The Oscars The Economy and Life

Watched the Oscars Sunday night with the occasional wince, the ocassional loud laugh and sometimes a bit of a tear in my eye. Overblown? yes, Self Important? Yes, but it still is something many of us, millions are interested in every year. Movies give us a look at how other people live, how they experience things, as much as the medium can do that, and how intense, amazing, funny, sad and complicated life can be. Time gets compressed, inferences are made and sometimes, many times, major details are manipulated to make the story more acceptable or appealing to movie goers. Given that the average age of movie goers is 14, that explains alot. When the more adult films come out, and look what got nominated, they tend to gross substantially less than the movies aimed at the 14 year old boy and girl. You have the business movie and the craft movie. Pixar is best at having merged the two genres, Wall-e is an excellent example of a kids movie that is asking some big questions.
I was happy to see Kate Winslet win for The Reader. I thought the film was excellent and she in particular was just stunning. What a range to encompass in an film and to play such a complicated yet simple character. I was also happy to see Penelope Cruz win for Vicky Cristina Barcelona. The movie was woefully underappreciated and one of my fond movie memories of 2008.
How is the economic crisis going to impact movies this year? I don't know yet. I suspect some of the big budget films will continue to be made and that some of the smaller more adult films might get shelved. I would like to see a breaking up of the conglomerates that control the system now so that more smaller companies are involved and we see a return to more independent theatres etc. I doubt it'll happen but one can wish!
One last thing that struck me about the Oscars was the references by winners from the movie Milk, in particular Dustin Lance Black and Sean Penn about Proposition 8 here in California. Going thru some personal experiences with hatred directed at me by others, gives me a certain degree of empathy to the whole issue around Proposition 8. So much of the pro prop 8 stance comes from hatred and fear of the different. Why do we let ourselves be drawn to and consumed by hatred of others. Hatred is such a toxic emotion and nothing good ever comes out of it. It destroys not only those the hatred is directed at but also those doing the hating, it destroys them from within. That Black and Penn had the courage to get up and speak to this issue is a testament to the use of the bully pulpit when you have the chance. In the movie The Reader, what underlies the story is a whole society that didn't speak up, didn't use the bully pulpit and became a nation filled with hatred and evil intentions. Normal everyday people who walk the street, breathe the air, just like you and me and they created and executed millions of people only because their religion was different.
It'll be nice to see if we can, in this time of economic peril, transcend this type of behavior and move forward to include and not exclude those among us who are our fellow human beings.

Peace,

Random Thoughts and Comments 2/20/09

Been down with a kidney stone again. Getting to go for a ride on the lithotriptor next week to get things cleaned up and have me back to 100%. Apologies for delays in posting.

LET THE SLIMEBAGS CLIMB UNDER A ROCK
The revisionist history is beginning in earnest. An article by Dana Milbank in the Washington Post today talks about a conference that was attended by NeoCon and Iraq Strategy Guru Richard Perle in which he not only denied that there is a neoconservative movement, especially in foreigh policy but he also accused those who say there is, (everyone), that they are anti semitic since many of the people espousing neo con theory are Jewish. Talk about stretching things! Does Perle realize that Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and others are all Christians? Ok enough said on this. I recommend reading the article at www.washingtonpost.com

STIMULUS SCHMIMULUS
The initial fight over the Stimulus package is over now. My guess, based on what I have been reading by people who have been right about this thing all along is that this package is not enough and we'll be back at the counter needing more money in a few months. Why people think business tax cuts are going to matter at this point is beyond me. This stimulus package has to be a bottom up affair. So much of what we are going thru right now is psychological and if people start spending money, some of that psychology is going to shift. Business is going to invest and banks and going to invest when they see a situation that is advantageous for them, not when they get a tax cut. I urge you to contact your elected representative and let them know to eliminate tax cuts for business and the wealthy as we move thru this mess. They are the ones who created this disaster and they need to pony up and take responsibility. So far I'm not seeing that happen.

OSCARS
I've seen some of the nominated films, not all of them. Here's my opinions based on what I've seen:
1. Benjamin Button - cute but in a corporate way, very soulless. A pretty boring guy who had the body of a young man after living a life. Something many of us have wished for at one time or another, to have a young body and the life experience in our mind. I thought the movie really missed an opportunity to say something fairly profound about life.
2. The Reader - Kate Winslet is excellent in this movie as is David Kross as the young man and Ralph Fiennes as the older version of the same man. This movie asks some difficult questions, not only about having a broken heart and love and it's nature, but also about going along to get along, about not standing up about accepting fascism/totalitarianism. A powerful film, Winslet is great as the Damaged Hanna.
3. Slumdog Millionaire - Cute, shallow, well crafted story, but in the end perfect for most american movie audiences. It really doesn't ask anything and it feeds into the American Dream of escaping your poverty by using your wits and becoming rich and getting the girl you love! It's a nice movie but by no means to the best. It'll probably win because it's a feel good movie and it stars minority actors. The Academy loves to reward/make political statements when it's as easy as this.

Enjoy the telecast of the Oscars on Sunday.

Why Are Senators Reducing the Stimulus?

There's reasons that no one in the major corporate media is talking about, that Senators are reducing the President's Stimulus Package as it moves though the legislative process. What could be the motivation of this small group of Senators and Congressman who are fighting to reduce the package? I suspect it has to do with some requests from either the Financial Services Industry or some other Corporate Interest Group. These Senators don't do the bidding of the people, they do the bidding of the large corporations and big monied individuals they've served for their entire time in Congress. Sure they occasionally don't do things and hence they are deemed "moderate", but that only means that they aren't 100 percent in the tank for Corporations.
Let your Senator or Congressman know what you feel about the Stimulus Package. Pro or Con, let your feelings be known. It's their job to serve their constituents not just the wealthy and powerful.

