DOUCHEBAG OF THE WEEK: THE POLITICAL SYSTEM

Anybody with a pulse in the country should agree with me that the unforgivable ruling by the Supreme Court unleashing gobs of corporate money on us has been every bit the disaster most of us saw it would be. Both republicans and dems get a big FU as well for not doing anything to fix this situation which will lead us directly to a fascist state. Let's look at the runner ups.

1) The California Police Dept- Yet another example of why I dislike cops. These douchebags extraordinarie are warning parents to be on the lookout for dope laced candy gotten form the dispensaries. This is nothing more than a fear tactic. First if anybody ever did this, which they haven't by the way, they should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. However as it's probably not going to happen because most peope who smoke pots aren't dickish enough to do such a thing. And even if they were, nobody gives away candy that costs 10 to 15 dollars a piece. This is fearmongering to stop Prop 19. Don't fall for it.

2) Boston Cops- Sure are a lot of police getting caught screwing up lately. This latest debacle comes from video taken of a dozen cops, kicking and punching a 16 year old defendant who was already on the ground. As some one who took martial arts for years I can tell you these guys are the worst trained police I've ever seen. 12 guys and you can't subdue a 16 year old kid, and not even that big of one from the mug shots it looks. Did no one show you how to do a simple arm lock? Maybe a new career line is in store for you like crossing guard or gay twink porn star. There is never an excuse for what you guys did and I hope you all get fired.

3) Tea Party and their Supporters- Helped along by my douchebag of the week, the tea party has seen a resurgence in the polls putting many a dem in trouble. These fools are voting for an end to the American dream and a new Depression. Awesome. Recent polls show a majority of Americans who incorrectly believe that their taxes went up, that the stimulus did nothing and that TARP will cost us billions. None of those are true. Neither is cutting taxes a way to prosperity. The Great Depression resurged when spending was cut in the wrong places and regulations failed to be put in place that would stop the problem from happening again. Sound familiar?

4)Polls- Depending on what channel you watch, newspaper you read, or radio channel you listen to, the polls given will be radically different. Studies have shown a marketable difference between robo calls and those conducted by a real person. this may be due to the fact that people are more likely to tell the truth to a machine than real person who may judge them. If someone told me they were voting for Christine O'Donnell, I would indeed laugh at them. There is also the generational gap where many younger people do not have landlines. As polls are never conducted by cell phone, these polls will always skewer older and more Republican. Tuesday will be the kicker.

5)Politics- With the floodgates of money wide open, my prediction of non stop ads have come to pass, most of which are barely capable of telling the lies from the facts from both sides of the aisle. The amount of foreign money being introduced is unknown but what isn't is that the Republicans have benefited greatly from this new law as their candidates are all pro business even if they don't sound like it on the campaign trail. The Tea party and Republicans are not your friends, albeit the dems are more the enemy of my enemy rather than true allies. This year though will near unlimited funds, the voices of reason and democracy are being pushed out by the loudest and the brashest. We face a serious problem over the next few years and this isn't helping. God help us. So yes politics you are indeed douchebag of the week.

Nouriel Rubini: Top Economist Predicts Disaster

Nouriel Rubini, one of the top economists in the world, has publicly said that the the US is headed for a train wreck and that there is little we can do to stop at at this time. Oddly enough, even though I don't have a degree in economics, his predictions mirror mine exactly. We are headed for a cliff and the Tea Party is sending us there in a barrel. With the GOP certain to make historic gains next week, out fate is sealed. Even if some miracle happens and the GOP doesn't gain enough ground, I have feeling there are plenty of psycho right wingers ready to shoot first and ask questions later, a notion echoed by candidates such as Sharon Angle, the nutbag from Nevada. When the GOP gains power in the House and possibly the Senate, government will grind to a halt. Sure glad nothing serious is going right now. Oh wait. It is. As one of the first to predict the housing crash, along with yours truly who nailed it down to the exact month the collapse would happen, Rubini is someone to listen to and his future is pretty bleak. Gridlock will lock the US up for the next few years, with only quantitative easing being used to help out, which it won't. What it will do is lead to inflation, possibly hyperinflation the likes of which we haven't seen since the days of the Wiemar Republic, a government we are eerily paralleling right now. He writes that we are on a course of fiscal irresponsibility brought about by both parties weakness for corporate dollars. Combine that with Social Security and Medicare collapsing due to lack of entitlement reform and the huge debt being piled up by states for out of control pension plans and we have a recipe for disaster. A recent study done by a BU professor says that the US is actually 200 trillion dollars in debt or more money than the whole world has. That with the suspected 600 trillion dollar loss in the derivative market and the chickens are coming home to roost. How long can the government juggle these balls before dropping one and sending the whole system into bankruptcy? Not long I fear with the idiot Tea Party demanding budget cuts in places guaranteeing the economy to collapse. I'd like to point out that Germany is doing much better due their regulation of the derivative market, modest austerity cuts and tax breaks. Their economy is growing, their unemployment rate very low and their citizens enjoying all the benefits of living in a country that takes care of their people. Not here where the insane Tea Party wants to go back to the days of no minimum wage or maximum hours work laws. They want to send the country right back to the days of the robber barons when the work place was a minefield of destruction. ARE THEY NUTS? Apparently they are because only a fool would fight for things that will end up hurting themselves. But as they are hell bent in getting rid of Obama, reason has left the building. And we are all gong to suffer as a result.

Election Looms: Stupidity Reigns

With the all but certain conclusion that the Tea Party will officially hijack the Republican party next week, moderates everywhere should be packing their sanity bags because we're going on a road trip. With the right wing establishment dumbing down the electorate with taunts of socialism and communism, we now face the end of everything Democratic about this country. I'd like to point out that Germany, a socialist state, has lower unemployment, greater benefits and higher taxes on the rich. The result: the best economic numbers in 18 years. Meanwhile our country tailspins because the morons have come home to roost. With Oompa Loompa John Boener the most likely new Speaker of the House, cutting spending is their number one priority, never mind the fact that is how the second part of the Great Depression started. If we do this, like the Tea Party demands, our society will fall apart. We must cut spending, but not in eliminating social programs like disability, unemployment and Social Security. The Defense budget must be cut in half, which would still make us the greatest military in the world and Social Security must be revamped but not privatized or eliminated. The better example would be to raise the age and to drop anyone from the ranks who make over a certain amount of money such as a net worth over 5 million. These people don't need the social security net and regardless of whether they paid into for their whole life, that money should go to somebody not as fortunate. We cannot afford to give these benefits to everyone, especially those that don't need it. But idiot America is going to get rid of the pussy democrats because they quite simply have been terrible leaders. Incapable of explaining or bragging about any initiative they have, they have resided themselves to the dust bin of history because of their sheepishness. Next tern, if the Republicans want to filibuster a good bill, LET THEM. Don't you guys remember what happened when the Republicans did that back in the mid 90's? They got crucified, which led to Clinton easily winning a second term. Make them explain to the American peope why they are holding up things like Unemployment or tax breaks for small businesses. They will fail miserably at this and the democrats will be back on top again. Plus, come up with wedge issues like gay marriage and legalization of pot and don't be wishy washy about it. Let the other tongue draggers vote for their idiot candidate. Make yourself stand out. And for everyone else out there, vote Democrat or true independent (not the Tea Party or Republican independents ala Scott Brown) to save yourself and this country. Don't and the new Nazi's will turn this country into a true fascist directorship, a slope we already going down. The police are out of control and need to reigned in. Boston this week saw a teenager pummeled by multiple cops and a friend was arrested again in East Hartford (true Nazi's in this town) for stealing a motor that he had already spoke to the owner about and had his permission to take it. Unfortunately the owner is in Vietnam for the next month, sparking a ten thousand dollar bond and a hundred dollar loan from yours truly. I'll get it back next week, so it doesn't really matter to me but the hassle factor for my friend is off the charts. The crime won't stand and as soon as they get a hold of the owner, the whole thing will be dropped again. But East Hartford tax dollars are going to pay for this whole fallacy. And stuff like this is happening nationwide in our increasingly hostile fascist police state. Fear the police. They are not here to help but to protect the rich. If a civil war does start, these fools will be on the front line. And some of us are better armed. Remember the French Revolution. Viva la France.

