into the past, in 2005 he sponsored an Energy Policy Act that he wants to revive an amendment on. This would put $1.5 billion to turning greenhouse gas levels back to 2000 levels by 2010. Were the levels eight years ago that great? Total—$5 billion in the first four years.

There you have it folks. It's all so much clearer to you now, isn't it?

The Money Game

Now here is a story I wish you were hearing a bit more about in the press. How much money John McCain's wife has.

Kerry got pummeled about his wife's fortune during the 2004 election. Clinton has even been criticized for not giving up the details of her income sooner. (She released her income tax statement last week, showing that she and the former Prez have done just fine thank you since leaving office.)

So what is the deal? Do we just EXPECT that the GOP candidate is going to be loaded and don't question it? Let's face it, no politician gets very far without having some money, either their own or what gets donated to them. Obviously, we have a long history of politicians having their own money—FDR, JFK, Reagan, the Bushes—all were wealthy beyond the ordinary American.

Yet McCain doesn't seem to be getting the grief that Kerry did? Why is that? The Washington Post estimated last year that the McCain's net worth was between $25-$38 million. (Hey McCains—Interested in adopting a slightly older, U.S. liberal? I can suck it up and help on the campaign.) Much of that wealth comes from Cindy McCain, whose daddy founded a beer distributing company, Hensley & Co.

If you are interested in a more detailed look at the McCain's and their moola, CNN has a recent piece about it.

The GOP's New Black Friend Update

Salon had the following to say about the rumors about Rice as a possible McCain VP:

Indeed, Senor didn't have any evidence beyond Rice's appearance at Norquist's meeting, which is pretty thin substantiation and hardly constitutes "actively" campaigning.

Salon goes on to reference a recent quote from Rice herself:

I have always said that the one thing that I have not seen myself doing is running for elected office in the United States.

So go ahead and breath a sigh of relief. But be forewarned world, she only said she wasn't interested in elected office in the U.S. That leaves the rest of the planet (and solar system for that matter) wide open.

You can read the full text here.

The GOP's New Black Friend

It is starting to look like the GOP, and McCain particular, really do watch The Colbert Report. Over the weekend on ABC's This Week program, Dan Senor, a republican strategist (what the freak does that MEAN? could I be an American Idol strategist because I watch every episode and am not afraid to voice my opinion?), said that Condoleezza Rice has been actively campaigning the McCain campaign to be his VP pick.

Holy pajama bottoms Batman! This certainly wouldn't be the sneakiest thing the GOP has ever pulled, but it comes close. In a lot of people's eyes this would be a brilliant counter-punch to the Democrats offering up either the first African American or female presidential candidate. TaDa! An African American woman! Beat that liberals.

But not so fast. What would Condi really bring to the ticket? Foreign policy experience, but does McCain really need balancing in that area? And how many African Americans or women for that matter who are either undecided or liberal are going to be swayed by Rice? Frankly, she comes off as even less "black" than Obama if you want to go down that road. And of course she plays a mean concert piano.

Finally, is it a positive for the McCain campaign to literally connect themselves to the Bush Administration by selecting as his VP one of its longest running cabinet members? I mean I get that McCain thinks he can somehow turn Bush's legacy of destruction and devastation into a winning bid for the White House, but pardon me if I don't get how. And Condi has been riding shotgun for the whole eight years, smiling at  her husband Dubya the whole time.

Environment-Schmenvironment

It would appear that our fearless leader is at it again—this time he is giving the environment a big FU so he can continue to build his board fence, which may keep those nasty Mexican critters on their side of the line, but won't do jack about people wanting to come live the American dream. (And yes in case you are wondering, I AM hugging a tree while I write this.)

I don't know if the major networks have tackled this one much but the Washington Post had a piece on it April 2, as well as the Chicago Tribune and Britain's Independent—maybe we do still need newspapers after all.

Anyway, according to the W. Post's piece more than 20 environmental laws are being waived to finish up the last 470 odd miles of this monstrosity by the end of 2008.  Mr. Homeland Security, Michael "Skeletor" Chertoff said that they had no choice but to bypass the "standard environmental reviews."

