Men Who Stare At Goats

Men Who Stare at Goats follows journalist Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) as tries to find a story by teaming up with Lyn Cassady (George Clooney) on a comedic trip through war torn Iraq. Cassady claims to be a member of an experimental group that is trained to use mental powers to complete their missions. These powers include remote viewing, walking through walls, and even killing goats by staring at them. At first Cassady says that he is a contractor, but later admits that he is on a secret mission given to him by the unit’s, the New Earth Battalion,  former commander Bill Django (Jeff Bridges). The catch is that he does not yet know what the mission is. He is supposed to figure that out using his powers.

After escaping kidnappers the two men are found and brought to a camp run by Cassady’s rival and former member of his unit Larry Hooper (Kevin Spacey). Hooper has taken the concepts of the New Earth Battalion to the private sector with an evil twist. It becomes Wilton and Cassady’s mission to stop him and save Django.

Django says when pitching the idea of the New Earth Army, “We have to dream a new America that no longer has an exploitative view of natural resources, no longer promotes consumption at all costs, but to achieve this dream we must become the first superpower to develop super powers.”

This quote accurately displays the idea of the movie and the purpose of the New Earth Army. An America is needed that is concerned with people before all else. The New Earth Army is an organization that intends to start with the army and win wars through positive powers instead of killing and torture. The movie culminates with an ending that expresses this idea.

This story while not completely true is based off the bestselling non-fiction book of the same name by Jon Ronson. The movie takes true life events and twists them into a comedic masterpiece.

The movie is hard to believe, but the DVD comes with extras including a short documentary that has interviews with the men this is based off of. It will sure up any doubts one might have about how much of the movie is reality.

Everything about this movie is great. The story is complete with an intriguing plot, the acting of Academy Award winners Spacey and Clooney and Academy Award nominee Bridges is superb, and Academy Award nominated director Grant Heslov puts it all together in a way that grabs one’s attention and does not let it go. It is one of those rare movies in which it is truly difficult to find a flaw.

I recommend this movie for everyone, but it will especially touch those who have served in the army.

Paul Krugman

This is a link to an editorial in the Houston Chronicle by Paul Krugman about what is wrong with the Republican party that everyone needs to take a look at.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/6932291.html

9/11 workers and legal settlement

Why is it that people who worked on the site that use to hold the World Trade Center are about to receive a $657 million settlement? Were these people not either doing their job or volunteering to do a job that was not theirs? Do not get me wrong, I am thankful for all that these people did, but their is another segment of society who cannot receive a settlement when they die or are injured. This segment is called the U.S. military.

Soldiers, Marines and some seamen and airmen go to war for this country which I personally, although I am biased, believe is a far more noble cause cannot sue the government when they become a casualty of war. I am not just talking about those that were killed of wounded. I am talking about every man and woman that experienced combat.

While military men and women do have a $400,000 life insurance policy, that only covers the dead. What about those that came back wounded, mentally traumatized or just injured from the strain of war on the body? There is disability, but that does not amount to much when, unlike most of the plaintiffs in this case, can no longer hold down a job. One hundred percent disability is a nice chunk of change, but most veterans never get that much.

I personally receive 60 percent disability which is less than a thousand dollars a month, not enough to live on unless one is single and lives with his grandma. I was not wounded, but I came back crazier than a shit-house rat. My goal when I go out, is not to hang out with friends or meet a woman, it is not to cut anyone’s throat. As of yet I have been unable to hold down a job, my credits gone down the tubes, and I live with my grandma. I am very capable of getting things done despite my faults, but many of my brethren are far beyond that point.

These plaintiffs in this case as it is now will receive almost $70,000 a piece, and maybe they deserve it. Something needs to change where men and women that commit themselves to fighting for their country should receive a nice lump sum of money when they get out of the military. They commit their lives to this country sometimes doing multiple year long tours in a war zone. Most of the plaintiffs in this case worked a few weeks.

The point is that these people, while they did a good thing, did not do nearly that of the veterans that served in the War on Terror, so instead of just giving them money give it to the veterans as well.

Tom Delay

Tom Delay is auctioning a dance (Ha, ha, ha , hahahaha) with him for the benefit of Katy Christian Ministries which is essentially just a resale shop. It has other programs, but it is more or less a charity that makes yuppies feel good about themselves. Katy is rich area that does not need their services.

I hated Delay when he was my personal representative and I hate him now. After demonstrating how large a douchebag he is on Dancing With the Stars, he is using his stature as King Douche to help the needy. Wait, he is only Queen Douche, I forgot about Dick Chaney.

