Punishment without Conviction

The Supreme Court of Colorado decided that Donald Trump was guilty of insurrection and, per the 14th Amendment, declared that his name should not appear on the Colorado ballot.  Of course, Trump was never charged with insurrection and has therefore not been convicted.  Nonetheless, Colorado opted to apply the punishment.  The Colorado GOP has appealed the decision and, for the moment, Trump is back on the ballot.

In Maine, the Secretary of State likewise decided that Trump was indeed guilty of insurrection and has removed Trump from the ballot.  Again, Trump has not been tried or convicted of the crime and yet Democrat politicians are administering the punishment.

I have often opined about how the rule of law has eroded in the United States in recent years.  There are the two-tiers of justice, one for Republicans and one for Democrats.  Here is perhaps the most egregious example.  This sort of disregard for the rule of law will lead to Civil War.  The United States is a high trust society.  When the trust is finally broken - and we are on the way - it will be very difficult to restore.

Swatted

Over the last several years, a new phenomenon has arisen.  Someone calls 911 to report an emergency requiring an armed response.  The SWAT team busts into the house prepared for action only to find baffled people who have been targeted by the caller.  Obviously, this is quite dangerous.  Tim Pool has been swatted multiple times.  Recently, Marjorie Taylor Greene (Republican representative of Georgia) was swatted.  Yesterday, both of her adult daughters were swatted.  Though viewed as a prank by some, it resulted in the accidental shooting of Andrew Finch in 2017.  Clearly, not a prank.

If identified, the perpetrators should be arrested by a SWAT team.

Major Dundee (1965)

It is 1864 in New Mexico.  Major Amos Dundee (Charleton Heston) and his column have come upon the site of a massacre.  Sierra Charriba, an Apache chief, has been terrorizing the countryside.  Dundee decides that he must track down the Apache and recover the children that were abducted.  With the Civil War in full swing, troops to counter Charriba are limited.  However, there are Confederate prisoners-of-war available; Captain Ben Tyreen (Richard Harris), a one-time friend of Dundee, is among them.  Dundee sets out with a mix of the fort garrison soldiers, Confederate prisoners, volunteer criminals, and civilian volunteers to chase the Apache through Mexico.  On this odyssey, they are ambushed, fight among themselves, battle the French forces in Mexico, find love, get drunk, fiesta, experience loss, and battle the Apache.

In addition to Heston and Harris, James Coburn plays Sam Potts, a one-armed scout, Brock Peters is Sgt. Aesop, the leader of the colored troops, and Jim Hutton is Lt. Graham of the artillery.  Lt. Ryan (Michael Anderson Jr.) provides narration throughout the movie as he records the events in his diary.  The events start in October 1864 and the final scene takes place in April 1865, after the Civil War had ended though they don't know it.

The movie is a hodgepodge with too many characters and too much going on.  Where this complexity would be great in a book or a miniseries, it is distracting in a movie.  According to IMDb, the script was still a work in progress during shooting and Sam Peckinpah was mostly drunk to where Heston was required to do a fair amount of the directing.

There is a gem to be had in this story and with these characters, but Peckinpah and Heston failed to find it.  Mediocre.

Nothing from Government is "Free"

Found on X (formerly Twitter):

Javier Milei just passed the most sensible law in world history - known as Articulo 209.

From now on, governmental institutions can no longer use the word "free" to promote any state service or function in municipal provinces or on a national level.

Milei considers the use of the word “free” a lie and feels citizens shouldn’t be lied to since the services always paid by someone, typically tax dollars.

This is spectacular!  Such a simple change.  Really, it's truth in advertising.  Let's bring that rule to the US!