NEW BLOG STARTED: LOSTANDFORGOTTENFILMS.BLOGSPOT.COM

As of today I am dividing my site into two separate entities. This site will continue to discuss all the news not being talked about into today's corporate controlled media state. Entertainment news will now be at lostandforgottenfilms.blogspot.com. In addition to reviews of TV, videogames, and movies, we also have a weekly column dedicated to lost and forgotten films just like the Douchebag of the Week Column here, a popular column I might add. This week's entry is The Boogens, a hidden classic from the early eighties which I happened to find on TCM late one night (thanks for the shout out Darren). I hope all of you will look up my new site and let me know what you think.

Things Fall Apart, The Center Does Not Hold

With a week left to the next election, one has to wonder what does the future hold. If history has anything to say about it, Muslims should be very worried that they will be the new Jews of a resurgent Nazis movement. I am indeed talking about the corporate Christian group, The Tea Party. Think back to Nazi Germany circa 1936. Their economy was devastated, their middle class wiped out, they had just been through a brutal war which they lost and helped bankrupt their country. Sound familiar? It should because it's happening right now. Fear got them elected in Germany and the same is working now with the Republicans. Mind you the democrats deserve their fair share of the blame here by being incapable of passing even the simplest of laws when they had a super majority (three to be exact and none were any good). After the Republicans win the House and possible the Senate, all bets are off. Most of the idiots want to do things like privatize social security and eliminate unemployment. If a truly charismatic leader comes out of the woodwork to oppose Obama in 2012, we could be seeing the beginning of the end. God help us all if it turns out to be Sarah Palin which I still see as huge long shot as even Republicans don't trust her in mass. But we stand at the edge right now. Jobs that supported the middle class are gone. I just found out that good paying sales jobs have gone the way of the dodo, just like manufacturing and construction. Most of the jobs pay commission only which is a great way to get around paying for pesky things like a salary or benefits. The rate of pay as a result is less than half of what these same people would have been paid just five years ago. My last job with the newspaper now pays half of I made and get worse results for it. Remember Circuit City dumb asses? Rumors of voting fraud have become rampant, only this time Democrats are getting the edge in places like Nevada, where people say they are voting for Angle but Reid is coming up. Any jerk voting for that lunatic should be lucky that the voting booth isn't electrified to kill anyone this stupid. Do the ruling elites actually not want a nutbag like Angle in office? It's possible. Her insanity may be too hard to control, and she is definitely certifiable. Regardless of dirty politics, Republicans will still win the House and then we get to look forward to two years of gridlock. Unemployment extensions? Not going to pass. Budget problems? Going to have to wait until 2012. Good thing we aren't in the middle of a Depression or anything. Oh wait. We are.
The possible overthrow of the Lebanese government has come full circle with even the Saudis asking the current leader to step down to avoid a civil war. Hezbollah will be the new de facto rulers then, a prospect that cannot thrill Israel. With the nuclear power plant in Iran set to activate in the next two weeks, both the US and Israel seem oddly unfazed. What do they know that we don't?
Unemployment in the US has reached staggering level upwards of 40% in some cities like Detroit. The recession/Depression never really ended. They just said it did to make themselves feel better and to lie again to the American people. Only when jobs come back with good salaries will the depression end. And that'll happen when pigs fly. The middle class is dead. Long live the new serfdom.

DOUCHEBAG OF THE WEEK:NPR

Another week, another round of so many choices. Oddly enough, no political party gets the honors this week. Shocker.

1-WIKILEAKS AND THE PENTAGON- Double edged sword here as both get a big raspberry this week. Wikileaks gets a big WTF for unleashing 800 phone book pages of classified info which I admit I'm torn about. On one hand they are pointing out hypocrisies our government is once again caught lying to us about. On the other, they are also pointing out people, specifically Iraqis who helped us in the war, which not only puts their lives in danger, but makes sure that no one will trust us again to keep their identifies secret. I give a slight edge to the Pentagon for douchebag supreme as the new documents show an alarming lack of candor about Iran's involvement in the war. It reminds me a lot of China's involvement in Vietnam, which we didn't want to acknowledge because we didn't want a bigger war. Then we shouldn't have gone in the first place. Fight a war all out or not at all. This piece meal crap is killing us. This is why wars drag on for decades. Because no one wants to really win. More weapons get sold that way. These wars have to stop today and the next time someone wants to attack us, remind them why we have nukes.

2-MOUNT PLEASANT POLICE FORCE- Having killed a young black man for doing nothing more than moving his car out of fire lane seems like overkill for even the most ardent cop supporter. The cops then released the fact that the young man was drunk at the time which may be contributing factor but still doesn't give them the right to fill him full of holes. The fact that his parents are not ghetto trash but highly articulate, well educated individuals doesn't make the cops look any better. I have a feeling this is going to get ugly. Cops are rapidly becoming targets, as seen by the mutliple deaths of police over the past few months. And while I don't like cops, most of them don't deserve to get shot at a traffic stop. But civility is dying due to a lying fascist government who are using the police to enforce their illegal laws.

3-ANDY QUIAD AND HIS WIFE- In a Holy God what were they smoking moment, Randy Quaid and his wife were arrested AGAIN for illegally squatting at a former residence. These two nutbags had been picked up before for skipping out on a huge hotel bill earlier this year. Randy Quaid said his life was in danger and seeked asylum from Canada as a result. Supposedly, eight of his friends had been murdered like Heath Ledger and David Carridane and he was next. The fact that both died from their own hand didn't seem to matter. Quaid had been banned from Broadway for life last year due to his overbearing attitude that made both cast and crew demand his removal. His career is over.

4-NPR Explaining in graphic detail why I hate PC nonsense, NPR fired reporter Juan Willams this week after he made "disparaging" remarks about Muslims. Thing is, he didn't. He didn't say "I hate Muslims," or "all Muslims must die," which would be a firable offence. He said when he got on a plane and someone was wearng Muslim garb, he got nervous. WHO DOESN'T? That's it. He then went on to explain that generalizations are dangerous and we shouldn't lump all Muslims together, which he's right about. So what did NPR do? They canned his butt. This was more likely that he was a Fox news staple and the liberal elites didn't like that. Well too bad. I don't particularly like people who are too liberal or too conservative and here the line has definitely been crossed. So way to go NPR. You are douchebag of the week.

