CRITIQUE & REVIEW: “Night at the Museum" a hoot

Night at the Museum is a very entertaining movie with a neat concept. But I am left with the feeling that they could have done so much more with it. The movie will most likely make a bunch of money and require a sequel. Maybe in that movie they can really get into the idea of inanimate objects coming to life after hours in a deeper way. It is well worth the money to see it on the big screen but a wait for DVD is fine.

Look: 8

Story: 5

Acting: 7

Goal: 7.5

Intangibles: 6

Overall: 7

_____________________________________

The above scores are based on a 10-point scale.

• Look has to do with the visual artistry of the film.
• Story rates the how compelling the film’s plot is.
• Acting rates the overall performances of the actors.
• Goal measures the success of the film at accomplishing its goal… does a comedy make you laugh, does a thriller cause goose bumps.
• Intangibles score any special circumstances or accomplishments the movie deserves to be recognized for.
• Overall rating is not an average of the other categories, just this reviewer’s impression of the entire work and how I would rate the film to a friend.

CRITIQUE & REVIEW: “Apocalypto" Oscar-worthy?

Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto is a very good movie, perhaps Oscar-worthy. It is very violent and gory, like the Mayan civilization it depicts. No-name actors, foreign (practically dead) language and an alien environment present average moviegoers with a lot of barriers to plunking down their movie dollars. But all who can stomach (honest) depictions of human sacrifice and the proverbial "man’s inhumanity to man" should see this fast paced and suspenseful chase movie. It is well worth the money to see it on the big screen but a wait for DVD is fine.

Look: 8.5

Story: 7

Acting: 8

Goal: 9

Intangibles: 9

Overall: 8.5

_____________________________________

The above scores are based on a 10-point scale.

• Look has to do with the visual artistry of the film.
• Story rates the how compelling the film’s plot is.
• Acting rates the overall performances of the actors.
• Goal measures the success of the film at accomplishing its goal… does a comedy make you laugh, does a thriller cause goose bumps.
• Intangibles score any special circumstances or accomplishments the movie deserves to be recognized for.
• Overall rating is not an average of the other categories, just this reviewer’s impression of the entire work and how I would rate the film to a friend.

CRITIQUE & REVIEW: “Borat...," A Date Movie? NOT!

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan is a very funny and offensive movie that is only for the people who will "get it." Borat's creator Sacha Baron Cohen is a comic genius. I only hope that the wrestling shown really was fake like the professional varity. It's a "guy movie" that the ladies will most likely not appriciate. Not a date movie.

Look: 3

Story: 5

Acting: 8

Goal: 9

Intangibles: 7

Overall: 7

_____________________________________

The above scores are based on a 10-point scale.

• Look has to do with the visual artistry of the film.
• Story rates the how compelling the film’s plot is.
• Acting rates the overall performances of the actors.
• Goal measures the success of the film at accomplishing its goal… does a comedy make you laugh, does a thriller cause goose bumps.
• Intangibles score any special circumstances or accomplishments the movie deserves to be recognized for.
• Overall rating is not an average of the other categories, just this reviewer’s impression of the entire work and how I would rate the film to a friend.

CRITIQUE & REVIEW: "Happy Feet" is sad

Happy Feet is a gorgous-looking movie with a very forgettable PC-friendly, anti-human plot. Wait for it to come out on cable.

Look: 10

Story: 3

Acting: 3

Goal: 3

Intangibles: 3

Overall: 4
_____________________________________

The above scores are based on a 10-point scale.

• Look has to do with the visual artistry of the film.
• Story rates the how compelling the film’s plot is.
• Acting rates the overall performances of the actors.
• Goal measures the success of the film at accomplishing its goal… does a comedy make you laugh, does a thriller cause goose bumps.
• Intangibles score any special circumstances or accomplishments the movie deserves to be recognized for.
• Overall rating is not an average of the other categories, just this reviewer’s impression of the entire work and how I would rate the film to a friend.

BOOK REPORT: “Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World” by Jack Weatherford

In "Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World", Jack Weatherford does a great service to the resuscitation of the 13th Century Mongol conqueror’s reputation and legacy. Genghis Khan is often depicted in popular and academic writings as a bloodthirsty savage who relished the acts of torture and genocide. Weatherford’s Genghis Khan is a misunderstood genius who created an empire that was in many ways centuries ahead of the ones created by Chinese, Muslim and European civilizations that the Mongols subjugated.

Genghis Khan created a new nation after decades of war within the areas we call Mongolia and Inner Mongolia (a part of China). The nomads of the steppe had always clung to their tribal identities and when one of them grew too strong, the sedentary civilizations of China and Central Asia conspired to pit one tribe against another. Genghis Khan broke this pattern and instead forced the sedentary civilizations to conform to his interests and will. He did so by placing merit above birth in choosing his generals. Women enjoyed far greater rights and freedom under Mongol laws than under any of the civilizations they conquered.

