Real Clear Politics

Here is the best site for neutral input on the election, especially polls. I devour this site every day. If you want to track the polls for each and every day, as I do, go to the main site, then click "Polls" in the main pull-down menu, then click "Latest Polls" at the far right of the pull-down menu.

After checking out the latest polls, then explore and enjoy, including links to articles that RCP provides from both sides of the aisle.

A truly great site. Bravo and kudos to them.

~ t.

A couple of flicks...

Over the weekend I watched a couple of DVD movies that had gotten laudatory reviews:

The Assassination of Jesse James and In the Valley of Elah.

Assassination: This was the LONGEST movie I have seen in a long time. What I mean here is that I was squirming and wondering when it was going to end, or why it was not moving ahead and keeping my interest. In the real world it clocks in at 160 minutes, which to me seemed like about 300 minutes. I want to make it clear that I do not have ADD. In fact I have watched many, many movies that were as long or longer, and felt the time just whiz by -- even Bergman films! (An example: "Gladiator is just a couple of minutes shorter, but I was on the edge of my seat the whole time when I first saw it on the big screen, and still am riveted as I watch it on DVD). The actors in Assassination were good, script so-so, the directing crumby, and editing atrocious.

Valley of Elah: I loved this movie. The more I see of Haggis' output, the more I respect the guy. He is getting to the "Mamet" level -- not saying this because I think Mamet is the greatest, but to acknowledge that when watching a Mamet movie or play, I KNOW it's Mamet. Likewise now, I can say the same for Haggis, and I love his work. "Valley" is simply a great movie in my mind. Tommy Lee was more than "Oscar-worthy" in his role. It's so Haggis to watch this proud, stubborn man learn that his son was murdered and cut to pieces, but to also have to learn that his son was totally fucked up by the war: sadistic, a drug-user, aggressive, and ultimately a neglected son. Jones is simply amazing in conveying his evolving pain/knowledge as the story unfolds. And who says Charlize Theron can't act? Remember, she did win an Oscar, after all!


~ Tom

Georg Heym

I was "Stumbling" around the Net and hit upon this interesting post about 20 great artists who did not make it to 30.

I could certainly tweak the list big-time, but I was intrigued with #10, Georg Heym.

I Googled him and found a lot of truly interesting stuff. His poetry, even translated, is pretty compelling. Here is a good example.

The above link also contains a lot of good info, including the tragic circumstances of his t0o-young death.

A total "jaw-dropper"

Wondering why the Clinton camp has been so quiet about the Rev. Wright blow-up? Well, check this out!

I'll take a "crazy uncle" ( and I had a couple of them) over a bunch of fascists any day.

~ tom

Cool...................

My blog is Birth of the Cool. Well, here is the essence of cool.



Damn, I miss him....

Billie et. al. - Cool

Sometimes I wander (wonder) off course. This brings me home. OMG!

p.s. Gerry looks like he's about 17...

Pulling your coats...

I was a bit distressed when all this stuff about Obama's erstwhile minister surfaced, especially the "God Dam America" bit, which gave me a visceral wince. Then I read this amazing post on Huffington Post and felt a lot better. Check it out. Now the real question is how to get middle of the road folks to read it and think about it.

I'm worried that even good-hearted non-blacks are not going to understand the loud, seemingly confrontational sound cuts from Obama's church -- gee we thought this guy was pretty white, but this is scary! Anyway, the above-linked post says it all -- the Christian right is far more dangerous and evil than Rev. Wright could every be.

Also, check out this wonderful site. I just heard Robert Greenwald on a progressive radio program. He is the founder of "Brave New Films." The guy is doing a great service for us all. Check out the FOX Attacks Obama, part 2 film along with lots of other short films that Greenwald and his crew have blessed us with. Bravo.

~ tom

The "real" cost of the war...

I can't help but grieve over the incredible mis-allocation of resources that this pointless war has cost us. Here is a cartoon that shows the madness.

Eileen and I were driving home the other day on Interstate Highways, and the road surface was ugly and rough. We both complained about it and then realized that if we had just a fraction of the total dollars being spent on this bullshit war, we could pave the road to the smoothness of a baby's ass. Of course there are myriad other examples: schools, bridges, health care, social security, arts and music, and so on. With this war grinding on, and the cost of it, I wish I had the nerve to withh0ld my tax payments. But, at this stage in my life, I'm not ready to face heavy fines and jail time for such a stance. So, this leads me again to my support of Obama. I want the nation to evolve to the point where I view my tax payments as "dues" that I pay to make my life and the lives of others more enriched.

For example, Eileen and I are fortunate to live in a development that has a home owners association that pays for keeping up the common grounds, providing us additional security, and other benefits. The payments we make are termed "dues" and I HAPPILY pay them for the services I realize for the payment. My dream is to pay my federal taxes as if they were "dues" to advance the common good for our country. Instead, I pay my federal taxes with shame. Shame over what my dollars are paying for, and shame over my cowardice that prevents me from withholding payment.