Paranormal Activity 2:: A Scary Movie For Us Ghosthunters Fans

Paranormal Activity arrived last year to much fanfare and some derision from the fanboy crowd. A sizable group, myself included, found the first film to be quite scary and riveting. It wasn't about a giant monster in a rubber suit or CGI jumping out and scaring the beejesus out of you. It was much more subtle than that and was definitely influenced by the hoards of ghost shows now on TV, some of which are decidedly terrible. However regular viewers of Ghost Hunters or Ghost Adventures will see much the same kind of footage and that stuff appears real. I had an encounter myself some years ago in my old house in New Jersey. The heat had gone out again on the coldest night of the year and I was trying to keep warm using the fireplace. But no matter how big the fire got it was still freezing. Figuring something was wrong, I went into the basement and found the dead bolted door there open. I had been down there the day before and knew the door was closed and locked. Yet here it was open and letting all the cold air in. I have no rational explanation how that door got open. A friend of my staying with me for the weekend while his place was getting ready fled in terror one night while I had been away. He would never talk about what exactly happened but mentioned the Starship Trooper bugs my house had (they looked like miniature versions of the movie bugs) attacked him, strange sounds coming from other rooms even and little green men, which was odd because I had never told anyone that as a child I had woken up one night and saw three or four greys at the foot of the bed. I screamed, they aimed some sort of device at me and then it was morning. I still don't know if what I saw was a dream (most likely) or real. My sister said I screamed out in my sleep in the middle of the night but saw nothing so I still like to think it was just a dream. But after my friend left to go sleep in Central Park rather than spend another night at my house makes me question it all the same.
That is exactly what the movie is. It is a series of moments that most of us would rationalize as being nothing, even though we in the audience know better. Normally I hate prequels, which this film is, but in this case it works as it gives us a better understanding of what the demon that haunted Katie and Micah in the first film really wants.
The movie opens with Katie's sister's family bringing home their new baby. Cut forward a year or two later and the time period is 60 days before Micah dies. Apparently, Katie's sister is the original haunting for deeds done by one of their ancestors decades earlier. Now it wants the newborn Hunter. And it will do anything to get it. Like the first film, this one starts off slow; moving pans, a dog barking at nothing, the pool cleaner moving out of the pool. Through it all the Dad finds reasonable explanations for everything. The Daughter and Mom however think differently and begin scouring the security cameras the family had installed after a break-in for anything odd. Eventually things go horribly wrong as even the most ardent skeptic would have to realize that there is indeed a real problem.
The scares are real and the footage has a Where's Waldo aspect to find what's moving or where that shadow is going. This is infuriating for some but for any fans of Ghost Hunters this is what we do every week watching these shows. Some HATE HATE HATE this kind of movie in which case don't go. I am so tried of the trolls In the Internet pistol whipping anything they find objectionable with no realization that everything on the planet isn't geared just for them. Another example of the dumbing down of America where everyone gets a trophy for participating and originality is considered the way not to conform to everyday values. It's sickening.
This film does has it's problem. As there were no credits, I'm pretty sure the lead actress was Sprague Greydon from shows like 24 and Sons of Anarchy which doesn't help the "family in distress angle." Couldn't find another no name actress? Really? And the continuity errors in this movie were jarring. Several scenes had disappearing plates, napkins and pans. One such scene changed pots hanging on a rack every time the scene cut away to a different angle. The pans were silver, then red, then they changed position. This kind of stuff really hurts a film that's supposed to be found footage.
I would recommend this film to anybody who loves ghost shows. If your expecting a splatter picture wait until next week when Saw 3D opens. You'll be much happier.

3 and 1/2 stars out of 5

Mood of The Electorate Becomes Hostile: Does Revolution Loom?

For regular readers of this site, I have preached a non violent attitude for almost every response possible, except when it comes to foreclosures. In my opinion, this is only time when force is legitimate. No one should be forced out nowadays as the way these foreclosures were handled in a criminal manner, you should be under no legal obligation to fork over your property to the people who were trying to steal it in the first place. I don't even own where I live, but if some uniformed cop comes to my door and tells me to get out, he better be wearing a bullet proof vest and a good runner because I will unload all sorts of buck shot in his wrinkled face. It has also come to light that the banks are engaging in predatory tax recovery, the same way they had predatory loans to fleece us out of our hard earned money. I reported this months ago and the fires seem to have spread nationwide because banks are stealing peoples homes for unpaid debt and then racking up the charges that they'll never be able to pay. A 687$ water bill balloons to 18,000$ in a few months and then the banks seize your house for nonpayment. This type of action has become the norm with a woman in New Jersey getting the new bank treatment recently. This cannot stand. The government has no right to force from our house and if violence is necessary to stop this fraud then so be it. Apparently though, I am not alone in this thought anymore. Worse though, many seem to be ready to take up arms against the government for just about any reason and cops seem to be the number one target for many a person on dozens of message boards. Let me be frank. I hate Cops. Why would I you ask? My experiences with most police has been fine. A lot of them are fine upstanding individuals. But I have come across too many that have tried to frame both myself and others for crimes we did not commit. One said cop planted evidence, harassed witnesses and tied me up in court for years on the word of one man in a mental institution until the whole fiasco blew up in his face and he got fired and the prosecutor got a formal reprimand for bringing such a lousy case to this particular judge's courtroom. Another of my friends were beaten by cops and thrown into jail for doing nothing more than walking down the street. They were released the next day and all charges dropped but they were still a bloody mess and no lawyer wanted the case so they were out of luck. I used to work for a former police Sergeant, who incidentally was one of the best bosses I ever had, who quit his job as a Hartford cop because they were routinely putting people on the street that had no business wearing the uniform. A few years later, one of the cops that my boss had quit over them hiring was found in his car with a prostitute's head in his trunk. Incidentally, thus was also one of the cops who beat up my friends some eight years earlier. Police are mighty unpopular now, with several being shot and killed over the past few months. Worse, the message boards are specifically telling the police look out, you're next. And while I don't think that's a good idea at all, specifically because not all cops are bad, I see little way to stop such a massacre from happening. It will and probably soon as the police are getting worse and worse reputations from these bad apples. The recent killing of a black man in Mount Pleasant, New York has raised many an eyebrow, getting politicians like Scott Brown and Barney Frank involved. It does appear as if the police overreacted. It is also very similar to a recent case from a friend of mine. He was in a similar situation and the East Hartford police captain tried to have him arrested for attempted murder on a police officer. Mind you, he never attacked anyone. Some idiot cop threw himself in front of a moving vehicle in order to stop him, which wasn't going to happen as these idiots tried to actually kill him once before. Would you stop for a police unit that had taken shots at you in the past for no good reason? My friend aimed AWAY from the idiot cop and kept going, hellbent on not stopping and who can blame him. A warrant was issued for his arrest but he was smart and found a friendly local cop he was good friends with to accompany him back to the station. As of now, the whole thing has been dropped as the cops had no legal leg to stand on, especially when a fellow police officer tells them in no uncertain terms, he will speak for the defense at trial and explain all the bad blood between these two, including the death threats the Captain made about the defendant, who is no way a bad guy. This is the level of idiocy we have to deal with in some departments. And the level of anger right now is being channeled right toward them. It's a dark time to be a police officer and if revolution does loom, as the message boards seem to suggest, police will be the first to go. The police have to become more friendly to their people. Stop arresting people for dumb crimes and pulling people out of their homes. The laser site of anger is being formed and the target is right on their Shields. I hope this does not come to pass but with each day the world gets a little darker, the message boards a little angrier. Sooner than later, this country is going to explode. And when that happens, anyone wearing blue will be a target.