Normally something like this would make me hate the guy a little less, but for some reason I cannot believe that he is doing this for any other reason than to fix his tarnished image that he made worse, at least to those with intelligence, by dancing on television.

I have always wanted an excuse to bash Tom Delay to everyone that can read. Now I have been given my chance.

Thanks, Tom.

health care, communism in the U.S.

Wow, after a year of bickering between idiots of the political world a new health care bill has finally been signed. I for one am pissed. I cannot believe that the United States has now become a haven for communism. This guy Obama has made health care better for every American that truly needs it. He has made our country everything we fought against in the cold war. Mikhail Gorbachev has finally got the last laugh, and Stalin and Kruschev are partying in Hell even as I write this.

Now that we are communists we have new health care propaganda we all need to follow.

1) Health insurers are not allowed to deny children coverage even if they have a pre-existing condition. Why should this be? Parents should have to go broke paying for leukemia treatments for their infant children. If they do not then the war against the Communists in Vietnam was pointless, either that or we were on the wrong side.

2) Insurance companies will no longer be able to cancel one’s policy when that person becomes ill. Not yet being a good Communist I am not sure I can handle that. How is an insurance company supposed to make money if they pay medical bills. We should probably call Kim Jong-il and see how they do it in North Korea. I know their Communist government is at the pinacle of what our new Communist nation should strive to be.

3) Small businesses will receive tax credits for providing coverage to their employees. This may create health insurance at companies that previously did not have it, but it does not sit well with me. I have trouble dealing with my capitalist roots, but now that I am a Communist in a nation of Communists I will have to learn to use the word “comrade” when I am addressing others.

There are many other points to the bill that transcend the barrier between capitalism and communism, but I do not have time to cover them because my copy of The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels just arrived in the mail from Amazon. I have to go read it now so I can be the best Communist that I can be in what will be the greatest Communist nation on Earth.

By the way forget about Easter, Communists do not celebrate it, comrades.

Bill White, A Snowball’s Chance

Bill White Democrat and former Houston mayor said after his win in the primary election, “Today Texans sent a message to the entrenched interests in Austin: Texans are ready for a new governor.” This I assume was just the positive response to his victory because White knows that it is not true. His opponent is incumbent Governor Rick Perry. Texans do not want a new governor, they just want to continue with the candidate that will curb their fears of change.

White will continue with his attempt to become Texas’ first Democratic governor since Ann Richards abdicated the throne 15 years ago to the now infamous George W. Bush.  He will continue to fight pushing his agenda in hope of gaining votes while suffering defeat at the hands of an inferior man.

Bill White will campaign focusing on the issues of jobs and the economy, education, health care and energy.

White’s ideas caused Houston to gain more jobs than 34 states. Although Rick Perry claimed to create one million jobs during his time in office, a significant amount of these jobs were in Houston, Texas’ most economically sound city. Of course White was mayor.

Rick Perry claims responsibility for these jobs, but he also turned down $550 million in federal stimulus funding for unemployment aid.

White will force the issue of education which with Perry as governor has consistently been ranked among the worst in the country. White will improve Texas education by implementing similar programs to those he used in Houston that showed success. Perry will say that he has improved education while continuing to allow low rankings on a state wide level.

White will bring up the issue of health care reform. He will fight to help keep insurance premiums from increasing as they have under Perry who has allowed Texas to have some of the highest insurance rates.

White will also attempt to expand enrollment in the Childrens Health Insurance Program and medicaid so Texas can reap federal benefits that have been turned down by Perry who claims to be helping Texas’ need for affordable health care.

White will promote Texas as the international energy leader through traditional energy sources and energy sources for the future. Perry has attempted similar ideas without the success a veteran energy man such as White who has served as Deputy Secretary of Energy of the United States.

While Bill White in just about every aspect is more qualified and better proven as an executive, he has almost no hope of becoming governor. Even though Rick Perry is a semi-competent leader, at best, hand picked by a completely incompetent leader Bill White can only hope for extreme circumstances creating his victory.

The reason is simply that voting Texans are simply not the type of people who change their ideals. They were raised one way and only extreme circumstances will cause them to change such as when the Democrats ran the southern loathed  McGovern when he caused the shift in southern voting trends from Democrat to Republican.

White’s only hope outside of Perry’s untimely death is that someone does like Carol Strayhorn did in 2006 taking a substantial amount of votes from Perry while no one does the same to the Democrats as in 2006. Since this would have to come out of left field it is not out of the realm of possibility, but it has as much chance as a snowball in hell. Which is about as much chance as White has.