Wicked City (1987)

In Tokyo, Taki has just successfully seduced a woman and gone back to her place.  While they are lying naked in bed, she suddenly transforms into a spider-like creature.  Taki narrowly avoids being castrated.  The woman-spider laughs and climbs down the high-rise and vanishes into the woods.  Though most people are unaware, supernatural beings have always lived among humanity.  They are from the Black World.  There has been a truce between the sides, but this encounter indicates the peace is about to collapse.  Taki is a Black Guard, a special agent who fights the supernatural.

Called into a meeting, he is tasked with protecting a VIP: Giuseppe Mayart.  Mayart is key to extending the peace for another 500 years.  Since it is so important, Taki is given a partner: Makie.  Makie is supernatural from the Black World, but she hopes for peace.  In fact, she says much of the Black World would have peace but many view humans as lesser beings to be subjugated or slain.  Taki and Makie meeting each other while fighting some of those who want to prevent the peace treaty.  Makie proves to be an alarmingly beautiful woman despite wearing a man's suit and tie.  After pleasantries, they pickup Giuseppe and escort him to a psychically protected hotel, a safe house for the Black Guard.  Giuseppe is less than thrilled as he is hornier than a sailor after 6 months at sea.  Though the treaty is to be signed tomorrow, this proves to be the longest night of Taki and Makie's lives.

Despite being an anime, there is plentiful nudity and sexual situations.  It is not an easy watch with all the sex, which frequently sees Makie getting groped, molested, or worse.  Yeah, this is not an anime for the kids.

The story has a big twist at the end that upends much of what had gone before.  If this was what had been intended, then that earlier bit when this happened makes no sense at all.  The twist undermines the movie.  Ugh.  As for the fights, they are mediocre.  Each supernatural has its generally disgusting attack mode, be it claws from a ribcage, tentacles from the chest, a toothy maw between the woman-spider's legs (really!), or a sexual-orifice that dominates a demonic woman's abdomen and chest.

Skip this one.

Adventure Story (1961)

Alexander (Sean Connery) lies in bed, dying.  His followers crowd around, eager for him to name a successor.  Instead, in his delirium, he reviews the decisions that brought him there.  He remembers his encounter with the Oracle at Delphi, his victory at Isus, finding Darius III dead and abandoned in a cart, the treachery of Philotas, and his marriage to Roxanna.  In the end, he dies without naming a successor, merely stating they should fight for it.

Considering that this is the story of one of the greatest conquerors of all time, there is no fighting.  This is a play that was written for the stage.  The battles are all off screen and the characters only convene to discuss plans for the upcoming battle or celebrate the victory in its aftermath.  It is very unlike Oliver Stone's Alexander (2004).

Alexander comes across as an uncertain youth, a man with great talent and charisma but burdened by private doubts.  Despite his achievements, he still wonders if his father would be proud.  He desperately wants the approval of those around him; those who don't approve might find themselves murdered.  Indeed, most of the characters in the play are dead by the end.

The history is accurate, but the telling is boring.  A year later, Sean Connery got his big break as James Bond in Dr. No (1962).  Check that out instead.

President Kamala Harris: Day 1

After more than a month as the nominee, Kamala Harris final agreed to an interview.  Dana Bash started off by asking, "What would you do on day one?"

Well, there are a number of things. I will tell you first and foremost one of my highest priorities is to do what we can to support and strengthen the middle class. When I look at the aspirations, the goals, the ambitions of the American people, I think that people are ready for a new way forward in a way that generations of Americans have been fueled by — by hope and by optimism.

I think sadly in the last decade, we have had in the former president someone who has really been pushing an agenda and an environment that is about diminishing the character and the strength of who we are as Americans — really dividing our nation. And I think people are ready to turn the page on that.

 

Okay, that was a non-answer.  It prompted Dana Bash to a follow-up question: "So what would you do day one?"

Day one, it’s gonna be about one, implementing my plan for what I call an opportunity economy. I’ve already laid out a number of proposals in that regard, which include what we’re gonna do to bring down the cost of everyday goods, what we’re gonna do to invest in America’s small businesses, what we’re gonna do to invest in families.

For example, extending the child tax credit to $6,000 for families for the first year of their child’s life to help them buy a car seat, to help them buy baby clothes, a crib. There’s the work that we’re gonna do that is about investing in the American family around affordable housing, a big issue in our country right now. So there are a number of things on day one.

 

At least this time she offered a policy: $6000 tax credit for a newborn.  Then we have a return to the vague aspirations of her administration.  This is so unspecific that it could come from either a Democrat or a Republican.  That is not accidental.

The funniest thing about her interview was that it gave the impression that Trump was the incumbent and she was the challenger.  Things are tough but we'll sort them out when she is president.  Huh?  Why not sort them now when she is VP?  Then she had her line about the last decade being contrary to the country's spirit.  Even Bash had to point out that she has been VP for the last 3 and a half years of that contrarian decade.

Love him or hate him, Trump doesn't dodge the press or offer empty platitudes.  He'll tell you his policy, even the wreckless and ill-considered ones.  Government funded IVF?  Really?  We don't have enough government funded items?  Trump talks unfiltered for hours while Harris has a 20-minute sit-down with her VP nominee at her side.  This is the 2020 hide-in-the-basement strategy.  Let's avoid making errors and hope Trump implodes.  Let's leave the electorate uninformed about us and hope they paint a rosy picture, like they did with Joe Biden.