Just Cause, Crackdown 2, Metro 2033: The Age of Mediocraty Comes To Video Games

Something has happened within the video industry that we have already seen in the record, TV and film industry: Someone is hiring morons. The record industry has been the worst hampered by MBA stupidity, Having both worked for and known people who worked in the industry, I can safely say that these were some of the biggest fools ever. All of us back in 99 found ourselves in the same boat. They wanted the next boy band. Problem was, at the time, that wasn't an option. As a matter of fact until the rise of the Jonas Brothers (whose new single Rain is one of the worst songs ever recorded unless you like the word rain repeated over and over again), there weren't any good boy bands to find anywhere coast to coast. As a result of this, myself and everyone I know left the industry because we couldn't take it anymore. The record industry is still free falling and barely alive from this. Unfortunately, this level of idiocy has spread to movies (the new Hellrasier remake will be PG-13. Good luck with that), and TV (how many doctor/lawyer/medical shows can you actually watch. Very few I would see by the ratings) but until this year, videogames were booming. The word WERE being evry important. Sales have dropped recently, albeit modestly but still a decline for the first time. The reason is less to do with the economic situation than the sub par games that have been coming out this year. I know because I have played them. Other than the great Red Dead Redemption, most of the games I have played this year weren't all that great. Bad graphics or gameplay hampered quite a few and some were just unbelievably short. If I can beat a game in six hours, it wasn't that good. The three games listed in the header are the last three games I have played, two of which I gave back hours after starting.
Just Cause had the best graphics of the three. Your character is some sort of secret agent who has come to a small island off of China to blow the crap out of it. Missions are spread out over attacking bases across the sandbox area which quickly becomes repetitious and dull. The worst part was the driving which was impossible at best and, in the case of a flying race, downright hostile. I crashed so many times the FAA called to see if I was alright. The graphics at least kept my interest for a little while and the explosions were really cool, especially if you found an anchored weapon with unlimited ammo to spread hot death around. Everything could be blown up, including large gas tanks. But the story was nothing, the driving areas made you want to break your controller and the sheer repetition of the whole thing was a slog. Might be a good mulitplayer but the single game sucked.
Metro 2033 was another game with good graphics and a descent storyline. You play a Russian soldier hiding in the ruins of the Moscow Metro after a nuclear war twenty years earlier. Mutants and Renegades hamper your every move as you attempt quest after quest to set a beacon high atop a deserted tower. This game was okay. The gameplay could be a little rough and ammo was hard to find but the most irritating part of this game was the guns themselves. You never knew which gun was better until you actually used it, which meant you sometimes upgraded to worse weapons with no way to switch back. The end had me with two sub par guns that nearly got me killed every time. It was also a been there done that feel about the whole thing so as a FPS it was average, like most of the games from this year.
Then came Crackdown 2, one of the worst games I have played in a very long time. Bad bad graphics, and I mean like Sony PlayStation bad, horrible gameplay and zero story. I literally played for an hour and tossed it right back in the mail. You're a soldier of some sort with mutants attacking a city you have to protect or something like that. It didn't really matter as the game sucked sucked sucked. I hear the mutliplayer is pretty good so it might be like Halo where the single player game blows but the multplayer rocks. But if you want a game to play by yourself, miss this one.

Crackdown 2- 1 star
Just Cause- 2 stars
Metro 2033- 2 and 1/2 stars

The Light of Reason Being Seen

Finally, after years of banging my head against the wall of irrationality, people are starting to wake up to the dangerous situation we find ourselves in. Robert Reich recently wrote an article describing how the recent Supreme court descion freeing up corporate money as a death knell on a democratic society. His theory that this combined with Congress unable to pass a law demanding the public is informed about who funds Political ads leads us down the road to fascism. And this is from a guy who worked in the Clinton Cabinet. Paul Craig Roberts, the assistant secretary to the Treasury under Reagan has also espoused serious concerns about which way we are headed. I even saw a bead of hope from a Tea Party rally in Dayton Ohio. The ones interviewed came across as having sane ideas (although some were in ridiculous outfits, but whatever) and most importantly gave a loud clear message to any candidate getting into office, no matter what the party: Watch it! We're Pissed! As the Democrats have somehow managed to lose what should have been a slam dunk election, largely due to infighting and rank stupidity from the conservative part of the democratic party who need to be ousted if they have any hope of winning ever again. Oddly though this week it wasn't morons like Bob Nelson of Nebraska leading the stupidity brigade but Obama and his White House. With injunctions filed against ending Don't Ask, Don't Tell and Eric Holder saying to hell with the vote on Prop 19, we'll arrest you anyway, the WH has singlehandedly smacked the democrats a solid defeat in many a close race, possibly even in swing states like CA or NV. Brilliant. Polls show that other than the psycho tea party candidates, O'Donnell and Paladino, the dems have suffered double digit loses going into the election. When the Republicans win, the end begins. And now I'm not the only one who sees it. With the loss of the House and possible the Senate, nothing gets done for the next two years and band aid help is given patching the country barely together. Obama loses badly to, god I hope not, Sarah Palin. World ends soon after. If the Republicans get in and steal wantonly like they did in the past, the people are going to vote with their guns. And that may be the best news ever to help cower our electorate. Because we are pissed and armed. The two do not go well together. Look at Europe.

DOUCHEBAG OF THE WEEK: DEMOCRATS

Yes the democrats get the top honor this week with what can only be described as shoot yourself in the foot syndrome, an ailment they seem to be the masters of. I mean really, the Republicans NEVER screw up this bad and I loathe Republicans. They may be the spawn of Satan by for God's sake they stay on message consistently; even if the message is completely wrong, they stay with it. You guys are like spastic monkeys who quite simply cannot follow the most basic of instructions which is DON'T PISS OFF YOUR BASE. Is that so hard to accomplish? Let's look at this week's runner ups before laying into the aforementioned winner.

THE TEA PARTY- Yes it wouldn't be this column without reminding people about how idiotic and utterly dangerous the Tea Party has become. This fringe faux-Republican party has got to be stopped. They are for all tense and purposes a modern day fascist party, with their desire for corporations to have all the power over government, the very definition of such a state I might add. They are not a party of inclusion as seen by the dozens of candidates running, all Republican, zero democrats. I watched this weekend Bill Maher try to get any sense from a Tea Party organizer from St Louis to no avail. Oddly, I watched Fox News do the same to CA Senator hopeful Carla Fiorini. In both cases, no specifics are ever mentioned on their proposals, just vague waves at "waste and fraud" without ever addressing the problem with any sort of actual solution. It's scary that people are following for false platitudes. I'm reminded of the Last days from the Bible where false prophets will speak and ruin us. Sound familiar? A special shout this week to Carl Palidino who spoke so eloquently about gay rights (insert sarcasm here) on numerous broadcasts was indeed found to be the owner of two gay night clubs. Awesome.

BANKS- Proving that these bastards are trying to drive all of us into slavery, the fallout from the mortgage crisis still reverberates with the shutdown of the foreclosure market in 22 states and the investigation of misdoings in all 50. BOA stocks are expected to plummet in the wake of this scandal, with other banks to follow. The stock market stands to dive soon, the 11,000 barrier a head wall that may be unscaleable, (all stock market crashes ever have happened when the dow rose to high for its good, crossed a mythic barrier and the whole thing drops like a stone. The number for the last crash for 14,000). With the banks roiling, a new crash may happen. There is also talk of some sort of protection bill that will save the banks from lawsuits over this crisis. That cannot be allowed to pass. The legalization of the government stealing our homes will not stand.

MEDIA- Thank God the Chilean miners got out because if I have to listen to one more minute about this non story I'm going to vomit blood. I don't care. Mind you, I'm not indifferent to their plight. I'm happy they got out. But this smoke screen went on for so long that we missed important stories such as the discovery of scud missiles in Syria or the explosions that ripped through an underground base in Iran or the Stuxnet virus that is crippling computers worldwide. Instead I got to hear about Juan's experience with 32 other sweaty men in a small dank hole.

