Noticeable Traits

Fred Barnes of the Weekly Standard sums up "Obama's Quirks: What we've learned about our new president." It's interesting, if somewhat depressing, reading. Of the five traits Barnes noted, the most unattractive is "blame game."

To me, there is nothing more ungracious and less classy than the constant verbal bricks Obama tosses backwards towards President Bush. Such bad-mouthing and blaming smacks of a mean spirit, as well as an insecurity about his own abilities to rise to the task before him. The four years stretching before Obama must look very long indeed.

They certainly look that way to me.

The Image of Incompetence

If we’re honest with each other, we know that sometimes, on both sides of the Atlantic, we have drifted apart, and forgotten our shared destiny.
Barack Obama ~ Berlin speech, July 24, 2008


Now, what's all this about President Obama returning the bust of Sir Winston Churchill to the British Embassy? You know, the post 9/11 gift to President Bush from Prime Minister Blair. No room for that dust collector in the Obama Oval Office.

It took less than one month in office for our fearless (or should that be graceless?) new leader to send Sir Winston packing. So much for "shared destiny."

During Prime Minister Gordon Brown's visit, there was little fanfare and a lot of gaffes. Among the flubs was a demotion of the British from an ally of "special relationship" to "special partnership," no state dinner, no remarks to the press, a tacky gift of DVDs, and the lame excuse that Obama was "too tired" to fuss over his guest.

This is the man who was going to restore America's image in the world? And it's only seven weeks into his term. I shudder to think of the diplomatic damage that is yet to come. Clearly, Obama has no clue on how to conduct himself in foreign relations. As an American, I'm mortified at his boorish behavior towards our closest ally.

A set of DVDs, just like you see on sale at Target, as the official gift to Britain's Prime Minister? Blimey. Rather rude, that.

Rhyme for the Recession

This Big Fat Piggy crashed the market,

This Big Fat Piggy wrecked home.

This Big Fat Piggy had stuffed pork,

While most U.S. piggies have none.

And this last little piggy says

"Please-please leave the economy alone."

An Encouraging Sign

Victor Davis Hanson has his own improvement list for President Obama, and he really nails the most tedious and dishonest traits of our new leader.

I have never understood "Obamamania." The man has never impressed me. I've always thought he was all talk, no walk. I've never felt an iota of trust in a single word he ever said.

So when even Time magazine seems to have the stars knocked out of its eyes, and when Democratic senators start peeling away from consensus with the president's unending spend-u-lous bills, there may be a few cracks appearing in the Obama veneer. It's an encouraging sign that a famous remark attributed to the real Abraham Lincoln, is, in fact true:

You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.

Thoughts of War

This was our time to be children.~ Arturo to Angelo, Miracle at St. Anna

I'm not much of a Spike Lee fan, but when Miracle at St. Anna was released last year, I wanted to see it at the movies. It received some merciless drubbings from a wide swath of film critics and disappeared from theaters before I was able to get there.
I remembered it, though, and waited for the DVD. I watched it a couple of nights ago, and I'm not over it yet.

Some of the criticisms are valid. Yes, there is a bit too much going on in this film. There are too many story threads, too much self-indulgence by the director--even too many miracles, from what I could see. It's overlong by at least a quarter hour (although I didn't notice the time while watching it). Also, I found some of the race-activist dialog the characters engaged in at least a decade ahead of its time.

All that being said, I think it's a good movie. My criterion is simple. Any film that holds my thoughts long after viewing qualifies. Two days later, I'm still remembering the winsome character Angelo and the touching relationship between him and his "Giante Cioccolato" (Chocolate Giant), the raw and gripping depictions of war's brutality, and the uplifting final scene that gently closes the circle on a harsh and bitter journey.

I also liked the fact that the Germans and Italians spoke in their native languages, rather than in English with those distracting phoney accents. Consequently, there are a fair amount of subtitles to read, but I found that to be worth the effort.

Miracle at St. Anna. If you can bear a movie depicting the terrible violence and waste of war, it's a thoughtful addition to your list.