Three Time Loser: The Great Compromiser

Discouraged by the Tyler administration, Henry Clay nevertheless saw opportunity coming in 1844.  Though Tyler wanted to be re-elected, no party wanted him.  He had left the Democratic Party and betrayed the Whig Party.  It looked like Martin Van Buren would be the Democratic nominee in 1844 and Clay the Whig.  Clay liked his chances.  Despite the ongoing ruckus about annexing Texas, neither Van Buren nor Clay were in favor of that.  It would be a policy argument, the American System vs. Jacksonian Democracy.  Once again, events turned against Clay.

Though Van Buren received the majority of the votes for the nomination at the Democratic Convention, he could not secure the two-third required.  Nor could any of the other initial contenders.  Then, someone suggested James Knox Polk.  Polk, the first dark horse candidate, was selected on the 9th ballot.  Unlike Van Buren, Polk favored the annexation of Texas.  President Tyler, who was running an independent campaign that supported annexation, dropped out of the race in favor of Polk.  The election now became a referendum on the Texas question and the country voted for annexation.  Henry Clay was now a three-time loser for the presidency.  Even so, he was not yet done.

Clay had taken Mexico at its word that a war would commence if Texas was annexed.  Not only would it lead to war with Mexico, but it would exacerbate the slavery issue.  Despite being a slave owner, Clay viewed slavery as morally wrong and had argued for gradual emancipation.  This half-measure on his part was appreciated by neither the abolitionist of the North nor the slave owners of the South.  However, it did demonstrate why he was called the Great Compromiser.  Indeed, he had a long track record of shepherding compromises through Congress.

The Missouri Compromise (1820) allowed Missouri to join the Union as a slave state, but offset that by admitting Maine as a free state.  Further, it set a boundary between slave and free states.  It was kicking the can down the road but quelled the hot tempers of the moment.

The Nullification Crisis (1832) saw South Carolina claiming a right to ignore Federal Tariffs.  President Jackson proposed invading South Carolina if that should happen.  Jackson's vice president, John C. Calhoun, resigned during the growing divide; he was a South Carolinian and one of the strongest voices for nullification.  Clay, despite his long rivalry with Jackson, sided against the Nullifiers.  He did not like Jackson's solution of a Force Bill and military invasion.  Instead, he guided the passage of a reduction in the tariff, which mollified the Nullifiers.  The hostilities subsided and Clay was once again key in maintaining domestic tranquility.

The Compromise of 1850 resolved what to do with the vast territory acquired in the Mexican-American War.  Where President Taylor was in favor of adding California and New Mexico as free states, the South was strongly opposed to such a move.  Once again, Clay assembled legislation that offered something for everyone, but also a bitter cost.  California could be a free state but the fugitive slave laws would be strengthened.  Texas would lose much of its claimed territory in exchange for debt relief.  New Mexico would be a territory, not a state.  Taylor's untimely death and replacement by Millard Filmore saw the compromised signed into law.

In 1848, Clay had tried a final run for the presidency, but General Zachary Taylor won the Whig nomination.  Yes, as in 1840, Clay lost the nomination to a general who died in office.  He had sought the presidency in 1824, 1832, 1840, 1844, and 1848.  Though he never made it to the presidency, he is a hugely consequential American.  Clay died in 1852 and became the first person to lie in state in the Capitol rotunda.

Three Time Loser: The Whig Party

In the wake of the War of 1812, Henry Clay proposed his American System.  He called for a high tariff to protect and encourage American manufacturing, infrastructure spending to foster domestic commerce, more funding for national defense, a national bank to provide credit, and Federal assumption of state debt.  This eventually became the foundation for the Whig Party nearly 2 decades later.  Though President John Quincy Adams liked the American System, the Congress was not inclined to pass it.  Clay's stint as Secretary of State was busy but not noteworthy; it was mostly a case of maintaining the status quo with minor tweaks.

In the wake of the 1824 election, the Democratic-Republican party splintered.  Jackson had founded the Democratic Party (which is the one that exists today) and Adams became a National Republican.  There were other splinter parties such as the Anti-Masonic and Nullifier. In 1828, the rematch took place and Jackson crushed Adams.  Clay found himself out of government but now he was looking toward a rematch.   Clay was back in the Senate in 1831, a 20-year gap since his last service in that deliberative body.

In 1832, Clay was the nominee for the National Republican Party.  Like the 1824 election, there were multiple candidates though they each represented different parties.  There was John Floyd for the Nullifier Party and William Wirt for the Anti-Masonic Party.  Jackson proved too popular and the opposition too disorganized.  Clay won less than 40% of the vote and 49 electoral votes to Jackson's 54% of the vote and 219 electoral votes.  It was Clay's second losing run at the presidency.

Clay set about coalescing the anti-Jacksonians into a single party: The Whigs.  In Britain, the Whigs had opposed absolute monarchy and Clay viewed Jackson in that light.  In 1836, Jackson held with tradition of only serving two terms.  His chosen successor, Martin Van Buren, ran as the Democratic nominee.  Though Clay's Whig Party had assembled the various anti-Jacksonians, it was unable to settle on a single candidate.  As such, 1836 saw 4 Whigs facing Van Buren; Clay was not one of them.  Would the multiplicity of candidates lead to a contingent election like in 1824?  No.  Van Buren won, but the Whigs did secure seats in Congress.