"Criminal activity at the border does not stop for endless debate or protracted litigation," said Chertoff. Gosh Beav, really? Well then, sure, don't let a silly thing like a rule or law get in your way then. Just do what you want, that is what this administration has always done.

The land that this section of the fence will cut through includes areas of the Colorado River, the Peloncillo Mountians, as well as many national parks, wildlife refuges and other wilderness areas. Hasta la vista jack rabbits!

Meanwhile, two environmental groups—Sierra Club and Defenders of Wildlife—have asked the Supreme Court to review the constitutionality of the administration's waiver. Not that I would hold my breath about Thomas, Scalia and the boys deciding that plants and animals are good anytime soon.

Quote of the Day

"If you ask me what I came into this life to do, I will tell you: I came to live out loud."

Emile Zola, French novelist (1840-1902)

The Evil Empire Steps Down

Thanks to Keith Olbermann and all the other thousands of outraged Americans, Wal-Mart has backed down on taking the settlement money that former employee, Deborah Shank received (and which I wrote about previously). CNN has the full story here.

I guess even the evil empire saw the writing on the wall about this one. While I know that it doesn't probably mean a lot in the grand scheme of things—the economy is still tanking, we are still involved in a senseless war, and our environment is on the fast-track to destruction—at least it gives me a warm little glow that if small people make enough noise, we can change things.

Raise your glass to the little guy, sticking it to the man!

No Foolin'

Oh how I wish I were clever enough to try and pull off some practical joke for April Fool's Day. But alas, while it did occur to me to try and write a post that was nice about the Republicans as a joke ("I've seen the light and the GOP are right!"). I a) couldn't do it and b) knew no one would buy it.

I saw Stop Loss last night at the movies. It is probably the first war movie that I have seen and it stars Ryan Phillipe and the person of the opposite sex he supposedly torpedoed his union with Reese Witherspoon for. Reese may have moved on, but I am not so sure I am ready to forgive and forget. Us Southern girls have to stick together.

Anyway, it honestly wasn't a movie I was that into seeing and of the Iraq War-based movies that have been out there, it wouldn't have been my first pick. I probably would have gone with Rendition or Grace is Gone. That being said, it was a chance to hang with some friends, so I went.

The basic premise is a guy is set to get out of the army and he gets stop lossed and told he has to do a third tour in Iraq. He says no and splits. The movie then details him trying to find a way out of the situation, first legally and then not. In the end he caves and decides he can't run away and goes back to do his tour.

My feelings about the military are extremely mixed. While on one hand I am not super supportive (ever) of the idea of war, I recognize that sometimes countries aren't left with much choice and you need to defend or protect yourself. (The Iraq War is so not an example of this btw, in case you were wondering.) Plus military guys can be hot. There I said it. So sue me.

The thing I don't get though is the mentality that many (maybe not all) military personnel have—that very macho, gung-ho, I-don't-have-to-follow-your-rules-because-I-am-a-big-manly-man thing. It came up in this movie, one guy after being out for a couple of weeks literally can't separate himself from the military and another isn't even interested in a normal, non-military life. One ends up re-enlisting and the other commits suicide (sorry if I am ruining it for you). Is that military mindset equivalent to the conceited posturings that many uber-business types, Wall Streeters and the like have? I know that women are just as capable of that as men, but it does seem more prevalent in men than women. I just don't get it.

I really don't know what I am trying to say here. Overall I felt like the movie wanted to be deeper than it was. Its goal, to raise a discussion about the dishonesty and unfairness of our government's treatment of our soldiers and reservists during this war is a good idea. These people have been treated abysmally. But it missed the mark. At least for me.

On a bright note, I can tell you that Nicholas Cage's next film is going to be a suck-fest of immense proportions. It is called Bangkok Dangerous and if the title doesn't clue you in, the trailer will. My friends and I were on the floor laughing. And it isn't a comedy.