No Welfare for Foreigners

Inexplicably, illegal immigrants are receiving SNAP benefits.  Of course, they are also receiving other benefits, but this is the topic of the day on account of the shutdown.  Why are they receiving ANY benefits?  Not only did you cross the border illegally, but now you are a drain on our economy rather than a contributor to it.  We are poorer as a country because such people are here.  Deport!  At the very least, no benefits.  I am not a fan of government-provided welfare in the first place, but if we are going to have it, only US citizens should qualify to receive them.  All others, go back to your home country and be non-productive there.

Jackson: A Novel

It is 1828.  After 9-years of living in France, Harvard graduate David Chase returned to the United States upon his father's death.  He was left nothing.  Near penniless, he sought employment; he was a writer.  As luck would have it, William Short was looking for someone to write the definitive biography of Andrew Jackson.  Chase accepted the commission.

While the presidential campaign of 1828 is played like a chess game between Andrew Jackson and President John Quincy Adams, Chase interacts with a wide variety of historical figures from the era.  In the background, the biography of Andrew Jackson is told as chapters of Chase's book.  The New Orleans campaign dominates the biography and is the source of Jackson's fame.

The book uses point-of-view characters - some real, some fictional - to tell its story.

- Andrew Jackson is central character but has a limited role as a POV character.  Painted as a man of iron will, volcanic anger, bristling gray hair, and a stick thin bean pole, Jackson is not the illiterate backwoodsman that many thought.

- John Coffee has been Jackson's friend and ally for forty years.  A bear of a man who serves as Jackson's right hand, he plays a large role in protecting Jackson from scandal and managing the campaign with Alexander Hamilton's son, James.

- John Quincy Adams is a disciplined man of great intellect and talent, but a complete lack of charisma.  His son, Charles Francis Adams, serves as his secretary and his wife, Louisa, is unhappy.  Adams comes across as hapless, though entirely laudable.

Fictional POV characters:

- David Chase is a fictional character who crisscrosses the country to research his Jackson biography.  Though American by birth, he feels like an outsider thanks to his many years in France.  Washington City is a backwater compared to Paris and Nashville even more so.  Nonetheless, he finds himself admiring Jackson with each new chapter he writes.

- Mr. Hogwood, an Englishman, proved to be the first writer that William Short had employed.  Though dismissed in favor of Chase, Hogwood provided his research so far to Chase and made introductions to his contacts in Washington City.  Many of the early chapters of Jackson's life are written by Hogwood.

- Emma Colden is Hogwood's beautiful daughter and the object of Chase's desire.  An aspiring writer herself, she frequently complains that women are not allowed such freedoms.  When she is the POV, it is usually when there is an interview with noteworthy women such as Louisa Adams or Fanny Wright.

The book paints an excellent picture of America in 1828, from Boston, to Washington City, to Nashville, to New Orleans.  Historical figures such as John Randolph, Sam Houston, John Eaton, Nicholas Trist, George Ticknor, Sarah Hale, Frances Milton Trollope, and many more have something to say about the campaign, America, women's rights, slavery, Jackson, Jefferson, and other subjects.  Here is a dynamic country where technology is racing and possibilities are limitless.

Outstanding book and highly recommended.

UK on the Brink

David Betz, a professor of war studies at King's College, was a guest on Triggernometry.  He was clearly uncomfortable to be there and not a polished speaker.  His message is one that he is reluctant to deliver: the United Kingdom is on the brink of civil war.  What?  As one who has studied such things throughout his academic career, he sees all the signs of civil war.  The cratering of faith in the institutions of government.  The people no longer believe that the government can solve problems through the normal processes.  The troubles have grown worse despite multiple votes to address them.  He notably brought up Brexit, which was supposed to address the uncontrolled migration.  It arguably got worse in the wake of Brexit.  Then there is the admitted failure of multiculturalism.  This itself has created a crack in the country.  Where those who have grown up in the UK have a natural affinity and loyalty to the existing norms, the immigrants do not.  That several members of parliament - of foreign descent - voted to build an airport in Pakistan was a demonstration of factionalism.  These members were interested not in doing that which would benefit the UK as a whole, but their faction. Where the hosts were optimistic that Nigel Farage might reverse course, Betz was much less so.  He views Farage as a pressure release valve that may lower the heat for a time but not actually fix anything, essentially a Brexit 2.0.  The kindling for a fire has stacked up over 20 to 30 years and, sooner or later, there will be a spark that ignites it.  Rather than Royalist Cavaliers vs. Parliamentarian Roundheads, this conflict is between the 'We Want Out Country Back' faction and the 'Shut the F--- Up!' faction. Betz proposes that the civil war will begin - if it hasn't already - when an anonymous native group targets a judge, influencer, or such.