In 1837, the Whigs controlled a third of the seats in the Senate and 40% in the House.  Clay had high hopes for the election of 1840.  Martin Van Buren - "Martin Van Ruin" - had presided over a disastrous economy and his re-election chances didn't look strong.  Though Clay sought the nomination, General William Henry Harrison was selected at the Whig National Convention; he had had the strongest showing of the 4 Whigs in 1836.  Harrison defeated Van Buren and the Whigs seized both the Senate and the House of Representatives!  Oh, happy days!  Clay was eager to implement the American System, but then disaster struck.  Harrison died only 1 month into his presidency and Vice President Tyler proved not to be quite the convert to the Whig Party as thought.

Three Time Loser: The Corrupt Bargain!

Henry Clay was born in Virginia in 1777.  Twenty years later, he moved to Kentucky and began a law practice.  He was involved in politics from the start, having suggested revisions to the Kentucky Constitution to gradually end slavery (1799), being elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives (1803), to serving as a US Senator (1806-07, 1810-11).  He didn't much care for the Senate and pursued a career in the House of Representatives.  Despite being a freshman Congressman, Clay was elected to be Speaker of the House; he was only 34 years old.  He proved to be a commanding speaker and led the war hawks in demanding war with Britain.  Indeed, the Congress - as is its prerogative - declared war on June 18, 1812.  Two years later, Clay was selected by President Madison to join the peace commission in the Netherlands to end the war.  Also on the commission was John Quincy Adams, son of President John Adams.

In 1824, James Monroe followed the example set by Washington, Jefferson, and Madison to retire after 2 terms in office.  The Federalist Party had evaporated, which led to 4 Democratic-Republicans competing for the presidency.  There was General Andrew Jackson, Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, Secretary of the Treasury William Crawford, and Speaker of the House Henry Clay.  With so many candidates, Clay was certain that no one would gain enough electoral votes to win; that would send the election to the House of Representatives.  He was certain that he would be chosen in the body he led.  Though it was a sound plan, Clay placed fourth and the 12th Amendment only allowed the House to select among the top three.  Foiled!  It was his first losing run for the presidency.

Though he could not win, he had the power to select among the three.  William Crawford had suffered a stroke and was unsuited to the presidency at this point.  There was bad blood between Clay and Jackson.  In 1818, Jackson had invaded Spanish Florida and hanged two British subjects.  Clay found this outrageous and accused him of being a potential military dictator, like Bonaparte, Cromwell, Caesar, or Alexander the Great.  Though Jackson had the largest vote total of the three candidates, Clay would not lobby in favor of him.  That left his former peace commission colleague, John Quincy Adams.

John Quincy Adams was chosen by the House as the next president.  It is noteworthy that Adams had been serving as President Monroe's Secretary of State.  Each of his three predecessors - Monroe, Madison, and Jefferson - had served as Secretary of State.  It was a training ground for future presidents.  President Adams selected Henry Clay to be his Secretary of State.

If there had been bad blood between Clay and Jackson before, this greatly exacerbated the feud.  Jackson declared a 'Corrupt Bargain' had been struck where Clay supported Adams in exchange for the prime cabinet post.  There would be a rematch in 1828.

Starliner: End of the Line

The Boeing Starliner space capsule launched in early June for a weeklong test flight to the International Space Station (ISS).  Almost three months later, it remains docked to the station on account of safety concerns.  The two astronauts will be returning to earth via a SpaceX Dragon capsule in February.  This is the latest catastrophic failure of the Boeing spacecraft.  Years of development and troubleshooting and it is still not ready for use.  There is something seriously wrong at Boeing if it is still having issues.  It has been two years since the last flight (May 2022) revealed thruster issues, but now it has thruster issues.  Really?  NASA should kill the program.

Time to switch to the Dream Chaser.  The spaceplane designed by Sierra Space is far more versatile and is well on its way to completion.  If all goes well, it will do its first orbital flight next year.  That is probably sooner than the Starliner will be ready for yet another test flight.

Shelley Duvall

Having recently watched Time Bandits, I went to IMDb.com and checked out the Trivia, the Goofs, and other films where I might see the actors.  To my surprise, I discovered that Shelley Duvall - who played Pansy in Middle Ages England and on the Titanic - died last month.  Over the years, I have only seen a few films in which she starred.  Obviously, her most famous role would have to be as Jack Nickolson's wife in The Shining (1980).  All I remember of her performance is the horrified look on her face as Jack hacked through the door with an axe.  That is not my favorite role for her.  No, I thought she was brilliantly cast as Olive Oyl in the live-action Popeye (1980), which came out the same year as The Shining.  She was absolutely terrific as Olive.

In some class in high school, we watched several short films and one of them was Bernice Bobs Her Hair (1976).  It was a quirky movie that took place on the cusp of women going from long hair coiffed atop their head to the shorter hair of the 1920s.  It had this mean girls vibe to it.  Definitely recommended, if you can find it.