Perhaps what distinguishes Genghis Khan over other conquerors was the remarkable durability of his empire. Though the greatest conqueror of all time in terms of landmass, Genghis Khan’s heirs continued the Mongol conquests and subjugated Russia (1240s), Iran and Iraq (1250s) and China (1260s-1270s) and instituted a century-long Pax Mongolica, or Mongol peace, that drove civilizational contact among Europe, India, China and the Middle East.

In fact, Weatherford makes a strong case that it was this very commercial and cultural exchange that sustained Mongol power long after they had grown soft and their military edge had waned. He also makes a strong case that the Black Death that arrived in Europe in 1347 from Mongol Russia had in the decade before done what no army of man had been able to do, disburse and ultimately end the Mongol Empire. Once the devastation and depopulation of the plague had cut the connections between faraway nations, native subjects throw off their Mongol overlords and the Mongol Empire evaporated. By the 1380s, direct Mongol power was limited to the steppe.

Weatherford does a very good job of making the (very) foreign Mongol and Asian geography and languages accessible to American readers. He also does not get bogged down with every significant flair up in Mongol politics (Golden Horde vs. Ilkhan wars, etc.) while providing enough detail to let readers know and understand the major fault lines within imperial Mongol politics.

Since 2006 is the 800th anniversary of the election of Temujin as "Genghis Khan" and the creation of the Mongol state in 1206, it is fitting that we have such a valuable and easy to read book as Weatherford’s to instruct us. I highly recommend this book to novices and history buffs alike.

65% Accuracy Rate in 2006 Election Predictions

I was right that Democrat incumbent Gov. Janet Napolitano would cruise to victory but I was wrong that Republican gubernatorial candidate Len Munsil would break through the 40% barrier… very pathetic showing for a red state. Munsil’s percentage statewide wasn’t higher than nativist GOP CD8 nominee Randy Graf's total in his district.

I was also wrong that CD5 incumbent J.D. Hayworth (R) would best Harry Mitchell (D).

Sen. Jon Kyl beat Democrat Jim Pederson by 9 points rather than my predicted 6 percent... I’m counting that as a right prediction.

Arizona Propositions:

Right -- Proposition 100 wins.
Wrong (maybe) -- Proposition 101 loses. It’s very close, still waiting on all early ballots to be counted
Right -- Proposition 102 wins.
Right -- Proposition 103 wins.
Right -- Proposition 104 wins.
Right -- Proposition 105 loses.
Right -- Proposition 106 loses.
Wrong -- Proposition 107 wins. Amazing, the first state in the nation to reject a Marriage Protection Amendment. Proponents over-reached and voters did not want to take away existing domestic partner benefits.
Right -- Proposition 200 loses.
Right -- Proposition 201 wins.
Right -- Proposition 202 wins.
Right -- Proposition 203 wins.
Right -- Proposition 204 wins.
Wrong -- Proposition 205 wins. Wow. The goofy Prop. 200 voter lottery question did better than this one.
Wrong -- Proposition 206 wins (with more votes than Proposition 201.) I guess those disclosure requirements that highlighted R.J. Reynolds’ support sunk this one despite the $8+ million spent by them.
Right -- Proposition 207 wins.
Right -- Proposition 300 wins.
Right -- Proposition 301 wins.
Right -- Proposition 302 loses.

My prediction that the “big story of the evening” would be that the GOP would do better than expected. Well, move along, nothing to see here.

Maryland GOP Senate nominee Mike Steele did not win and take a Democratic Senate seat.

PA’s Santorum, OH’s DeWine, RI’s Chafee did all lose GOP seats. But so did MO’s Talent, MT’s Burns and VA’s Allen. I was right on TN’s Corker holding a GOP seat. So my Democratic net gain of 2 in the U.S. Senate was short by 4.

Democrats did take the U.S. House and with more than my predicted 20-seat pick up... I’m counting that as a right prediction.

AZ’s John Shadegg is running for minority whip. That prediction still might come to fruition.

So as I count it, I was right on 22 of 34 prediction with the Shadegg leadership pick still outstanding.

Election 2006 Predictions

Here are my prediction on the 2006 elections.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Len Munsil breaks through the 40% barrier but Democrat incumbent Gov. Janet Napolitano cruises to victory.

Munsil’s percentage statewide will be higher than GOP CD8 nominee Randy Graf's total in his district.

CD5 incumbent J.D. Hayworth (R) squeaks by Harry Mitchell (D).

Sen. Jon Kyl beats Democrat Jim Pederson by 6 percent.

Arizona Propositions:

Proposition 100 wins.
Proposition 101 loses.
Proposition 102 wins.
Proposition 103 wins.
Proposition 104 wins.
Proposition 105 loses.
Proposition 106 loses.
Proposition 107 wins.
Proposition 200 loses.
Proposition 201 wins.
Proposition 202 wins.
Proposition 203 wins.
Proposition 204 wins.
Proposition 205 wins.
Proposition 206 wins (with more votes than Proposition 201.)
Proposition 207 wins.
Proposition 300 wins.
Proposition 301 wins.
Proposition 302 loses.