~ tom

This says it all...

Why do I fervently support Obama?

This excerpt from his speech on abortion says it all. Can you imagine anyone from the Bush crowd, or for that matter Hillary, making such a speech?

Think about what sort of country we will have if Obama is President. I'm so cynical these days that I fear to hope too much. But, I can't help it.

~ Tom

Prick up your ears, installment 7 - Little Big Town

Somewhere a while back I read a review of an album called "A Place to Land" by a group I had never heard, or heard of: Little Big Town. The review was one of those five star deals and it got me interested so I downloaded the album from Rhapsody to my MP3 player and checked it out. I love this group. Two guys and two girls, singing in wonderful harmony, with very strong song-writing. Great instrumental support, and top-notch engineering. I guarantee that you will like this album if you are anywhere near my wavelength.

Here is the chorus from a kick-ass track called Novocaine:

I'll take your wrong and make it right
I'll take your load and make it light
I'll dry your eyes and you can bet
Any hurt that you remember gonna help you forget
Make you numb to the pain
I'll be your Novocaine.

Here is an excellent Allmusic review of the album

And, the Allmusic reviews give you a 30 second excerpt of all the tracks!

Tom says, check it out!

Spitzer - The elephant in Clinton's living room

The first thing I thought of when I heard about the Spitzer denouement was Bill Clinton righteously wagging his finger and saying in that patronizing tone of his, "I never had sexual relations with that woman." I think a whole lot of people had the exact same thought, as evidenced by this piece on Huffington Post.

~ tom

Ed Harris

We got around to seeing "Gone Baby Gone" on DVD the other night. I had read quite a few reviews and the blogs of good friends, which/who all lauded Casey Affleck and Amy Ryan's performances. But I don't recall much ink being spilled on the wondrous, gripping performance by Ed Harris. That scene with him and Affleck after Affleck has basically executed the child molester and Harris is getting drunker by the minute while examining moral relativity was Harris as good as I've ever seen him, and I've seen him in some truly great roles over many years. He has always been one of my favorite actors.

As for the flick, the plot was the typical Lehane contrivance, but in this case much, much less plausible than Mystic River. Still, it was a nice diversion, and again, hats off to Ed Harris.

~ tom

Take heart Obama supporters

Just heard Johnathan Alter on the Ed Schultz show, indicating that Hillary cannot win the nomination. He refers us all to Slate's cool delegate counter. Check it out.

Here is Alter's Newsweek column explaining in detail why Hillary cannot win.

Mystery veep....

Assuming Obama gets the nomination, I strongly recommend that he choose this mystery man as his running mate.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

He was born in Saint Joseph, Missouri and grew up in a military family. His ancestors fought in every major American war.

His father, a career officer in the U.S. Air Force, flew B-17s and B-29s during World War II, dropped cargo during the Berlin Airlift, and was later involved in missile programs. He is buried at the Arlington National Cemetery.

After graduating from high school he attended the University of Southern California on a Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps scholarship from 1963–1964.. In 1964, he earned appointment to the United States Naval Academy where he was a member of the Brigade Honor Committee.

After graduating from Annapolis, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps. As a first lieutenant during the Vietnam War he served as a platoon commander with Delta Company, 1st Battalion 5th Marines. He earned a Navy Cross, the second highest decoration in the Navy and Marine Corps for heroism in Vietnam. He also earned the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, and two Purple Hearts.

He attended Georgetown Law School from 1972 to 1975, graduating with a law degree. While at Georgetown, he wrote his first book, Micronesia and U.S. Pacific Strategy.

From 1977 to 1981, he worked on the staff of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs. During this time, he also represented veterans pro-bono.

During the Reagan Administration, he served as the nation's first Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs from 1984 to 1987. During his time as Assistant Secretary, he sought to reorganize the Marine Corps. He was gravely concerned with the disarray the Marines had fallen into post-Vietnam: drug use, racial infighting, and low morale within the Corps left him with the impression it was no longer America's premier fighting force.

In 1987, during the Regan administration, he served as Secretary of the Navy, becoming the first Naval Academy graduate to serve in the military before serving as the civilian head of the Navy.

After his resignation, he earned his living primarily as an author and filmmaker. He won an Emmy Award for his 1983 PBS coverage of the U.S. Marines in Beirut.

Among his awards for community service and professional excellence are the Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Medal, the Medal of Honor Society's Patriot Award, the American Legion National Commander's Public Service Award, the Veterans of Foreign Wars Media Service Award, the Marine Corps League's Military Order of the Iron Mike Award, the John H. Russell Leadership Award, and the Robert L. Denig Distinguished Service Award.

In November 2006 he was elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate, where he continues to serve.

Who is he?

Senator Jim Webb from Virginia.

Obama should choose him as a running mate, because Obama's only arguable weakness is lack of military background and experience. Webb, would combat (pun intended) this quite handily.