Lastly, I saw her in Brewster McCloud (1970).  That movie made no sense to me when I saw it and her character was inexplicable.  Of course, I had no idea what that movie was about.

RIP

Ahead of My Time

Four years ago, I asked if Biden would bow out.  Why?  Because it was obvious that he was going senile.  What is interesting is what I supposed might happen:

Having won the nomination, he could admit to his mental decline and gracefully bow out. The Democratic Convention has a floor fight to pick the nominee. That could generate a lot of excitement though it does have the problem of nixing the primary results. ...  If Biden does bow out, Democrats will angle for a black woman. Then, any criticism of her - or her policies - will be either racist or sexist, possibly both.

Thanks to the Democrat-aligned media, Joe's dementia was kept under wraps for nearly his entire term.  Not until his ill-advised June debate - carefully timed to take place after the nomination was secured but still leaving plenty of time to boost his replacement - did the country have clear evidence of his mental decline.  The Democrats did not bother with a floor fight and simply elevated Kamala Harris - a black woman - to the top spot.

There is a new wrinkle though.  Joe was replaced because he was mentally impaired (and should be removed by the 25th amendment), but his replacement has adopted his 2020 campaign strategy: avoid the press.  Kamala Harris has not had an unscripted event since being named the nominee.  The basement strategy won last time; let's try it again. 

Time Bandits (1981)

Kevin (Craig Warnock) is a boy fascinated by history.  After bed one night, a mounted knight burst from his wardrobe, leapt over his bed, and galloped down a tree-lined path.  What?  Kevin's father appeared moments later to demand Kevin go to sleep and not make so much noise.  There was no sign of the knight's passage.  The following night, Kevin was prepared; he had a camera and a flashlight.  He awoke to find six dwarves emerging from the wardrobe.  They were soon followed by a disembodied head that demanded they "Return what you have stolen from me!"  Caught up in the rush, Kevin plunges into a time hole with the dwarves.

The dwarves have a map - which they stole - that shows where holes in time exist, allowing them to travel time and plunder the best stuff.  Their leader is Randall (David Rappaport).  Fidgit (Kenny Baker) is the nice one, Og (Mike Edmonds) is the dumb one, Wally (Jack Purvis) is the angry one, Strutter (Malcolm Dixon) is four foot one, and Vermin (Tiny Ross) eats whatever is at hand.

1796 Italy.  Kevin tried to flee from the dwarves only to run into French cavalry.  Soon, they encounter Napoleon (Ian Holm) who, being sensitive about his height, eagerly recruits the dwarves as his new generals.  They use the opportunity to steal all the plunder and escape through another time hole.

Middle Ages England.  Finding themselves captured by ruffians, Randall convinces them that they too are ruffians and want to join the gang.  It turns out these are Robin Hood's (John Cleese) men!  Robin is most pleased with all the treasure they have brought and commence to redistribute it to the poor.  Once again forced to flee from the disembodied head, they find two gates.  Kevin goes through one that quickly closes, separating him from the dwarves.

Ancient Greece.  Kevin falls upon a Greek warrior who is battling a minotaur.  The Greek warrior proves to be King Agamemnon (Sean Connery) and Kevin quickly grows attached and even becomes his adoptive son and chosen successor!  But the dwarves have not forgotten Kevin and come to rescue him from his peril and steal some booty while they're at it!

In the Age of Legends, Kevin and the dwarves face an ogre, a giant, and finally Evil incarnate.  All their adventures had led to this point, as Evil (David Warner) lured them there to steal the map.  With the map, he will change all of creation!

I originally saw this movie when it was released.  We were spending the weekend in Palm Desert and my mother dropped my brother and me at the theater to see this.  Great fun.  I've seen it several times over the years and have always enjoyed it.  Highly recommended.

Amistad (1997)

It is 1839 and La Amistad, a Spanish schooner, is asea with a cargo hold full of slaves.  The slaves break free of their chains and kill most of the Spanish crew.  Those Spaniards left alive are ordered to sail the ship to Africa.  Of course, the sailors deceive the slaves by sailing toward the sunrise by day but turn around at night.  Eventually, the Amistad is intercepted by an American ship and taken to Connecticut.  Initially, it is assumed that a slave revolt had occurred, in which case the slaves would be executed and the Spaniards allowed to leave with their ship.  However, it was instead determined that the 'slaves' were from Africa.  The African slave trade is illegal.  Ergo, these are not slaves, but free men who had every right to kill those who held them in bondage.  This was an inconvenient conclusion for both Spain and the United States.  President Van Buren (Nigel Hawthorne) wanted the ship and slaves sent back to Cuba or Spain, anywhere that would make them someone else's problem.

Abolitionist Lewis Tappan (Stellan Skarsgard) eagerly takes up the case of the enslaved Africans.  He hires Roger Sherman Baldwin (Matthew McConaughey) to argue the case.  As the Africans don't speak English, it is necessary to find an interpreter, who happens to be sailor currently in port, James Covey (Chiwetel Ejiofor).  Now they can interview the Africans and get the story, most importantly that of their leader, Cinque (Djimon Hounsou).  Despite difficulties, Baldwin wins the case!  But the government appeals to the Supreme Court.  Now former President and current Congressman John Quincy Adams (Anthony Hopkins) joins the case to argue the Africans' cause.