Big story of the evening: GOP does better than expected.

Maryland GOP Senate nominee Mike Steele wins taking a Democratic Senate seat.

PA’s Santorum, OH’s DeWine, RI’s Chafee will lose GOP seats. MO’s Talent, MT’s Burns, VA’s Allen and TN’s Corker hold GOP seats. Democratic net gain of 2 in the U.S. Senate (maybe 3 with Burns going down, if 4 then its Talent going down too)

Democrats take the U.S. House but with a 20 or fewer seat pick up.

AZ’s John Shadegg will be elected GOP Leader, probably the minority leader before the year is out.

Proposition 205 TV Debate

I was featured this week on Phoenix Channel 3's coverage of the 2006 Elections. The issue, the vote-by-mail Proposition 205. The Arizona Chamber is opposed. I debated initiative sponsor Rick Murphy.

Click here to see the debate.

San Francisco Chronicle: "Arizona plan offers chance to cast a vote, win a million"

I was interviewed late last week by the San Fransisco Chronicle on Arizona's nutty Proposition 200 concerning a million-dollar voter lottery.

"We believe it's an insult to Arizona voters to say we have to bribe them to vote,' said Farrell Quinlan, a spokesman for the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which opposes the measure. "It will make Arizona the laughingstock of America if it passes."

Read the entire article here.

BOOK REPORT: "America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It" by Mark Steyn

Mark Steyn’s "America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It" is must reading for everyone, especially those who are confronted by soft-headedness over our struggle with Islamist terror. Steyn goes through the chilling statistics of how Europe and other secular societies are evaporating without a fight. With a birthrate of 1.1 children per women, Italy will half its native population in a generation. So without even confronting the sophisticated military hardware of the West, Islamist can wait us out and move in while Europeans give up and die off.

Coupled with Dore Gold's "Hatred's Kingdom," we get a clear picture of the radical Wahhabists' past, present and future plans for the world.

In the following lengthy excerpt, Steyn believes there are "three possible resolutions to the present struggle:"

1. Submit to Islam
2. Destroy Islam
3. Reform Islam

Because most of us don't take number one as a serious possibility, we're equally unserious about being forced to choose between two and three. But submission to Islam is very possible, and to many it will still seem ridiculous even as it happens; like John Kerry during the 2004 campaign, we'll be spluttering that we can't believe we're losing to these idiots. But we can lose (as I've always believed) and (as I've come to believe) we might lose more easily than even the gloomiest of us thought.

By "we might lose," I mean "the good guys" -- and I define that term expansively. There are plenty of good guys in Australia and Poland and Iraq and even Pakistan. And I'm a little unnerved at the number of readers who seem to think the rest of the world can go hang but America will endure as a lonely candle of liberty in the new Dark Ages. Think that one through: a totalitarian China, a crumbling Russia, an insane Middle East, a disease-ridden Africa, a civil war-torn Eurabia -- and a country that can't even enforce its borders against two relatively benign states will somehow be able to hold the entire planet at bay? Dream on, "realists."

As for option two, it doesn't bear thinking about. Even if you regard Islam as essentially incompatible with free societies, the slaughter required to end it as a force in the world would change America beyond recognition. That doesn't mean that, a few years down the line, if some kooks with nukes obliterate, say, Marseilles or Lyons that the French wouldn't give it a go in some fairly spectacular way. But they're unlikely to accomplish much by it, any more than the Russians have by their scorched-earth strategy in Chechnya.

That leaves option three: Reform Islam -- which is not ours to do. Ultimately, only Muslims can reform Islam. All the free world can do is create conditions that increase the likelihood of Muslim reform, or at any rate do not actively impede it. We can:

1. Support women's rights -- real rights, not feminist pieties -- in the Muslim world. This is the biggest vulnerability in Islam. Not every Muslim female wants to be Gloria Steinem or Paris Hilton. But nor do they want a life that starts with genital mutilation and ends with an honor killing at the hands of your brothers. The overwhelming majority of females in Continental battered women's shelters are Muslim -- which gives you some sense of what women in the Middle East might do if they had any women's shelters to go then half the population of these societies is a potential source of dissent, we need to use it.
2. Roll back Wahhabi, Iranian, and other ideological exports that have radicalized Muslims on every continent. We have an ideological enemy and we need to wage ideological war.
3. Support economic and political liberty in the Muslim world, even if it means unsavory governments: an elected unsavory government is still better than a dictatorial unsavory government. It's not necessary for Syria and Egypt to become Minnesota and New Zealand. All that's necessary is for them to become something other than what they are now. And on the bumpy road to liberty, every Muslim regime that has to preoccupy itself with internal dissent has less time to foment trouble beyond its borders.
4. Ensure that Islamic states that persecute non-Muslims are denied international legitimacy and excluded and marginalized in international bodies.
5. Throttle the funding of mosques, madrassas, think tanks, and other activities in America and elsewhere by Saudi Arabia, Iran, and others.
6. Develop a strategy for countering Islamism on the ideological front. Create a civil corps to match America's warrior corps and use it to promote alternative institutions, structures, and values through a post-imperial equivalent to Britain's Colonial Office, albeit under whatever wussy name is deemed acceptable: Department of Global Community Outreach or whatever (this, by the way, is what Washington should have created instead of the bloated bureaucracy of the Department of Homeland Security).
7. Marginalize and euthanize the UN, NATO, the International Atomic Energy Agency, and other September 10 transnational organizations and devote the energy wasted on them to results-oriented multilateralism. We need real allies now.
8. Cease bankrolling unreformable oil dictatorships by a long overdue transformation of the energy industry.
9. End the Iranian regime.
10. Strike militarily when the opportunity presents itself.
    