DEMOCRATS- Yes our winners of this week for their two fisted punch of how to make the base not vote for us in three short weeks. After Don't Ask, Don't Tell was rejected as unconstitutional by a federal judge, Democrats filled an appeal against it. Really? And to make matters worse, Attorney General Eric Holden said that regardless of Prop 19 passing or not, the feds will still arrest anyone with weed. Why not just whip your dick out and piss all over the crowd the next time you speak Obama. This kind of garbage is guaranteeing a loss in three weeks. It was recently reported that a giant weed cartel was broken up, arresting a writer for High Times and a Hip Hop mogul. Wow I feel safe now. Sure glad that whole terrorism thing is done and over. If the government was really interested in stopping waste, here's a good placer to start. Except they've said, hell no. Which is what I think a lot of your voters will now do come November. Congratulations for letting fascism take hold here. You are indeed douchebag of the week.

Hope For America

Demonstrating that there is some semblance of normalcy in this country, the message boards are alive with statements condemning the coming Tea Party movement as a fascist takeover. It is. The uneducated, poor and just plain stupid have flocked to this false tea party movement like the second coming, not realizing they are voting for their own demise. Lowering taxes on the rich will not help. Cutting regulation will not help. One blogger wrote that voting for the tea party is like cutting your nose off your face and then doing it again because it hurt so much. All stats show what will happen come November should the Tea Party gain power: Gridlock. At a time when steps need to be made to do something to fix things, the obstructionist policies will end this country, especially the floundering middle class which has all but disappeared in this country, along with our health care and jobs. Oddly (not really) polls done by different groups show radically different outcomes. Fox news and Rasmussen polls show tighenting or widening gaps for Republican candidates, while others show Democrats pulling away in some states like CT and CA. The nature of the polls seem to be in question as robo calls all favor the Repubs while live callers pick Dems. Are people too ashamed to tell a live person they are picking the nut bag candidate or are the questions worded in such a way to elicit a specified response? For all voting Republican, know that the current outrage over Democrat ads suggesting foreign money is being used by the Chamber Of Commerce is entirely justified. The Republicans killed a bill that would have demanded that all those new attack ads you see everywhere nowadays would have to be honest as to who was funding them. As a result, ANYBODY could be posting the ads, including foreign sources. Do you really want China influencing American elections? NO. But Republicans don't care. And for anybody collecting unemployment, your checks will stop come January if Republicans gain control of the House or Senate. Social Security and Medicare will come under fire next, so if your collecting don't get to used it. And anybody with a pension is screwed because they are about to be seized by the feds to help pay off the tremendous debt that they have no hope of paying off. There is a section of our populace that is going to vote us into a fascist dictatorship. How do I know? History. Hitler arose form similar situations playing out know. Such a government was attempted in 1936 and foiled. The robber barons are trying again, this time with American support. If you know anybody who follows the Tea Party, stop them by any means necessary. They cannot be allowed to win. Our Country is at stake.

Grim Reaper Circles: What TV Series Is Next

Ratings this week shows that some shows are circling the drain, particularly NBC whose shows on Wednesday are dying week to week. The awful awful, awful Law and Order:LA is spiraling out of control with it's rating down 33% since it's premiere three weeks ago. SVU, still strong after all these years, is seeing it's rating killed by being sandwiched in between the soon to be cancelled Undercovers and LA. Some are contributing the fact that both leads in Undercovers are black and therefore unworthy of white America's attention, but the more likely factor is the blah factor of two dull leads and crappy writing. Can you honestly say that if Zoe Saldana and Denzel Washington were in this show the ratings wouldn't be sky high? Race only matters when you do something racist with it (Outsourced I'm looking at you). Thankfully that show is not doing well either. Thursday's saw some sort of hope for NBC from 8 to 9:30 with their comedy block all up from last week and had an inspired live episode on 30 Rock that saw many a star factor. The Apprentice continues to delcine and I think it's only a matter of time before it gets moved, possibly to Saturday where it will join the ousted Outlaw. Cable continues to outperform with shows like Jersey Shore, Teen Mom, South Park and Sons of Anarchy all doing better than most big five shows, finishing in the top five for the night for some. Tonight sees the weakest night of TV with shows like Medium, Good Guys, and CSI:NY all on the bubble for cancellation. It will be the last season for all of these series even if they do somehow make it till the end. CSI and it's like are dead. New material is needed. Get cracking writers.

Foreclosuregate- What it Really Means

Now that the banks have been caught red handed stealing houses and money from our hard earned accounts, can we finally stand up as a people and rebel against this tyranny. THE BANKS ARE SCREWING YOU. This is not a republican or democratic issue. It is an American one. And because of this mishandling, we could possibly see the end of this country. The fraud going on is criminal at best and treasonous at worst. If the government won't do anything to help why should we do anything to help them such as pay taxes or follow any laws. Luckily, all 50 attorney generals are looking into this but the too little too late factor may be in play. According to news reports, banks hired anybody including homeless off the street to help file paperwork. None of this meant any of it was actually read, just signed off on. Because of this, soon there are going to be more legal lawsuits than the courts can handle. As no one knows, not even the banks, who owns what, this is going to be a long messy fight. Experts say that this could go on for as long as ten years. If in that time no one can prove they own the right to said property they will be forced to write it off. This could wipe out many a financial institution. The truth of the matter is the banks conspired to artificially raise housing prices as not only a way to make more money but to get people into debt slavery to pay for these overpriced homes. The banks have failed us. The Fed has failed us. The government has failed us. Both dems and repubs have failed us. How long are we going to take this nonsense. Only when we stop complaining to each other over nonsense like gay marriage (who cares, let them get married and be miserable like the rest of us already) and abortion. We have more pressing matters than Obama's birth certificate. WE ARE BEING FLEECED. And no one seems to care. If you are in foreclosure, fight for your house by any means necessary, and in this case, violence is justified. Make them throw you out if they can which they won't, especially not if your armed. That's a news story no one wants. Our houses should be OUR houses, not the banks. Only by standing up and saying NO in a loud voice can we be heard. And we must be heard because the next step is actually slavery which we are headed to like a rocket. Who out there will stop this misery? I suspect many a militia is training for just such a thing as are our own troops being set up to help take us down. The elites must be stopped. Our survival is now at stake. Revolution looms.

Grim Reaper Strikes Down Outlaw

The TV Reaper has struck again. Freshman series Outlaw has bit the dust. The final four episodes will be in the graveyard of Saturday nights before meeting it's timely maker. Let's be frank here. This how was terrible from day one. A Supreme Court Justice who quits his position to become a defense lawyer? Really? Was this the best you could come up with? And Jimmy Smits couldn't read the writing on the wall for this misfire? Smacks all around for this dud. I am stunned it ever made to air let alone the graveyard of forgotten shows. Detroit 187, the Whole Truth and Running Wilde are all praying for a miracle or else they risk the same fate. All three have been reported to be coughing blood, turning pale and killing the brain cells of those that watch. Their deaths appear imminent.

America the Stupid

Proving my point on why I don't belive in democracy as a functional way of running things, a new poll has come out demonstrating that stupidity has run rampant in this country and that these are the morons who will vote us into a fascist dictatorship ala Weimar republic Germany all over again. According to a Bloomberg National poll, 50% are pessimistic about the future of the country and rightfully so. We are headed down a deep dark hole from which there is no return. Most of us, Republican or Democrat can see that. What is most shocking though is how some of us, a mojority in some cases, want that change to happen. While short term, three in five say things have gotten better, most people people feel it is a temporary fix. TARP has been vilified even though it cost far less than anticipated and may have indeed saved the housing market. Tax breaks for small busniess are also wanted and this is probably a good idea. Also a great idea is taxing the rich to higher levels and ignore the garabge over the jobs they create which is true if you live in China. What isn't great are the tea party ideas on how to allocate money which if implemeneted will end this counrty. A shocking amount of people want privatization of Medicare and Social Security, a horrific idea. If you want to end these programs let some for profit entity take them over. It has NEVER worked with government deregulation. NOT ONCE. I dare you to find any instance where this has worked. Airline deregulation equaled monopolies and worse conditions for flying. The once cheap flights and getting higher and higher due to lack of comeptition. Cable deregulation led to much higher rates. Banking dereulation led to the econmoic disater. The list goes on and on. And you want to turn over your health care and retirement over to people who will kill you over for a nickle? Brillant. They also want cuts to programs that pave roads, fix bridges and basically keep us alive. They want an end to unemployment benefits, unless they are out of work and then the positions shift. They also are asking for a curtailing of student loans beacuse who needs to go to college anyway. Douchebags. This is the nonsense we as a rational people are competing with, self described morons who have zero undertsanding of how things work. They are going to vote us into an Armageddon. Anyone voting Republican this year needs their head examined.