Overall, the movie gets the story correct.  However, there are many details over which to quibble.  Roger Baldwin is painted as a poor young lawyer who is getting his first big case.  McConaughey was in his late 20s when the movie was made.  The real Roger Baldwin was in his mid-40s and from a prominent family.  Queen Isabella II (Anna Paquin) was not yet of age to rule.  Those scenes where her advisors talk to her about the slave ship in American are just nonsense.  Queen Maria Christina was the regent during most of the Amistad drama.  Theodore Joadson (Morgan Freeman) is a fictional character; why?  What, you don't have enough characters already that you want to spend some screen time with a fictional one?

President Van Buren is treated badly by the script.  First, he did not go on the campaign trail to kiss babies and give stump speeches.  Campaigns were run by surrogates while the candidate stayed home.  Whistle stops are decades in the future.  Nor was he photographed while in office; the first president photographed in office was James K Polk in 1849.  That John C Calhoun should show up to a state dinner and embarrass Van Buren in front of the Spanish Minister is unthinkable.  Van Buren was a gifted politician (earning nicknames such as Little Magician and Red Fox of Kinderhook) who was the tactician behind President Andrew Jackson.  There is a reason that Jackson selected Van Buren as his successor.  Casting Nigel Hawthorne, who had recently (1994) portrayed the mentally disturbed King George III, further diminishes Van Buren.  He is walked over by his own cabinet secretaries, browbeaten by his opponents, and generally shown to be incompetent.  Good grief!

By contrast, John Quincy Adams comes across as the greatest former president who ever was.  Where most presidents vanish into retirement, Adams was elected to the House of Representatives only a couple of years after his presidency and remained there until he died in 1848.  During his lifetime, he had spent time in all the political parties (Federalist, Democratic-Republican, National Republican, Anti-Masonic, and finally Whig).  Hopkins does a great job with the character.

Overall, the film has uneven pacing and not enough focus.  Spielberg is telling too many stories.  If this was a mini-series, all of these characters could have arcs, but not here.  Dump the scenes in Spain, leave Van Buren out, delete the fictional characters, and focus on the story on Cinque.  Act 1, the revolt on the Amistad to the capture.  Act 2, the first trial where Baldwin wins.  Act 3, the Supreme Court and John Quincy Adams.  The rest is just filler that takes away from this central story and these most important characters.

Entertaining but not particularly educational.  The best part is Hopkins as JQ Adams.

The Dead Don't Die (2019)

Chief Robertson (Bill Murray) and Officer Peterson (Adam Driver) drive to the outskirts of town and hike into the woods.  Ronnie Peterson brings the shotgun.  They find a skinned squirrel.  Hiding in the bushes is Hermit Bob (Tom Waits).  Chief Cliff Robertson asks him not to steal Frank's chickens; it's illegal.  Bob replies by saying, "F--- you, Cliff!"  They return to the patrol car and drive back to town.  It is noteworthy that it is still light out despite being after 8 PM.  Something weird is happening.  The news discounts the theory that polar fracking has caused the earth's tilt to change.

"This won't end well," Ronnie predicts.

The town of Centerville has a population under 1000, some of whom are met as Cliff and Ronnie head back to the station.  There's Billy (Caleb Landry Jones) who runs a combo gas station and comicbook shop, Hank (Danny Glover) who owns the hardware store, Frank (Steve Buscemi) the farmer, Zelda (Tilda Swinton) the new owner of the funeral home, Fern who owns the diner, Lily the cleaning lady, a trio of delinquents at the Juvenile Detention Center, Danny the motel owner, and a trio of hipsters who have stopped for the night, and Mindy (Chloe Sevigny) the other police officer.  With all the characters introduced, the zombies arise and commence to dine.

The movie is not your usual zombie movie.  Some of the characters are entirely self-aware.  Early on, Ronnie declares that the music on the radio is the theme song; it is the theme song to the movie.  Later, he explains how he knows that it won't end well; he read the script.  For a zombie film, it is never scary.  If there was a point, it might be found in the ramblings of Hermit Bob as he witnesses the destruction of Centerville by the zombie hordes.  Maybe everyone was zombies already, mindlessly pursuing consumerism and their useless hobbies.  The world is a terrible place.

There are scenes that might have been funny but weren't.  There were parts that could have been scary but weren't.  The bonds between the characters were almost nil, to where the death of someone was often met with little more than a shrug.  Tilda Swinton's character was completely bonkers!  Some characters are completely pointless, namely the hipsters and the juvenile delinquents.  Why bother with either?  Give more time to the principal characters.

With such a cast, this was a disappointment.  Skip.

Presidents should be Parents First

Several years ago, during one of those meetings of the major economic powers of Europe and the United States, it was noted that most of the European leaders were childless.  Not just a couple of them but most of them had no kids.  Never even tried to have kids.  How strange.  One might ask, What does that matter?  If you have kids, you have a stake in the future.  You don't want to enjoy the party for yourself and leave an absolute mess for your kids.  But if you have no kids, what do you care?

Angela Merkel had no children.  She also opened the floodgates for migrants who were not the best fit for Germany.  With no investment in Germany's future, she was willing to make changes with little concern for the longterm consequences.