Aside from numbers nine and ten, these are important but undramatic objectives -- i.e., the kind of stuff our side does very badly. The problem with redesignating the "war on terror" as "the long war" is that it's easy for it to degenerate a step further and lapse into non-war mode entirely.

Christian Science Monitor: "Voters on immigration: Action, please"

My comments in an October 26, 2006 Christian Science Monitor article on how the immigration issue has impacted Arizona politics this election season.

"Arizona is a microcosm of the nation when it comes to views on this issue. We're ground zero for the debate," says Farrell Quinlan, a spokesman for the Arizona Chamber of Commerce in Phoenix. "Our economy is growing, and a lot of industries have grown to rely on that source of labor."

Click here to read the entire article.

Arizona Republic "My Turn" Column -- "Voter Rewards Act: NO"

Published in the October 27, 2006 edition of the Arizona Republic.

Have the proponents of Proposition 200 got a deal for you! For your vote this election, they're offering a 2,000,000-to-1 chance at a bribe worth $1 million.

The Voter Reward Act seeks to increase the civic virtue of voting by appealing to our basest, greediest and most corrupt impulses. Simply put, freedom and democracy and all that rot just aren't attractive enough anymore.

In Proposition 200's cynical view of Arizona voters, the minute chance at cold, hard cash is what we need to get us to cast our ballots.

In a truly brazen attempt at vote buying, drafters of Proposition 200 make their law effective retroactively so someone who votes in this year's primary and/or general election could score a million-dollar payday by voting "yes."

So, if you voted in the September primary, you may already be a winner!

Ironically, the cash bounty will be paid out of unclaimed lottery funds. If lottery winners who actually "invested" their own money in a lottery ticket can't be persuaded to show up and claim their winnings, how successful will the Voter Reward Act be in bribing voters to show up at the polls on primary day and Election Day?

Proposition 200 is not about increasing turnout and getting more people interested in the public policy questions of the day.

USA Today characterized Proposition 200 as "tawdry" while the New York Times points out that an Arizona voter would have a greater chance (one in 55,928) over a lifetime of being killed by lightning than winning the voter lottery.

Proposition 200 insults Arizona voters. It says that no longer will we value the opinions of conscientious, informed and patriotic voters who care enough about their voting rights to participate.

Instead, we will actively seek out uninterested, uninformed and apathetic individuals who require the chance at a $1 million jackpot to take advantage of the franchise that so many have sacrificed for, even died for, to secure.

Arizona voters should reject the embarrassing and cynical Proposition 200.

CRITIQUE & REVIEW: "The Prestige"

I liked "The Prestige". It is a good movie. Is it a great, ground-breaking cinematic triumph?

No.

If you like mysteries with a period piece flavor then this movie is for you.

The acting is very, very good. Christian Bale is always great. Hugh Jackman and Michael Caine are fine but unremarkable. Scarlett Johansson is her usual. It is great to see David Bowie working in movies. He does an outstanding job as famed scientist Nikola Tesla. Andy Serkis is great as Tesla’s assistant but I expected him to bust out in a fit of "Precious, my Precious!!!". He may never shake the Gollum character even though he never actually showed up on screen as the despicable character from the "Lord of the Rings" saga.

Look: 7
Story: 7
Acting: 9
Goal: 7
Intangibles: 6.5
Overall: 7
___________________________

The above scores are based on a 10-point scale.

• Look has to do with the visual artistry of the film.
• Story rates the how compelling the film’s plot is.
• Acting rates the overall performances of the actors.
• Goal measures the success of the film at accomplishing its goal… does a comedy make you laugh, does a thriller cause goose bumps.
• Intangibles score any special circumstances or accomplishments the movie deserves to be recognized for.
• Overall rating is not an average of the other categories, just this reviewer’s impression of the entire work and how I would rate the film to a friend.

CRITIQUE & REVIEW: "The Departed"

Go see Martin Scorsese's The Departed. It is an excellent movie and should score many Oscar nominations.

Look: 8
Story: 8
Acting: 9
Goal: 9
Intangibles: 9
Overall: 8.5
___________________________

The above scores are based on a 10-point scale.