Peace,

Stimulus and Cowardice

So the stimulus is going to pass and there's been a trimming of the package to 790B with some other "conditions" to wait and see on about 10 to 20 percent of the money. It's amazing to me how absolutely tone deaf both parties have been on this issue for different reasons. The Republican Party has been the party of "no" on this issue and has offered tired old solutions that have been discredited by the current crisis we are in. The Democrats, some of whom in the Senate, are acting like they are in the race of their lives with a strong Republican candidate, are being gun shy. Republicans understand power, and they use it. Fascists are that way. For some reason, more liberal folks have a problem. My theory is that many of these so called centrist Democrats and Republicans are really Corporatists at heart and they want to help the Corporation and not the People.
When Paul Krugman and Joseph Stiglitz are both saying that this Stimulus Package is not anywhere near enough money, you know something is up. When the "discredited" economists and politicians are saying it's too much money, you know Krugman and Stiglitz are right! I sure hope to god the approval of this package has an immediate "psychological" impact on the markets so credit will be freed up. My gut tells me no.
I sure hope that the Dems push Harry Reid out the door. He's too timid, too corporatist and too afraid to make some big steps. He's a procedure guy, which can be good sometimes, but he can't see the forest for the trees sometimes and frankly, I've never felt he was a powerful leader. That is what is needed right now. President Obama is forceful in his presentation and implementation of his programs and he needs a real go getter in the Senate to push his programs thru. Harry Reid is not that man. Maybe he'll surprise me, but again, my gut tells me no.
Here's wishing you a wonderful Saturday.
Peace,

Friday and it's the Economy Stupid!

Paul Krugman once again sets things right and sounds the warnings to the know nothings who want to resist acting to fix the mess they've created. In opposing the Stimulus Plan proposed by the new President, the Republicans and some conservative Democrats (Ben Nelson), remind me of the kids who came over to their friends house, ate all the food, took the piggy bank, trashed the residence and now, seeing that everything needs to be cleaned up and accounted for, deny ever being there. Amazing to me how we as human beings continue to do this.
Here's a link to Krugman's column today. Get Involved!! Write to your Senator about the Stimulus, it makes a difference!!
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/06/opinion/06krugman.html?_r=1

Peace,

Thomas Frank

Thomas Frank has a regular op ed column in the Wall Street Journal and his most recent is excellent reading. Here's a link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123371071061546079.html?mod=rss_The_Tilting_Yard

Peace,

Another Easy Way to Keep Up with the Economy

Paul Krugman BLogs at the NY Times and he's been right about this whole thing from day one. He, along with Joseph Stiglitz and a small number of other Economists were voices in the wilderness compared to the hordes of economists who were going along with the prevailing conservative wisdom, primarily championed by Milton Friedman, that the Market always knew best. Krugman's blog is a great way to keep up with things and he covers other topics that aren't necessarily discussed in detail in his twice weekly columns. The man is a genius and what he says should be taken very seriously: http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/

Peace,

Tom Daschle - So Long We Hardly Knew You

So Tom Daschle leaves before he starts as Obama's Secretary for Health and Human Services. Seems like not only the unpaid taxes from his free use of a buddy's limo/car service, but also some major conflicts of interest were surfacing. Seems like all these folks who have "experience" in Washington D.C. also happen to have conflicts of interest. Is it that the way of doing business is one big conflict of interest? Might be, as Mr. Daschle's wife could probably attest. Linda Hall Daschle is a registered lobbyist with the Washington firm of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz in D.C. While nothing is wrong in and of itself with someone choosing their profession and doing it legally, there seems to be problems with many of these power couple marriages. We are seeing more and more of the "oops I forgot to pay the taxes for my immigrant housekeeper or nanny" issue crop up. I think it points to a level of elitism and privilege that these folks become oblivious to and at some point take for granted. We as constituents have to decide what type of government we want. We can't afford to be lazy and let arrangements that serve the rich and powerful ONLY, be set up on our watch. Democracy is messy and takes effort. It's not enough to just vote once every two or four years. Taking and making the effort to stay informed, to write your elected representative at whatever level you need to and to stay educated on the issues is imperative for all of us. It's much too easy for us to end of with the type of fascist government we just suffered through for the last eight years. We must say "Never Again". Demanding more and better ethical behavior from our elected representatives is a good start.
The bigger task is much harder as it involves overturning a Supreme Court Decision and laws written by Congress. Specifically I am talking about declaring that a Corporation is Person. This is something that was done in the late 1800's if memory serves, and needs to be changed. Corporations and the money they throw around, not to mention the influence that they have in Washington is so out of proportion to what it should be in a representative democracy, that it HAS to change. Please take time to investigate this issue. Here's a good place to start: http://www.thomhartmann.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=196&Itemid=79

Thom Hartmann is a great resource. If you listen to his radio show, he provides alot of useful and necessary information. I'll have more places to look later.

Peace,

Beginnings

I've wanted to do this for a quite a while and have been working into it through blogging on my MySpace page to get some practice in and now I feel I'm ready to do this on a regular basis. I hope that the information I offer is thought provoking, timely and provides readers with something that enriches their life in some way.