I See A Cliff Acomin"

Bad news I can deal with. But with each and every passing day, the news seems to get worse and worse and nobody seems to care. But then again why should they. We cannot stop the inevitable so why not ignore it and go on with our lives? Denial is a great place to live until reality catches up with you. Our news media focuses on the absurd and trivial lately. World news is almost entirely absent from our radar unless we look it up ourselves. Regular readers (I know I have a few) know that my background is in religious studies, philosophy and anthropology. I have also postulated a theory some twenty years ago that religious strife would be the next world war. I have nothing against Muslims. I know quite a few actually and consider some close friends. But I fear for them should things spiral out of control like we are in real danger of happening. And while I believe writing about will do little good, maybe somebody out there might read this and rethink their position on bigotry and hate. This week though I see a real problem brewing, one being whispered about in the highest levels of government.
Recent Al Queda propaganda talks about German born (i.e. white) Muslims with Western passports. Supposedly they are to hit soft targets like hospitals and restaurants in the DC area. Whether there is any truth to this however is unknown. Our government lies for their our purposes and to spread a little fear before an election never hurts. There is a real danger here though, just maybe not so close to home. It has been confirmed that a massive build up of weaponry is being supplied and used by Iran, Lebanon and Syria. Scud missiles were recently spotted by Google Earth of all things in Syria, upsetting the Israeli government. China has also been supplying a new air force to the region, changing the balance of power. As tensions in the area are already sky high, this cannot be viewed as good news. There is still talk of a Hezbollah uprising in Lebanon, as soon as this weekend perhaps.
War is said to be looming, our economy is in a shambles and the freaking tea party is somehow ahead in fundraising in Nevada. I really wish I cared more about Lindsey Lohan or Kim Kardashian or even the Sahari's. I wish I didn't have to know what's coming. Buckle up because Gavic Princip is returning. And this time, he might kill us all.

A New Philosophy: The Altruistic State

As I have discussed before, I believe we need a new way of thinking. The altruistic state is the only way to survive. In such a state, the government guarantees a good job, health care, a safe place to live and a livable wage. When all four components are there, stress and problems will become insolvent. Incidentally, one of the greatest Presidents ever, FDR, tried to implement this late in his life but died before he could implement it. How different would our lives be if this great man had accomplished such a thing? It is also why I believe conspiracy theories over Pearl Harbor are nonsense. FDR was no globalist as seen by his actions. He was AGAINST the big corporations who tried to have him killed and replaced with Gen. Smedley Butler. Butler turned in the conspirators (the real conspiracy) in front of Congress and while no names were ever officially given, Prescott Bush, DuPont and a dozen other robber barons were believed to be behind this. Where is this kind of leadership now? We needed a FDR. Obama has given us Bush lite.
The Tea Party is dramatically moving into dangerous territory. It has been uncovered that the billionaire Koch brothers are funding the organization with direct help from Republican Dick Armey. This is not grass roots. This is a fascist takeover, ala 1936 all over again. Only this time they don't need to kill anybody. Obama's doing a bang up job discrediting himself everyday. By giving up on a public option on health care he accomplished nothing. By passing a credit card bill that did a little to help but just barely is why peope are so mad. FDR made sweeping changes even against Republican spats. The democrats have got to grow a pair. Stop negotiations by giving up your most important pieces to gain traction on nothing. Let the Republicans filibuster. The last time this happened, they got the blame and helped save the Clinton presidency. Another could do wonders. Why you didn't let them do it for middle class tax cuts is beyond me. It would have looked terrible. At least NY governor hopeful Paladino and Delaware witch O'Donnell are plummeting in the polls showing some kind of common sense. If only the people in CA and NV would listen.
The tea party is leading us to destruction. We need to forget about Republicans and Democrats and find a way for all of us poor folk to come together and forget about gay marriage and abortion for five seconds as the world is crumbling underneath us. I think the fact that we are headed for a disaster of unprecedented scale is more important.
We need fewer gun laws, fewer regulation on small business, much more regulation on big business, less taxes on the poor, more in the rich; this isn't rocket science as you can see. Most of us, regardless of party, religion, or race would agree with most of these items. Gun control is a hot property but statistics do bear out safer areas were guns are more prevalent. And we need them to protect against our runaway government. The altruistic society is the only way. Let's hope we're smart enough to get there.

DOUCHEBAG OF THE WEEK: JOHN COURSON

Unlike last week, there was really no debate on who the douchebag of the week was going to be, although Obama was in the running over his handling of the BP spill. The Fascist Tea Party will almost always be in the running as their policies are so dangerous for this country that I shudder to think what would happen if they ever actually gain power. The Republicans would be a better fit. So let's get to it.

The Tea Party- Yes once again many a candidate says something to stupid that the idiot public just ignores. Sharon Angle and Joe Miller have both made statements saying they want to privatize social security and eliminate medicare, Medicaid and unemployment insurance. Great idea if you want sick people out on the street. These losers can't go away soon enough. With people like Pallidino, Fiorini, Whitman (who is a money whore by the way), McMahon, Paul, Miller and a host of others trashing our country for the rise of a new fascist dictatorship, we can only hope that reason will win out this November. If the Republicans get back the House or Senate this fall, the outcome will not be good for anyone making less than 500,000 a year. Civil war looms.

The Democrats and Obama- Proving that they are no better than Bush and company, this week saw two major screw ups that will make voters question their ability to lead come November. Let's me state that I loathe Republicans and just hate Democrats but the enemy of my enemy is my friend which is the only reason I am supporting them. Let's get rid of the Republicans and then start working on the dems. This week saw Obama handling of the BP spill as one long PR move with no attempt at truth or honesty. It seems that everything they told us was untrue and probably knew it at the time. Plus Congress somehow got together to pass a bill that would have thrown millions of innocent people out into the street over mistaken foreclosures. Only Obama's pocket veto saved us from this awful piece of legislation. NEITHER DEMS OF REPUS ARE LOOKING OUT FOR YOU. Unless you're rich. With the recent Supreme Court decsion doing exactly what I predicted with ads and solid proof of vote rigging, your vote no longer matters. Welcome to Germany circa 1940.