• Look has to do with the visual artistry of the film.
• Story rates the how compelling the film’s plot is.
• Acting rates the overall performances of the actors.
• Goal measures the success of the film at accomplishing its goal… does a comedy make you laugh, does a thriller cause goose bumps.
• Intangibles score any special circumstances or accomplishments the movie deserves to be recognized for.
• Overall rating is not an average of the other categories, just this reviewer’s impression of the entire work and how I would rate the film to a friend.

Vote Vets Slander to Hit Arizona's Jon Kyl Soon

Word around Phoenix-area newsrooms today centered on the next phase in a disgusting effort to defeat Republican Senators running for re-election.

It looks like the Left is about to slime Arizona Senator Jon Kyl with a vicious lie about his voting record concerning our troops. The same lie has already been spread about Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum and Virginia Senator George Allen earlier this election cycle. The ad is produced by an organization called VoteVets.org.

The text of the George Allen version of the VoteVets "Armor" Ad:

Pete Granato, an Army reservist and Iraq veteran: AK-47, the rifle of choice for terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is a vest left over from the Vietnam War. It's the protection we were given when we deployed to Iraq.
(Granato shoots AK-47 at vest)
Granato: This is modern body armor, made for today's weapons.
(Granato shoots AK-47 at vest)
Granato: The difference is life or death.
(Mannequins underneath show that modern vest stops bullets but Vietnam-era vest does not.)
Granato: Senator George Allen voted against giving our troops this. Now it's time for us to vote against him.
On Screen: Source: Vote #116, 108th Congress, 1st Session.
Announcer: Vote Vets is responsible for the content of this advertisement.

Click here to watch the Santorum version of this ad.

The ad makes the slanderous charge that Santorum (and Allen and soon Kyl) voted against giving our troops effective body armor in Iraq and Afghanistan. Annenberg Political Fact Check or Factcheck.org, a nonpartisan, nonprofit, "consumer advocate" for voters at the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, has done a great job pointing out the falsehoods and lies in the ad.

The real question is if Arizona Democratic Senatorial nominee Jim Pederson will denounce, disavow and declare this ad out of bounds in Arizona.

I have real hope that Mr. Pedrson will do this.

But my cynical side thinks he will defend, deflect and declare his shock at Jon Kyl’s (inaccurately depicted) atrocious voting record on body armor for our troops.

Things are getting real ugly out there.

Click here to read a recent Arizona Daily Star article about this ad.

What, no "Miserable Failure" too?

Today’s Associated Press story begins:

Al-Qaida No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri condemned President Bush in a video statement released Friday, calling him a failure and a liar. "Why don't you tell them how many million citizens of America and its allies you intend to kill in search of the imaginary victory and in breathless pursuit of the mirage towards which you are driving your people's sons in order increase your profits?" al-Zawahri said in a portion of the video released by the Virginia-based IntelCenter.

I have a comment and a question.

The comment: If Osama bin Laden is alive, why is this al-Zawahri guy always the one on tape? Especially after the speculation last week about bin Laden’s supposed death. Hummm. Maybe he has achieved room temperature.

The question: Do the left-wing conspiracy theorists cringe when they hear someone like al-Zawahri parrot their lines about Bush profiteering or do they see it as confirmation?

The Real Bill Clinton

What a punk Bill Clinton is and what an embarrassment for this country. The dog ate his homework too.

BOOK REPORT: “Five Days in Philadelphia: The Amazing 'We Want Willkie!' Convention of 1940 and How It Freed FDR to Save the Western World”

"Five Days in Philadelphia: The Amazing 'We Want Willkie!' Convention of 1940 and How It Freed FDR to Save the Western World" is written by Charles Peters who is the founder and former editor-in-chief of liberal The Washington Monthly. I cast a light on an underappreciated figure in American history, Wendell Willkie.

This is the second book I have read about a specific political race or campaign. The first was James Chace's "1912: Wilson, Roosevelt, Taft and Debs -The Election that Changed the Country". Beyond my general political junkieness, what drew me to this book is that I would like to read Philip Roth’s novel "The Plot Against America" and feel I need to know the real history before venturing into the arena of fiction.

I see many similarities between our time and that of the late 1930’s. And I see uncanny political parallels too.

The Left’s opposition to President Bush and the Iraq War is of a certain kind. That kind of thinking has been around my entire life in the form of their similar opposition to a vigorous waging of the Cold War. But the isolationist Right’s opposition is an unfamiliar circumstance for me. I am aware of the America First movement before World War II but as with anyone looking back, there is a tendency to neglect losing ideologies in history. We tend to see their defeat as inevitable when they usually were actually going concerns in their day.

Peters' thesis is as follows:

Now Wendell Willkie would never be president; but it is arguable that his impact on this country and the world was greater than that of most men who actually held the office. At a crucial moment in history, he stood for the right things at the right time. His nomination as the Republican presidential candidate meant that Roosevelt could get away in an election year with doing what had to be done to keep Britain from falling to Hitler and to prepare this country for the great war it would soon have to fight. Before he died, Willkie said to a friend, "If I could write my own epitaph and I could choose between 'Here lies an unimportant president' or 'Here lies one who contributed to saving freedom at a moment of great peril,' I would prefer the latter."