Kamala Harris is childless.  Sure, she has a step-daughter through her husband, but that's not the same thing.  A parent looks at the landscape being left for their children and grandchildren.  A politician looks at the next election.  The childless politicians of Europe have set the continent on a downward spiral with a crashing fertility rate and a rapidly expanding foreign population that has no desire to be British, French, German, or any other flavor of European.  No need to go down that path.

Phil Donahue

In the late 80s and early 90s, I was a regular viewer of Phil Donahue.  His show was kind of news-lite and it ran the gamut from entertainment to politics, and often hosted figures from each.  Frequently, the show was just the one guest and Phil would have a conversation and field questions from the audience.  Phil was openly liberal, not hiding behind a facade of neutrality.  At least, that's how I took him.  His show aired when it was still rude to just cut off the guest or filibuster the time.  It was more like a liberal version of Firing Line than Crossfire.  I can recall no specifics from the show, but toward the end Phil was always harried as he ran about the audience with the microphone to let someone else ask a question.  Oddly, when I first started watching Donahue, I mostly agreed with him.  By the time I stopped, I almost always disagreed.

RIP

Ballot Access Problem

VP Harris may have an issue with getting her name on all the ballots.  Joe Biden won every race, which was how one gets his name on the November ballot.  By dropping out, that does not automatically change the name.  Nor does his endorsement after his dropout assure that the endorsee is listed on the ballot.  What if he had endorsed Trump?  Crazy, but we all know his endorsement in that case would be ignored and tossed.  Let's suppose all the delegates vote for Kamala at the forthcoming convention.  That would be a return to the old style of choosing candidates, back before we had primaries.  One of the reasons for the switch to primaries was to disempower the political bosses in the smoke-filled rooms from imposing a candidate.  The primaries chose Joe Biden; the party bosses have selected Kamala Harris.  Is that legal?

Bernie Sanders' supporters took the Democratic Party to court for putting a thumb on the scale against him.  The judge agreed that the party 'cheated' to make sure Bernie wasn't the nominee, but the party gets to do what it wants.  It's a political party, not a government agency or business that must follow laws.  It is not up to the courts to decide how political parties choose candidates.  With that in mind, the switch to Kamala is likely to be fine as far as the party is concerned but that still leaves the states.

States have election laws.  Do the states allow for a switch after the primary?  Most almost certainly do, but maybe not all.  That could be a problem.  Back in June, there was a concern that Joe Biden would not appear on the Ohio ballot.  Legislation was passed and the Republican governor signed it in order that Joe Biden would be listed on the Ohio ballot; there was a deadline, which is why it was a newsworthy issue.  Will there need to be additional legislation to switch to Kamala?  If so, should the Republicans oblige?  Lawfare is apparently fair play this year.

I have heard it asserted that Joe Biden will either resign or be forced out of office before the election.  Why?  Because that will make VP Harris the president and the sitting president is always listed on the ballot.  Here is the opportunity to overcome any legal issues and transform Kamala Harris into the incumbent president.  Is it likely?  Probably not, but I wouldn't rule it out.

Space Adventure Cobra (1982)

Jane Flower is a bounty hunter.  She has just taken the head of a particularly valuable bounty when a strange man starts following her.  He claims to know where to find the biggest bounty of them all.  Is that so?  Yes, he knows where to find Cobra.  "But Cobra is dead!"

"No, I've just been in hiding," Cobra explains.  Cobra is a confident, charismatic man of action.  He always has a cigar in his mouth, a smile on his face, and a twinkle in his eye.  Rather than try to capture him for his bounty, Jane falls immediately in love with him.  Of course.  Jane is one of the last of her race and has a prophecy on the cusp of fulfillment.  She must find love and return to Myras, the planet without a star.  But first, she must free her sister.  After some lovemaking with Cobra, she recruits him to rescue her sister from a maximum-security prison.  "How will I recognize her?"

"She looks just like me.  We're triplets."

"Don't you mean twins?"

"No.  I have another sister who also looks like me."

Cobra has a huge ship that is crewed by himself and his sexy android, Lady.  From here, it is a tour of the galaxy as Cobra fights star fighters, skeletons, killer robots, snow guerrillas, and the big boss, Crystal Boy.  Guns are useless against Cobra as he dodges every shot.  He has two primary weapons: his revolver and his psychogun, which is an alternate form of his left hand.  How does that work?

Some of the artwork is clearly inspired by Heavy Metal (1981) since Jane looks surprisingly like Taarna, the bikini-clad swordswoman.  Likewise, she gets naked a lot, though this is often done without the details; just smooth skin.  Some scenes are inspired by 2001: A Space Odyssey.  There are psychedelic scenes that show the triplets are connected to the universe in a strange way.

The story is weak, but the action is plentiful.  It is never boring.  Just okay.

Dark Angel (1990)

It is December in Houston and the CD player in a Mercedes goes haywire.  Fiddling with it, the driver loses control of his car and crashes into a Christmas tree lot.  He climbs out of the car and suddenly it explodes!  Rising from the flaming wreckage is a giant of a man with pale eyes.  "I come in peace!"