And the winner this week is John Courson. Who is that you ask? He's the CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association. Over the past few months he has been on the news telling people to not walk away from their overpriced mortgages because that's just wrong and is bad for the economy. So why is he a douchebag for telling people that? Because he walked away from a 75 million dollar mortgage where his office was located and moved down the street to a rented building that was cheaper. So it's alright when you and your rich friends do it but not okay when the rest of us do it. Dick. Typical rich thinking that the rules do not apply to them. Further, he is under investigation for things like embezzlement and fraud. So congratulations Courson you are douchebag of the week

TV Grim Reaper Strikes Strikes Again: Outlaw Mortally Wounded

NBC's craptastic new show Outlaw, which was one of the worst new shows in my opinion, has been dealt a death blow by the network, halting production after five episodes. The remaining two will still air according to NBC and then Poof it will be gone. As predicted, the remaining new series are acting out the play And Then There Were None, with Undercovers, The Defenders, The Whole Truth, Law and Order:LA, and Detroit 187 all on the chopping block. Recent reviews for the L & O spin off have been dismal at best, getting scathing reviews by critics and fanboys alike. Adding dead weight like Terrance Howard couldn't have helped. Moving CSI:NY to Friday also seems to be a bone headed move with ratings plummeting. In CBS's defense though this was one of the only mistakes the network has made, unlike the others who have yet to have a qualified hit such as Hawaii 5-0 or Mike and Molly. Most of the above shows mentioned have less than a week to improve, especially Undercovers and Detroit 187 which probably won't last until Halloween.
Old shows aren't doing much better. Fox's The Good Guys is on life support and the Biggest Loser, once a ratings darling, appears to be on its last legs as it's ratings have tanked thus year. Fox's new comedy Running Wilde isn't and appears to be headed for the scrap heap any day now. Glee hit a rare speed bump with a faith oriented episode which probably didn't sit too well with Glee's obvious gay following. Way to slap your main demographic, Fox. What next? How about introducing a homophobic football captain who bursts into songs celebrating gay bashing. The main objective of any show runner is know your audience. Don't do any more faith episodes. Your demographic gets a little punchy when it comes to the Catholic Church. Getting called a sub human will do that. Dumbasses. On a side note, coming after that awful suicide by a Rutgers student who jumped of the GW, I implore people to stop the gay bashing. People who are gay are just like you and me and deserve the same amount of respect. Now kids can be cruel. In the past month alone, five young teenagers took their own life, two only 13. Teachers need to step in and stop this torment. And let's be clear. Anybody who is anti-gay is no better than the KKK or a freaking Nazi and should be treated a such. Only by demonizing those who do these horrible things to innocent people will this kind of torture stop. And to anybody who is gay out there and reading this, just remember that life does get better, gay or not for most of us. Suffer through their comments like the rest of us had to when were in school. Or better yet, take some nasty form of martial arts like Akkido or Bando and if someone tries to pick a fight with you then, show them how you learned to break a nose. The added "insult" of this loser getting beat up by a gay man will be an endless source of amusement for his friends who will make fun of him until the day he dies. Priceless. So for anyone gay or straight getting bullied: don't kill yourself, don't bring an arsenal to school. But learn to stand up for yourself and the world is your oyster.

THE SOCIAL NETWORK: FACEBOOK STRIKES BACK

This is one of those rare movies that never should have worked from the get go. Facebook: the Movie? Are you kidding me? When the project was first announced, me and everyone else ganged up on it like some of the other bad ideas floating around such as the 200 million dollar budgeted Battleship: The Movie or Monopoly, whose original idea was one of the worst movie ideas ever. I'm hoping that since the project is in turnaround that the craptastic screenplay of having a Monopoly champion enter the game board is back in the garbage where it belongs. So Facebook: the Movie sounded just as retarded. However when you combine Aaron Sorkin's rapid fire dialogue along with David Fincher as one of the best directors working today, you get this: a masterpiece. Everything works in this movie when by all counts it really shouldn't have.
Jesse Eisenberg plays Mark Zukerberg, who would become the world's youngest billionaire, to a T and a probable Oscar nod. His awkwardness and surefire brilliance are all out there and portrays a convincing character that we are never sure is a cad or manipulated by those around him. Spider man reboot actor Andrew Garfield is riveting as ex-best friend Eduardo Saverin, a guy Zukerberg throws under the bus and consequently gets sued for ripping him off and out of Facebook. Justin Timberlake proves to be a solid actor as well playing the Svengali-like Sean Parker. Kudos as well to Armie Hammie (what a name) who plays dual roles of the Winklevoss twins, another of the groups that sue Zuckerman for stealing their ideas. The movie tracks between the lawsuits brought about by Zuckerman's somewhat callous attitude and how the whole idea of Facebook came about. It shouldn't be riveting but it is.
Trent Raznor's score is pitch perfect, quite simply one of the best soundtracks I've heard in a while.
This film is going to get noticed with several Oscars for such things as best picture not out of the question. While certainly not Fincher's best work, it ranks up there with Fight Club and Seven. Incidentally, there are references hidden in the movie about Fight Club. See if you can find them. This is a must see movie and oddly enough one of the more adult films I've seen all year, tackling topics that most would have glossed over. Go to the theater to see this sprawling work. You won't be disappointed.

5 out of 5 stars.

HARRY BROWN: THE BRITISH GRAN TURINO

I love vengeance flicks. Nothing makes me happier than watching some idiots do something that backfires in their faces. In Taken they kidnapped the wrong girl. In Gran Turino they picked the wrong neighborhood. In Harry Brown, they kill the wrong guy.
Michael Caine plays Harry Brown, a widower pensioner living in the British project, which are the same ones the Caine himself grew up in decades earlier. The place has gotten much worse, according to Caine, as handguns are used more and more in what is supposed to be a handgun free country. Thus the nature of this film, well shot by director Dan Barber. Brown is a quiet man who wants to be left alone with his dying wife and best friend. But local thugs have made living in the area quite the chore. After his wife dies, Brown's friend Len, played by David Bradley and best known as Filch in the Harry Potter series, fights back against the youths with predictable consequences. Brown is a former special opts marine, sickened himself by emphysema, who decides enough is enough and goes on a one man killing spree on the people who have taken his one friend. Along the way he butts heads with a pretty young bobbie (Emily Mortimer) who is trying to solve the case of who killed Brown's friend. She suspects Brown is behind the rash of murders taking place but the chief won't hear of it, blaming rival gangs.
Incredibly, this film got so so reviews from the mainstream and I have to wonder did they see the same picture I did? This is a wonderfully shot movie, well acted and well paced. Not one of the flaws I had though to expect actually occurred. Caine was fantastic as Brown, a sick old man out for revenge. Sure it plays a lot like Gran Turino, a better movie by far, but this was still an exciting and gripping movie. In no way did it deserve the reviews it got. If you like revenge thrillers don't pass this one up. It's a doozy.

4 out 5 stars

GRIM REAPER STRIKES TV AGAIN: NEW SHOWS TERRIFIED THEY'RE NEXT

Thursday's bloodbath continues with the predicted axing of ABC's low rated My Generation. Not a shocker there considering how bad the reviews were that it got. The most shocking thing was the number one show at 10-drum roll please DADADADADADADUMDUMDUMDUM- the Jersey Shore. Yes, the train wreck that won't end is huge in the ratings, getting over a 4 share which NO show got at all on Friday. Outlaw on Friday continues to free fall, making this most likely it's last episode. I'll be impressed if it lasts another week. Most of Friday was awful with just about every show not on CW or CBS getting a 1 share or lower. CW continues to surprise with Smallville and Supernatural kicking butt in their time slots. CBS probably wishes it hadn't cancelled Ghost Whisperer as Medium continues to struggle, CSI NY is way down from last year and Blue Bloods doing okay even though having watched the first 28 seconds of its first episode I can confirm that the writing on this show is some of the worst I have ever seen. That is literally how long I lasted before turning the channel. Didn't give it enough you say? When the dialogue is that stilted and awful it has no where to go but down. Plus, character introduction was done so crappy that it made my ears bleed. This is a must miss. Watch the first 28 seconds if only as a writer you want to see how NOT to introduce characters. NBC's Dateline did it's usual so so self and Fox moved a House repeat to 8 and left The Good Guys to languish in what may be it's last episode as well. Next week the Reaper will return. What show will be axed next?