I need to do more study before I accept his premise entirely. Willkie certainly played a key role in getting the draft and Lend Lease passed. But the margins were so close in each case that many people can make the same claim about their support.

The book is a quick read, only about 195 pages without notes. The author’s style is very readable and he does a good job of taking the reader back to that era.

CRITIQUE & REVIEW: "The Black Dahlia" wilts

The Black Dahlia is a good-looking movie. But saying that about a movie is like saying a girl has a nice personality. She doesn’t really do it for you; same thing with this movie. It has good-looking stars, including the reemergence of Mia Kirshner, also know as the deliciously evil and cunning Mandy from "24". It has Scarlett Johansson mailing in her performance and Hilary Swank doing her best late-1940’s bisexual vamp pose. Josh Hartnett and Aaron Eckhart are the male leads. Director Brian De Palma makes a visually satisfying film that like cotton candy has little substance. Save your money at the theater and wait for it to come on cable.

Look: 8

Story: 3

Acting: 5

Goal: 4

Intangibles: 3

Overall: 5

_____________________________________

The above scores are based on a 10-point scale.

• Look has to do with the visual artistry of the film.
• Story rates the how compelling the film’s plot is.
• Acting rates the overall performances of the actors.
• Goal measures the success of the film at accomplishing its goal… does a comedy make you laugh, does a thriller cause goose bumps.
• Intangibles score any special circumstances or accomplishments the movie deserves to be recognized for.
• Overall rating is not an average of the other categories, just this reviewer’s impression of the entire work and how I would rate the film to a friend.

Going, going, Gonzo

Word came out today that the Arizona Diamondbacks are not going to pick up Luis Gonzalez’s $10 million option for 2007, effectively making him a free agent at the end of the year.

If Luis Gonzalez really wants to make a run at 3,000 hits, he does need to leave the Arizona Diamondbacks. It will take him at least 3 full seasons to reach the mark. Perhaps his boyhood hometown Tampa could accommodate such a personal goal. But the Diamondbacks have a real shot at dominating the National League West for years to come with the young players coming up from their farm system.

He is my favorite player and I would like to see him achieve those milestones that might earn him a spot in Cooperstown. But the D-Backs are my favorite team and right now, they need to continue with the youth movement.

Thanks for the memories Gonzo. Good luck with another team next year.

Egos cloud clear repudiation of nativist immigration rhetoric

I am a little surprised by the size of the Len Munsil victory over Don Goldwater (49.5% to 40.7%) in the Republican gubernatorial contest.

I am not shocked by the victory of Randy Graf over Steve Huffman and Mike Hellon in the GOP Congressional District 8 primary in southern Arizona. Nativist Graf scored 43.2% this time arounf, practically identical to his 2004 total of 42.5% against incumbent Jim Kolbe. Meanwhile, the regular Republican vote was split between Huffman (37.2%) and Hellon (12.2%). The Tom Tancredo clone took the nomination because the mainstream conservatives split their votes. Image the storyline that should have been written about the 2006 Arizona Republican primary… the hardline anti-immigrant message falls flat in a frontline border state.

With defeats of Goldwater and Graf, the proponents would have the undeniable case to make that the Tancredo take on immigration reform is a loser. But the egos of the sane wing of the Republican Party snatched defeat out of the jaws of victory. Moreover, Graf is a much weaker candidate in the general election than Steve Huffman would have been. It would be a shame if the GOP loses the U.S. House of Representative majority by one vote and that vote is cast by newly elected Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-Arizona CD8).

Primary Day in Arizona

Today is Primary Day in Arizona with only two big races… GOP governor and GOP Congressional District 8. Barry Goldwater’s nephew Don Goldwater is running for governor with a nativist message on immigration. His opponent is Len Munsil, the former head of the Center for Arizona Policy, a social conservative advocacy group. Strangely enough, Munsil has been tagged as the establishment candidate, even scoring an endorsement by Sen. John McCain.

I voted for Munsil. I have no idea how this race is going to pan out. Both candidates were generally unknown to the typical Republican primary voter a few months ago. The message-suppressing Clean Elections regime in Arizona has not done much to change that situation. Goldwater benefits from his famous name while Munsil benefits from his years building a social conservative grassroots network.

How does turnout impact the race? I think a high turnout most likely helps Goldwater with his name recognition(?) and demagogic message. Munsil’s loyal supporters will show up for their man.

We have yet to see in Arizona a tidal wave of support (or opposition) to a candidate based on the immigration issue. Today’s vote might be the first, especially in CD8.

In that southern Arizona congressional district, the Republicans are about to hand a longtime GOP U.S. House seat to the Democrats. The seat now held by Congressman Jim Kolbe is a nominally Republican district though populated by a more moderate breed of Republican than the ones you find in the Phoenix area.

The two establishment, mainstream GOP candidates are state Rep. Steve Huffman and former Republican National Committeeman Mike Hellon. Former state Rep. Randy Graf is the immigrant-baiting, nativist candidate who registered 40% against Jim Kolbe in the 2004 GOP primary.