Betz noted that the cities were in one camp while rural areas in the other.  Cities are notably weak, as they depend on the produce of the rural areas to survive.  Disruption of power, gas, and food will cause the cities to explode in civil strife and the police will be powerless to quell it.

Dark days ahead.

McBain (1991)

Vietnam, 1975

A squad of men receive word that the war is over and they are to pull out.  They climb aboard a Huey and fly over the jungle.  However, they spot some POWs being marched along and decide to engage.  Among the POWs is Robert McBain (Christopher Walken).  He offers eternal gratitude to the leader of the squad, Roberto Santos, offering to repay the debt.  Half of a $100 bill is given as a token of this debt.

Columbia, 1990

Santos is a revolutionary who fights El Presidente and his narco-terrorist enablers.  He has planned to assault the presidential palace and overthrow the government.  Instead, he surrenders to save innocent lives and is executed on live TV.

Christina Santos (Maria Conchita Alonso) travels to NYC to locate McBain.  She gives him the other half of the hundred-dollar bill.  McBain swings into action, assembling the very men who rescued him with Santos.  One of them, Frank Bruce (Michael Ironside) has become immensely wealthy as an arms dealer.  They travel to Columbia and restart the revolution.

Though it has an interesting plot, the execution is mediocre to weak.  The characters have all the emotion of a potato.  Walken is bland and boring.  The script gives the characters nothing to do.  The battles are ludicrous.  Everyone loves to stand exposed while they shoot, only to be utterly amazed when they prove to be easy targets.  Of course, the principle cast doesn't have to worry about that.  Christina stands up from cover and no bullets hit her.  Ditto for McBain.  Sigh.

Hard pass.

American Made (2017)

Barry Seal (Tom Cruise) is a TWA pilot with a penchant for mischief.  When introduced, he intentionally nosedives an airliner and then explains it away as turbulence.  He is caught smuggling Cuban cigars for extra cash.  Such antics bring him to the attention of Schafer (Domhnall Gleeson) as a potential resource.  Soon, Barry is flying recon missions over Central America and Columbia.  However, the CIA isn't paying well and he finds a new income source by transporting drugs into the US.  At risk of being arrested - but given warning by Schafer, Barry flees to Mena, Arkansas, a sleepy town with an airport that miraculously becomes Barry's property.  His business expands and Barry brings in more pilots.  Now he is running guns to the Contras in Nicaragua and drugs for the Columbians, or maybe vice versa.  Eventually, the crimes catch up to Barry and Schafer abandons him to law enforcement.

Based on the true story of Barry Seal (1939-1986), the movie has cameos by noteworthy characters.  Pablo Escobar is one of the Columbian drug lords from the Medellin Cartel, George W Bush sits sheepishly next to Barry at the White House while announcing that he too is a pilot, Ronald & Nancy Reagan have their 'Just Say No' to drugs TV appearance, and the Governor of Arkansas (Bill Clinton) instructs law enforcement to cut Barry loose despite mountains of evidence.

How much of this is true and how much is exaggeration and make believe?  Barry comes across as reckless and not too bright, but somehow is wildly successful.  Is it all down to his connections with the CIA?  Barry thought he was a CIA operative, but he was clearly just a pawn.  How did he not see that?  Was he willfully blind to it on account of all the money?