DOUCHEBAG OF THE WEEK: BANKS

This was a tough one folks. This week saw more douchebags than ever before and it was a real hard decision. What the hell is happening? Have we really lost our collective minds? I fear we have. Let's look at this week peanut gallery of stupidity.

1)The People who bought the house from the "real" Amityville Horror. Last year it came to my attention that the house in Amityville that housed an actual multiple murder committed by Ronald DeFoe back in 1974 was up for sale. Infamous afterward for housing an obvious hoax haunted house that probably had to more to do with the Lutz's owing money to various people than a real haunting, it was a local attraction much to the chargrin of the owners. So when the new owners bought it for below market value, instead of capitalizing on said property they instead told people to stay the hell away and leave them alone. Nice purchase douchebags. Being left alone is not going to be in the cards even after the previous owners defaced the house to make it look less like the house it was to disguise it. Real smart. The money lost on this is staggering.

2)Tom Coburn- Republican form Oklahoma has "anomalously" held up bills in Congress on such things as food safety, a women's museum in his home state (because woman already have a quilting museum and a botanical gardens), and a billion dollars in relief to Haiti, because why help people already so well off (insert sarcasm here). Thus guy needs to go and quick.

3) Rick Sanchez- Fired from CNN for spouting, on air, about the control of the media by the Jews and how John Stewart is a Jewish bigot. Oh and according to him, he was fired for being Hispanic. Right. Take your spic ass and get lost. That's racism. And well deserved in this case, douchebag. By the way Jews don't run the media. They do control the banks (which is my douchebag of the week but not because their Jewish which is incidental to the greed perpetrated by members of all races and religions).

4) The Democrats- Trying their hardest to lose the next election, these idiots went on break without passing the Bush tax cuts for most of us, but not wanting to allow the Republicans to stall the bill which would have painted them as out of touch losers. The tax cuts cannot continue for everyone as we can't afford it. It will cost 3.9 trillion dollars to allow the tax cuts to continue for everyone. And the rich don't need that money. Stop crowing about how they create jobs, which they do, in places like China and Bangladesh.

5) Republicans, the Tea Party and like minded voters- Vowing to end the country, the new Republican candidates have done a spectacular job the last few weeks proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that these idiots are completely unfit for office. Palladino's threat of violence against a reporter sounded very Sopranos form an Italian candidate. I can't imagine that will win him votes form moderates and independents. O'Donnel continues to struggle with her latest salvo form Bill Maher showing her as a creationist, which makes you ineligible for any job or position in this country as it makes you a retard. These idiots will end us.

6) Banks- It has come to light that banks jumped the gun by rushing hundreds of thousands of failing mortgages into foreclosure without looking into whether it was actually true. People signed tens of thousands of sheets of paper per month without the slightest bit of research into whether or not the paperwork was accurate. The result is that most banks have suspended foreclosures for the moment while they sort out the issues. Worse, this is not an isolated incident but one that falls across all banks countrywide. Congratulation, you are indeed douchbag of the week.

Conservative economist Paul Farrell has posted his latest column showing how everybody listed above is conspiring, unknowingly in most cases, the end of this country. First, the rise of the Tea Party is a double edged sword. This country needs a revolution just a smarter one. The policies the people want will drive us off a cliff. First, as seen this week, democrats wimped out like the pussies they are about the tax cuts for the rich. Why is the filibuster never used just threatened? Let the R party stand up and tell the American people that they only stand for the rich? See how many votes that winds them in November? But no, that didn't happen. As a result Obama loses control of the House, a likely scenario, making Obama a lame duck for his next two years and gridlock a reality. The GOP gains both the senate and the Presidency in 2012. Health care is repealed, millions lose their insurance. Free market deregulation returns with obvious results. Greed kills the economy sending us into the Greatest Depression. Revolution occurs against the rich as class warfare boils over. The Pentagon also says that by this time, resource wars will break out worldwide. Sounds like fun huh. This is what you are voting for morons. The end of everything.
In a similarly bleak report, Prof. Peter Morici, former chief economist of the International Trade Commission, writes in his report "Decadence in 2010 election US," that the US political landscape is so devastating that it will help end the world. He makes ten points that the two political parties in this country will offer no positive reforms ever (they haven't so far), the parties have become to big govern (special interests have taken over and the recent Supreme Court descion about money and politics will destroy us), and policies by politicians over the last 30 years have made us second class citizens (like NAFTA and China entering the WTO with no strings attached). No politician has the correct idea how to fix things and hiring CEO insiders is helping to compound the problem with people like Paulson and Geitner. With no ideas how to fix things like health care which the Democrats helped sabotage by getting rid of the public option, our system is doomed. We pay more than any other country for one of the worst health care systems in the world. Yet every moron out there is convinced this "socialist" agenda is damaging to society. It isn't and if you got off your fat ass to look up a word every now and again you might actually live to see another year. Wall street rules America dn the Tea Party seems destined to allow that to happen, considering how many CEO's are running with Tea Party support. Don't they know that they are voting for a fascist agenda? Morici writes, correctly so, that neither government nor business are the enemies here, that both are necessary for a democratic government. But with the fool tea party in power we are coming closer and closer to revolution, one that WILL happen here. History shows that once we've reached this point, there is no turning back. As the Tea party will not compromise on anything, gridlock will ensue and this country will burn as "austerity" measures that are crippling Europe arrive here. Beware the false flag that sends our anger focused like a laser at Muslims. It's our leaders only hope of not turning our anger at them.

TV Thursday Claims More Victims: When Will Bloodbath Stop?

TV executives across the board are probably getting their resumes together as one of the most brutal Fall seasons ever continues its death march. Thursday saw more low ratings for new shows and double digit drop offs for others. NBC saw some reason to be happy as three of the four comedy shows from 8 to 10 did well, with only the new comedy Outsourced failing hard (shocker). The Apprentice held steady from last week which may sound like good news, and would be, had last week's ratings not been an anemic 1.3. This turkey is bound for Saturday stat. Jay Leno had better ratings than this mess. Incidentally, I watched and liked Celebrity Apprentice. I hated the non star version. Apparently, so did everyone else. CBS continues to shine with Big Bang Theory one of the top rated shows on TV. $%^& My Dad Says fell hard in its second week, dropping 20% and only holding onto 70% of Big Bang's audience. I was not one of the 70% as this show is terrible. Others thought so as well, after sampling last week's disaster, they decided to turn to 30 Rock which saw a slight uptick in the ratings. CBS' CSI continue to hemorrhage viewers as it's slide gets steeper and steeper. The show has sucked since William Peterson left. Time to kill this one time cash cow. The Mentalist, while down, was still number one at 10 versus a super weak line up from the Big Three.
ABC started the night with the soon to be cancelled My Generation, falling 31% from its premiere, to a WTF 1.1 rating. This looked DOA from the start. This helped bring the rest of the night down with the aging Grey's Anatomy and Why God Why Private Practice series, both way down from last year.
CW continues to do okay with Vampire Diaries and the super sexy Nikita.
Fox has problems with Bones and Fringe sliding, especially the later now getting just lower than a 2. They have also radically changed their line up after last week's horrific standings that moved them from number one to fourth place with a really weak fall line up. Lone Star's cancellation moved Lie to Me to that time slot, sent Human Target to the replacement bunker (now airing Nov 17th on Wednesday for now) and put shows like the Good Guys on notice, which is doing it's usual Friday Night Death ratings. The show is cute but won't be missed too much when it goes. I estimated by the end of October half of the new Fall season shows will be gone. Let the bloodbath continue.