I’m afraid that this will be yet another example of two (or more) regular Republicans splitting the mainstream vote and allowing a Buchananite to take the primary with under 40%. Because the district is squishy anyway, this is a recipe for a Democrat pick-up. The GOP doesn’t have seats it can give away this year. But it looks like we are.

Speaker Pelosi anyone?

CRITIQUE & REVIEW: The Path to 9/11, Part 2

I was impressed by the final night of the ABC mini-series “The Path to 9/11”. I was less impressed with the casting decision on the Vice President Cheney character. Yikes! Just because Cheney is balding and has gray hair, does he have to be a doddering old man?

The Condi Rice characterization wasn’t the body-blow that the Sandy Berger characterization was.

Was Richard Clark really “in charge” of the meeting on the day of the attacks? It looks like Cheney and Rice were spectators in that meeting.

Look: 6
Story: 9
Acting: 6
Goal: 10
Intangibles: 9
Overall: 8.5

_____________________________________

The above scores are based on a 10-point scale.

• Look has to do with the visual artistry of the film.
• Story rates the how compelling the film’s plot is.
• Acting rates the overall performances of the actors.
• Goal measures the success of the film at accomplishing its goal… does a comedy make you laugh, does a thriller cause goose bumps.
• Intangibles score any special circumstances or accomplishments the movie deserves to be recognized for.
• Overall rating is not an average of the other categories, just this reviewer’s impression of the entire work and how I would rate the film to a friend.

Think twice about campaign promises

To commemorate Primary Day in Arizona, enjoy this joke about the campaign-season mindset of our public servants.

While walking down the street one day a US senator is tragically hit by a truck and dies.

His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the entrance.

"Welcome to heaven," says St. Peter. "Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom see a high official around these parts, you see, so we're not sure what to do with you."

"No problem, just let me in," says the man.

"Well, I'd like to, but I have orders from higher up. What we'll do is have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then you can choose where to spend eternity."

"Really, I've made up my mind. I want to be in heaven," says the senator.

"I'm sorry, but we have our rules."

And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell. The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a green golf course. In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him. He thinks he even sees Che Guevara and Fidel Castro playing a round ahead of his foursome.

Everyone is very happy and in evening dress. They run to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at the expense of the people.

They play a friendly game of golf and then dine on lobster, caviar and champagne.

Also present is the devil, who really is a very friendly guy who has a good time dancing and telling jokes. They are having such a good time that before he realizes it, it’s time to go.

Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and waves while the elevator rises...

The elevator goes up, up, up and the door reopens in heaven where St. Peter is waiting for him.

"Now it's time to visit heaven."

So, 24 hours pass with the senator joining a group of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing. They have a good time and, before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by and St. Peter returns.

"Well, then, you've spent a day in hell and another in heaven. Now choose your eternity."

The senator reflects for a minute, then he answers: "Well, I would never have said it before, I mean heaven has been delightful, but I think I would be better off in hell."

So St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell.

Now the doors of the elevator open and he's in the middle of a barren land covered with waste and garbage.

He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags as more trash falls from above.

The devil comes over to him and puts his arm around his shoulder.

"I don't understand," stammers the senator.

"Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and clubhouse, and we ate lobster and caviar, drank champagne, and danced and had a great time. Now there's just a wasteland full of garbage and my friends look miserable.

What happened?"

The devil looks at him, smiles and says, "Yesterday we were campaigning... today you voted."

CRITIQUE & REVIEW: The Path to 9/11, Part 1

I have watched the first 2½ hours of the 3 hours first night of ABC’s “The Path to 9/11” mini-series. For the life of me, I can’t understand the tactics of the Clintonistas to first alter the film and then attempt to censor it by pressuring ABC to pull the entire program. It amazes me that they would want to suppress the entire 5-hour mini-series in order to protect their legacy project.

It was regrettable for ABC to cave in like it did. Even though their edits were small and not worthy of all the controversy, they seemed to allow the Clintonistas to frame their production as a partisan hit piece rather than a balance portrayal of why we are at war now. Regardless, seeing the edits in their context doesn’t really bother me much. What remains is still important for every American to see.

I look forward to finishing the mini-series tonight. Something tells me that Condi Rice would have benefited from a similar campaign to rescue her reputation. We’ll see how the actress who portrayed Sherry Palmer in “24” does with our now-Secretary of State.

PREDICTIONS & PUNDITRY: Democrats could lose by winning

I have a sneaking suspicion that if the Democrats do take a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, they will almost certainly guarantee a GOP victory in the 2008 presidential contest. Why? They will be placed in the position of having to actually deliver legislation concerning real issues like the Global War on Terrorism.

But I believe their Bush Derangement Syndrome is so complete, they will not be able to present a sane, capable and trustworthy face to the voters over the next two years. They will be unable to stop themselves from launching their own jihad against the Bush/Cheney/Haliburton/Neo-Con regime with impeachment hearings on how President Bush "lied" about some such thing.