This was an unusual role for Tom Cruise.  Typically, he plays intense characters who, at some point, is going to deliver a line with a sharpness of a knife's edge or glare so hard that he could break a brick.  Barry doesn't have edges or hard surfaces.  Also, Barry never does the mad sprint, a staple of Tom Cruise movies.  He once fled on a bike, which was clumsy and comic.  He's a go with the flow sort of guy.  His frequent haplessness makes one wonder how he thrives in such a cutthroat industry.

For a movie that views itself as an action comedy film, the comedy is not the laugh out loud kind and the action is mostly stunt flying.  When Barry sees action, he is usually the victim of it.  Overall, it is just okay.

The Peace Deal

It is a day for celebration.  The current war between Israel and the Palestinians has come to a conclusion, just as it has so many times before.  Where those who engineered the peace paint a rosy picture of the future, it is all too likely that this is just a lull in the eternal struggle.  Hamas shall lie low for a few years as it recruits more fodder and assembles a new arsenal, same as always.  This is only an extended ceasefire; to think otherwise is to have no knowledge of the region's history.

Then again, the peace between Israel and Egypt has held for nearly a half century.  The Abraham Accords have normalized relations between Israel and several Muslim Arab countries.  The peace process may not be the chimera it has long appeared to be.  It has taken decades, but progress toward regional peace is undeniable.  Would the various peace agreements have been successful without American arm-twisting?

Peace is good strategy for the time being.  Islam is conquering the West through unfettered migration.  Muslims are openly declaring their intent to overwhelm countries where they have immigrated, assuring them that Sharia Law is on the horizon.  The West is too soft to believe it, even as more and more districts of capital cities become Muslim majority.  The West celebrates the 'peace' in a distant land while strife takes root in the home country.

Ten Gentlemen from West Point (1942)

In the Senate, Henry Clay argues in favor of funding the military academy at West Point while others, notably John Randolph of Roanoke, argued against.  Though the bill was passed, Major Samuel Carter was placed in command of West Point with the task of getting all the cadets to resign, thus defeating the academy by other means.  Among the first batch of cadets were Joe Dawson of Kentucky (George Montgomery) and Howard Shelton of New York (John Sutton).  Carolyn Bainbridge (Maureen O'Hara) was both Shelton's fiancée and an important lobbyist in favor of West Point.  She followed Shelton to West Point to be near him and offer assistance to the cadets.  The cadets must overcome the regular soldiers who dislike them, the machinations of Major Carter, and often each other.  Will the US Military Academy survive?

The story is campy nonsense, an ahistorical mess that doesn't know when it happens, where it happens, or who was involved.  Thomas Jefferson established West Point shortly after becoming president in 1801.  However, the battle in which this inaugural cohort of cadets fights took place in 1811.  Interesting tinkering with the timeline.  Of course, Henry Clay served several stints in the Senate, the first being from 1806 to 1807 then again from 1810 to 1811.  On the other hand, John Randolph of Roanoke spent his career almost entirely in the House of Representatives.  He spent two years in the Senate from 1825 to 1827.  However, he did have a habit of bringing his dog into the house chambers, which was a nice touch in the movie.

The battle against Tecumseh is complete fiction.  During the campaign, General William Henry Harrison marched his army north from Vincennes and established Fort Harrison at what is now Terre Haute, IN.  After some training of his troops, he marched north to the battle that made him famous: Tippecanoe.  His forces battled Tecumseh's brother, Tenskwata.  Tecumseh was somewhere in the South, recruiting more tribes to the eventual fight against the Americans that came in the War of 1812.  This telling has the Ten Gentlemen left at Fort Harrison when Harrison marched north.  No sooner is Harrison gone than Tecumseh moves against the fort.  Can our cadets use their hard-earned military knowledge to save the day?  Of course they can.  They can use the fictional account of the Battle of Tours (732 AD) to defeat Tecumseh.

George Montgomery lays on the Southern charm, a poor country boy from Kentucky with homespun grammar and a can-do attitude.  John Sutton plays the cultured New Yorker with deep pockets and a haughty disposition.  Each have opportunities to shine, though George is clearly the more likeable of the two.  Maureen O'Hara outshines the rest of the cast.  Of course, she is the object of everyone's affection and the keystone of a love triangle.  Who will win her heart: the Kentuckian or the New Yorker?

Mediocre.  Skip.