Farewell, My Lovely (1975)

Joe DiMaggio is on a hitting streak and Philip Marlowe (Robert Mitchum) is hiding from the police at a cheap motel.  With his options limited, he calls Detective Nulty (John Ireland) and asks to talk.  "Come alone," he says.  When Nulty arrives, Marlowe lays out the story.  On a missing person job, he happened to meet Moose Malloy (Jack O'Halloran), a giant of a man who was just released from prison.  Moose is looking for his old flame, Velma, and hires Marlowe for the job.  Strangely, while Marlowe searches for Velma, everyone he meets seems to be searching for Moose.  Worse still, everyone who gives Marlowe a lead for finding Velma is murdered soon after.  Using a middleman, Marlowe finally arranged for Moose to talk to Velma on the phone.  No sooner did he and Moose arrive than gunmen tried to kill Moose.  Like in previous Marlowe movies, the body count is alarmingly high.  Some secrets must be kept with murder.

Robert Mitchum makes for a great Marlowe except for being too old by 20 years.  Mrs. Grayle (Charlotte Rampling) tries to seduce him shortly after the pair are introduced.  She is not troubled in the least when her husband witnesses their first kiss.  Granted, she is a stunner, but why is Marlowe so ready to have an affair with this married woman?  The biggest surprise of the movie was Sylvester Stallone as a hood in the employ of a Hollywood madam.

The plot is too convoluted.  That much of the film is a flashback where Marlowe is talking to Nulty, and apparently repeating their multiple interactions, just didn't work.  Some characters might have been better left out.  Though I like Harry Dean Stanton, his openly dirty cop never does anything dirty in the movie.  What was the point of that?  Better to cut the character and expand one of the others.  Georgie is almost Marlowe's sidekick, but he doesn't quite get enough development.

Strangely enough, Mitchum returned to the role of Marlowe only 3 years later, in The Big Sleep.  However, that movie takes place in the 1970s and has Marlowe living in London, not Los Angeles.  I wonder why they didn't just recast, since it clearly can't be a sequel.  Unless Marlowe time travels.

Just so-so.

Checkmate, Lincolnites!

Atun-Shei Films delves into a variety of historical subjects, including the Civil War, King Philip's War, Vikings in North America, and sundry other topics.  The one that attracts the most attention is the Checkmate, Lincolnites! where Andrew Rakich debates the Civil War, especially the Lost Cause Myth that arose after the South's defeat.  The format has Andrew portraying both Billy Yank and Johnny Reb as they debate the issue of the day.  He hams it up with Johnny Reb, making the character something of a goofball.  However, many of Johnny Reb's lines are provided from the comment section from earlier videos.  The videos are quite good with a professional look and excellent research.  Though I was on Billy Yank's side from the first episode, I found that I was drawn even further to his side.  Yes, the war was about slavery.  Not taxes.  Not states' rights.

Entertaining, educational, and recommended.

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)

It has been a thousand years since the Seven Days of Fire that destroyed the world.  A toxic jungle now spans the earth and encroaches on the remaining lands where humans still live.  Princess Nausicaa (Alison Lohman) lives in a peaceful valley and explores the lands on her glider.  She regularly searches the toxic jungle for anything that might be of use.  Returning from her most recent exploration, she spots a man fleeing from an Ohm!  An Ohm is an immense insect, like a battleship that crawls at superspeed.  Using a variety of devices and her flying talents, Nausicaa calmed the infuriated Ohm and sent it back to the toxic jungle.  The fleeing man proves to be Lord Yupa, a famed swordsman who travels among the kingdoms.  Yupa (Patrick Stewart) tells how more towns have been consumed by the toxic jungle.  Happily, the idyllic Valley of the Wind is protected from the toxic jungle thanks to the winds that keep away the spores that spread the jungle plants.  However, an airship appears in the sky and soon crashes in the valley.  In its hold was one of the giant warriors from the Seven Days of Fire as well as samples of the toxic jungle!  Not only must the valley residents hunt for spores that may have spread from the crash, the Tolmekian Army arrives to take charge of the giant warrior.  Kushana (Uma Thurman) leads the Tolmekians and she will crush any who interfere.

The setting is amazingly well-realized and the characters have more depth than should be expected.  The art is outstanding.  Though this predates the founding of Studio Ghibli, it is the first original work by Hayao Miyazaki.  The story is substantial, the action is plentiful, and the voice acting is excellent.

Great popcorn fun and highly recommended!