Such an unseemly, undignified and nakedly partisan attack on President Bush will create a backlash and ensure a Republican recovery in 2008.

However, if the GOP holds on to the House, the Democrats remain out of power and they will be free to continue their non-specific agenda of attack while offering no real alternate solutions. This keeps them viable for the 2008 contest.

It is a little bit like the dilemma that Democrats faced in 1999. If President Bill Clinton were convicted and removed from office after impeachment, a President Al Gore would have most certainly prevailed in the 2000 election over Governor George W. Bush or whichever Republican captured the nomination.

Democrats need to be careful what they wish for at the 2006 polls.

Win in 2006, lose in 2008.

(Unless they really want to govern and not just take off after Bush… nah, govern, shmuvern.)

SHOW STOPPER: "The Beatles Love" by Cirque du Soleil

Over the Labor Day weekend, I was in Las Vegas and went to see the new Beatles-themed Cirque du Soleil show "Love" at the Mirage. The show replaces the Siegfried & Roy show that has ended due to Roy’s tragic injury from one of his tigers.

I have been to 3 other Cirque du Soleil shows and this one too is full of the manic dancing and acrobatic exploits of dozens of performers. But the real star of the show is the music which was remixed by Beatles-producer George Martin and his son Giles. Familiar songs are stripped of their vocals that are then replaced by the vocals of other songs. One of the memorable instances of this was the use of instrumentality of Ringo’s Good Night, the final song on the White Album, along with the vocals of Ringo’s Octopus’s Garden, from Abbey Road. Elements from three and four songs are often mixed.

I get the impression that there will be other Beatles-themed shows in the future because so much of the Beatles catalogue was ignored.

Overall, a great show. I highly recommend it on your next visit to the sin city.

BOOK REPORT: “Hatred's Kingdom: How Saudi Arabia Supports the New Global Terrorism” by Dore Gold

A book I recently completed was Dore Gold’s “Hatred's Kingdom: How Saudi Arabia Supports the New Global Terrorism”. It is an excellent source for the history of the Wahhabi movement and how the Saudi royal family has been accommodating Islamic radicalism not just for decades but for centuries. I highly recommend the book for anyone who wants to know the ideological and theological underpinnings of the Sunni extremism exemplified by Osama bin Laden and the al Qaeda organization.

BOOK REPORT: "Legacy: Paying the Price for the Clinton Years" by Rich Lowry

The most recent book I read was "Legacy: Paying the Price for the Clinton Years" by Rich Lowry of National Review. As we approach the fifth anniversary of the September 11th attacks, I thought it was necessary to remind myself of what was going in the 1990’s that left us so vulnerable to terrorist attack. I understand that the ABC’s special mini-series "The Path to 9/11" is going to be tough but honest about the Clinton Administration’s record on combating terrorism. I have the two-part, five-hour special programmed on my TiVo. I’ll blog on it after I see it.

I am very interested to see how Penny Johnson Jerald portrays Condoleezza Rice in the mini-series. The last thing I saw her in was when she played the ambitious, duplicitous and estranged First Lady to President David Palmer (played by Dennis Haysbert) in the outstanding FOX TV show "24". She also played Kasidy Yates, the wife of Captain Sisko, on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine".

Back to the Lowry book. It’s a quick read and is a good primer on the litany of Clinton policy and character sins while president. I recommend it.

First Post of the "Willet Creek Dam" Blog

Thank you for visiting the Willet Creek Dam Blog. This blog's title is taken from the 1939 Frank Capra film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington that, among other things, centers around good old fashioned graft and corruption in federal appropriations legislation during the Great Depression.

Appointed caretaker Sen. Jefferson Smith, played by Jimmy Stewart, inadvertantly stumbles across the scam when he proposes establishing a national boys camp on a patch of land near the head waters of Willet Creek in Terry Canyon. This is right where the local Taylor political machine has bought up land in advance of the creation of the Willet Creek Dam by Congress. The famous one-man filibuster scene follows.

Willet Creek Dam is provided by an Arizona-based public affairs professional who does a lot of work with my state’s legislative leaders, governor and executive departments. I also have close dealings with Arizona’s congressional delegation. Therefore, much of this blog will focus on Arizona and national political happenings. I am also very interested in international affairs and world and American political history.

To get a flavor for my politics, here are my votes in all primaries and elections for president since I have been old enough to vote.

2008 Presidential Election: John McCain
2008 Presidential Primary: Mitt Romney
2004 Presidential Election: George W. Bush
2004 Presidential Primary: George W. Bush
2000 Presidential Election: George W. Bush
2000 Presidential Primary: George W. Bush
1996 Presidential Election: Robert Dole
1996 Presidential Primary: Steve Forbes
1992 Presidential Election: George H. W. Bush
1992 Presidential Primary: George H. W. Bush
1988 Presidential Election: George H. W. Bush
1988 Presidential Primary: Jack Kemp

I sometimes might meander away from politics and comment on books, movies, TV programs, sports and other pop culture topics.