Tough Talk is Cheap

You talk too much, you worry me to death,
You talk too much, you even worry my pet,
You just talk, you talk too much.
~ Joe Jones & Reginald Hall , 1958

Three things President Obama should do immediately:

1. You’re president now-- “man up.”

Just how long do you plan on pointing over your shoulder at George W. Bush? Bush didn’t jam the stimulus bill through Congress. This economy now belongs to you—deal with it, and stop complaining.

2. Stop telling us how bad things are.

Since we, the “little people,” are the ones trying to make the mortgage and car payments, feed our families, and keep or find jobs, there is very little—if anything—you can tell us about the current financial storm that we don’t already understand much better than you do. Pack up your sob story. We at home don’t want to burn any more electricity listening to you whine about “Crisis” and “Catastrophe.” Either find something positive to say, or stop giving speeches until you do.

3. Start outlining specific actions to improve the situation.

Don’t look now, Mr. President (it will only give you something else to moan about), but your approval ratings are dropping with dramatic speed. That’s because Americans are not stupid people. Although no one denies that you are a world class talker, you can only blow smoke for so long. Eventually, you are going to have to explain, in fine detail, exactly how you intend to fix this mess. The sooner you start doing that, the better for all of us—especially for you, if you’re interested in a second term.

Respect, At Last

One Marine's View gives a worthy endorsement to a movie that I've heard nothing but rave advance reviews about: "Taking Chance," starring Kevin Bacon.

The trailer is linked here. The movie airs tonight, Saturday, February 21.

I don't have HBO, but it's the next addition to my Netflix queue.

At long last, a respectful film honoring our fallen heroes. Now this is something that truly gives me "hope" for our country.

Taken Away

With both a Presidents Day holiday and a rainy day to enjoy, I decided to go see "Taken," currently in theaters. It was a very rapid hour and a half.

In the "24"/Jack Bauer tradition, there's Liam Neeson as your basic quick-thinking, highly skilled, brutally efficient government operative with the classic worrisome teenaged daughter, combined with a ticking clock. As this interview describes Neeson's character, he's "part Terminator, part Jason Bourne."

But then, who wouldn't be if their daughter had been kidnapped by sex slave traders?

"Taken" starts out with deceptive slowness, flipping suddenly into adrenaline mode while Dad is checking on his delinquent daughter via cell phone. He listens in agony to her screams as she is spirited away by Evil International Villains (EIVs). He immediately sets out to rescue his little girl. And, of course, he is intent on applying all of his considerably impressive career expertise to killing as many EIVs as his 96-hour window will allow. By film's end, the EIV body count would put the last act of a Shakespearean tragedy to shame.

There's one scene where a particularly unfortunate EIV is being tortured systematically by our determined dad. Father manages to procure the necessary information in short order. As he's leaving, he must make a fast decision--from the abduction scene onward, everything in this movie is fast--about whether to let said EIV live or die. (Spoiler alert: fans of "24" can use their imaginations as to how Jack Bauer might handle the situation.)

If you let yourself get "Taken" along for this thrill ride through the worst parental nightmare, you will most likely be highly entertained. Just brace yourself for the post-movie Knotted Neck Syndrome (KNS).

A Beautiful Story

Would you like to read some really good, heartwarming news for a change? Then click here and read this story of Boston firefighter William Carroll rescuing a baby girl from death in 1968. It left me groping for my Kleenex box.

Be sure to watch the video clip of their recent reunion. Just have your own Kleenex box at the ready.

William Carroll; such a lovely name. I can only hope we're related.

California Bleeding

Okay, things are bad all over. But for anyone living in California, they're much worse.

With the legislature poised to approve State and sales tax increases, a near-doubling of vehicle license fees, and a 12-cent per gallon increase in gasoline tax, California residents like myself are really looking forward to receiving that tax cut from the Federal stimulus bill. Yes, that timely $13 per week will go a long way towards offsetting the cost of living in "the Golden State."