Detective Jack Caine (Dolph Lundgren) is in a car outside a club.  He's listening to a conversation his partner, Ray Turner, is having with a drug dealer.  This is a sting.  However, he spots two armed hooligans heading to a nearby liquor store.  Crap!  Leaving his car, he engages the hooligans and saves the lives of several customers and the cashier.  Unfortunately, that coincided with the drug dealer revealing that he knows Ray is a cop.  By the time Jack gets there, Ray has been killed.  However, a bunch of goons are also dead by having their throats cut.  Something's amiss.

The captain is absolutely furious at Jack and insists he take vacation time.  That is instantly rescinded when the FBI ask to work with Jack on the case.  Jack is given an FBI partner, Special Agent Smith (Brian Benben), a full of himself twerp.  Jack and Smith soon discover that some giant of a man is injecting drugs into random people and then extracting endorfins from their brains.  What craziness is this?  Yes, the villain is a space alien who is synthesizing the most valuable drug in the universe.  Another giant alien shows up and tries to kill the galactic drug lord.

Here is a buddy cop movie with a Predator II vibe.  That's interesting since this was released a couple months before Predator II.  Dolph's flat acting really works for his character.  He's unphased.  The contrast between him and Benben is great.  6 foot 5 Dolph positively dwarfs 5 foot 6 Benben, which is hilarious.  That Special Agent Smith tries to make up for this by Bogarting the big alien gun was also great.  Though he starts as an ass, Smith is a good ally and a fun character by the climax.  Betsy Brantley is just okay as Jack's love interest.  For efficiency sake, she is also the coroner.  There was less chemistry between Lundgren and Brantley than between Lundgren and Benben.

The movie is full of car chases, explosions, gun fights, explosions, martial arts, explosions, and running.  Hey, this is just what I wanted to see.  Top notch B Movie nonsense.  Good popcorn fun!

Why Write an Essay?

I have spent years writing on a variety of topics and posting that here or my previous blog.  Mostly, this is for my own edification; I have limited readership.  With that in mind, has it just been a waste of my time?  Could I have spent all those hours doing something more productive?  Then again, this YouTuber argues that I'm using the best learning tool in history.

Yes, it is a great way to learn.  I have found that my recall on the subjects where I have written is much better than those where I have not.  From experience, I'd have to say that Python Programmer is absolutely correct.  Write essays to learn.  Recommended. 

Why Not Switch Again?

Donald Trump spent most of the last year attacking President Biden and his handling of the country.  Part of a campaign is defining your opponent and outlining how you would do things differently.  When Biden withdrew from the race, all the effort spent defining the opposition went away.  It was no longer important.  Biden's not the nominee.  Flush all that opposition research and campaign strategy.  A fresh nominee, largely untouched by Trump's long campaign against her predecessor, suddenly surged in the polls.  Where Biden was headed toward almost certain defeat, VP Harris is currently polling in the toss-up range.  Dumping Biden was strategic brilliance by the Democrats.  That astonishingly early presidential debate now looks like a Democratic ploy to sink Biden rather than inform the public.

It has been less than three weeks, and the Harris-Walz Campaign has stalled.  It's still in toss-up territory, but the Republican criticisms are sticking.  Walz may not have been the best choice for VP.  Harris is dodging the press, not having done an interview since her ascension to the top spot on the ballot.  What if she starts sinking?  She was such a weak candidate in 2020 that she withdrew from the campaign before the voting even began.  She is not a strong nominee and is only doing as well as she is because she's not Biden.  What if she is just a place holder, another false nominee for the Republicans to waste their ammunition on?

Are Joe Biden's delegates committed to Harris?  When the Democratic Convention convenes and the delegates vote, what is to stop them from picking someone else?  We are in uncharted waters with this nomination.  Do the rules say that the VP nominee automatically gets the delegates if the Presidential nominee drops out?  If not, it could be a free for all.  Here is another opportunity to dump a candidate that the Republicans have spent a month attacking.  A new nominee would clean the slate yet again.  With the election then less than 3 months away, the Republicans would have to once again adapt their strategy while the Democrats have been attacking the same person all along.

I think it is 50-50 that the Democrats choose a different nominee at the convention.  They need someone with less baggage than either Kamala Harris (Willie Brown's most favored mistress) or Tim Walz (the Afghanistan veteran who didn't go to Afghanistan).

Joe Rogan: Burn the Boats

Oddly enough, I have never listened to the Joe Rogan Podcast except for snippets found on YouTube with the guest du jour.  Mostly, that involves him asking some basic question and the guest greatly expanding on the topic.  I used to watch NewRadio (1995-1999) in which he was a one of the regular cast.  That was back when he had hair.  Anyway, I was folding clothes and turned on the TV.  I needed something that was more listening than watching and this looked like just the thing.

Joe is very animated and frequently turns up the volume.  He's no Sam Kinison, but I was reminded of him occasionally.  Many of his bits focused on current political topics.  He riffed on COVID, which is on brand for him.  Prior to COVID, he viewed vaccines as a modern miracle but afterwards he has his doubts.  So many doubts.  He covered the Trans debate, suggesting that extra words were needed.  An off-road vehicle is still a vehicle but it has extra functions.  He didn't offer a word.  He talked about his days on Fear Factor, why aliens always use the anal probe (this is on brand for his character from NewsRadio), and his life in Texas - most memorably his love for Buc-ees!  Speaking of Texas, I was startled to see that the show was at the Majestic Theater in San Antonio!  Cool.

Entertaining?  Yes.  Funny?  Yeah.  Profane?  Oh, indeed, yes.  This is not a show for kids.  Certainly not for all audiences.

UK in Flames

Three British girls were killed by an immigrant and the dam burst.  The UK has been flooded with immigrants who are not assimilating, and the ruling class has accused the native population of bigotry for voicing any opposition to the continued immigration.  In fact, one of the most strident voices against this, Tommy Robinson, has been jailed for his reporting on sexual predators who happen to be of Pakistani descent.  The message is clear: shut up while your betters change the demographics of England.  All the votes that have sought to stem this tide of immigration have been ignored by both the Torries and Labor.  Muslims dance in the streets with knives and sabers while the police arrest a girl for observing that a police officer looked like a lesbian.  You see, it would look racist to enforce the law on immigrants, so the police are extra harsh on whites to make up for it.

The incompatibility of the recent immigrants with the longstanding British culture is beyond obvious. Much of Europe is committing cultural suicide by importing cultures that their ancestors fought tooth and nail to keep out of Europe.  Europe abandoned Christianity and thought it would end religious clashes.  No, it was more akin to unilateral disarmament.  The other side is still committed to its religion, and you will be assimilated to it!

In the last 2 decades, nearly 100 British citizens have been killed by Muslims while no Muslims have been killed by native British.  Of course, Prime Minister Starmer has promised to protect the Muslims.  Short of civil war, much of Europe is toast.  The votes have proved repeatedly meaningless and the government, despite promises to cut back on immigration, have more often allowed it to accelerate.  Luckily, the British have disarmed the citizens, so there is little risk to the government.

Correction: The 17-year-old killer was born in the UK, but his parents are apparently immigrants.  It was widely believed he was an immigrant during the riots/protests.  As the killer is still a minor, details are being withheld, thus the confusion.  Is he Muslim?  I can find no news reporting one way or another.

Who is African-American?

George Stephanopoulos grilled Byron Donalds (R-Florida) about Trump's questioning of Kamala Harris' racial identity.  Snopes confirms that the Associate Press (AP) listed her Indian heritage in the headline when she became a Senator in 2016 but her Black heritage when she became the VP candidate in 2020.  By merely pointing out this change in reporting, Stephanopoulos accused Donalds (who is black) of a slur.  Really?  Generally, this should be irrelevant.  However, it brings up the race card, which Democrats - like Stephanopoulos - love to play.

On CNN, there was a clip of black men in a barbershop questioning Kamala's heritage.  At best, they are ambivalent on the topic.  Why is that?  Let's talk about who is African-American?

Elon Musk grew up in South Africa and emigrated to the United States.  He has since become a naturalized citizen.  Ergo, he is African by birth and American by citizenship.  However, no one would seriously call him African-American.  So, what is African-American?  The term was popularized by Jesse Jackson in the 1980s and became an alternative for black.  What did it denote?  An African-American was both black and the descendant of slaves in the United States.  With that as a definition, Elon Musk meets neither requirement.  Vice President Kamala Harris qualifies on one factor but not the other.  Her father was born and raised in Jamaica and her mother in India.  Harris cannot trace her ancestry back to slaves in the United States.  This is why her racial identity is questioned.

This same issue applied to President Obama.  His father was Kenyan, and thus had no ties to the black community in America.  His mother was Caucasian from Kansas.  He grew up in Hawaii and Indonesia, giving him none of the 'black' experience in America.

The reason why the United States adopted affirmative action was to redress the years of slavery and Jim Crow.  Why would anyone who migrated to the United States after the repeal of Jim Crow be included in the affirmative action?  Neither Obama nor Harris' ancestors suffered from these and that sets them apart from most African-Americans.

Only a Patsy?

The crazy stories about the assassination attempt on Trump are rolling now.  There is a video that shows the would-be assassin working his way across the roof.  It was filmed by someone behind Trump.  At one point, though very grainy, the figure suddenly vanished.  The commenter claims that was when Crooks was killed, before he even aimed his rifle.  Ergo, his only purpose was to distract from the real shooter while never actually firing himself.  Right.  Another post claims to show a bullet flying in the opposite direction, missing Trump shortly before the bullet that hit him.  Okay.  So, that would be our third shooter?  How many incompetent shooters were there?  I can accept that one guy was a bad shot.  I cannot accept that he was just a patsy for another shooter who was an equally bad shot.  Wait, there's more.  It is claimed that someone shorted Truth Social stock the day before Trump was shot.  Had he been killed, that person would have made a fortune when Truth Social stock price crashed.  Coincidence?  The poster thinks not.  Then there is the oddity that CNN was broadcasting this particular rally.  CNN hasn't regularly broadcast Trump's rallies, but this one in Butler merited coverage.  Coincidence?  Again, the poster thinks not.

Absolutely everything is suspicious and the web of conspiracy theories is growing bigger by the day.  What seems outlandish today will probably look tame a month from now.  Image how many iPhone videos of this event are just waiting to be reviewed.  Abraham Zapruder happened to be filming when JFK was shot and his film has been analyzed frame by frame ever since.  Now we have hundreds of Zapruders with their portable video cameras.  The madness has only just begun.