Quote AND Editorial of the day

"If only we could get the NSA to start spying on members of Congress. Tap their phones and read their email, no warrants necessary. We could call it a "Corruption Surveillance Program," and leak the details to the New York Times to make sure everyone in Congress is made aware they're being watched." - Tom Bevan

With an opening quote like that, you can imagine how good Tom Bevan's editorial today is.

Quote of the day

Sorry I have not been posting. I took a little blogging vacation, but I am back.

What better to come back with but a quote from the greatest president?

"We are a nation that has a government--not the other way around. And this makes us special among the nations of the Earth. Our Government has no power except that granted it by the people. It is time to check and reverse the growth of government which shows signs of having grown beyond the consent of the governed." - Ronald Reagan

Americans too often forget this.

The Last Straw

From a story at CNN.com:

"House Speaker Dennis Hastert demanded Wednesday that the FBI surrender documents and other items agents seized on Capitol Hill in what lawmakers said was an unconstitutional raid.

"I think those materials ought to be returned," said Hastert, adding that the FBI agents involved "ought to be frozen out of that (case) for the sake of the Constitution."

The Saturday night search of Rep. William Jefferson's office on Capitol Hill brought Democrats and Republicans together in rare election-year accord, with both parties protesting agency conduct they said violated the Constitution's separation of powers doctrine."

So the crooks have circled the wagons?

Neal Boortz said it best:

"They claim that it's unconstitutional. Funny...nothing in the Constitution about searching a corrupt public official's office. It protects against unlawful search and seizure...but the feds had a warrant. Separation of powers? Eh..that's a stretch. A crime was committed...what were they supposed to do, look the other way? Right at the front of yesterday's whining was House Majority Leader John Boehner, who said that "the congress will clearly speak to this issue of the justice department's invasion of the legislative branch. In what form I don't know. I've got to believe at the end of the day it's going to end up across the street, at the Supreme Court. I don't see anything short of that." Aww...poor baby."

First, it was the politicians not wanting our immigration laws enforced. Now it seems they don't want ANY laws enforced on them.

Apparently, some of Mexico's corruption is coming over the border too.

It is time to vote BOTH parties out. Whether you are liberal or conservative, it makes no difference. Find ANY third party to vote for.

Villains Part II: The best movie villains of all time

The best movie villains of all time:

1. Frank, played by Henry Fonda (picture above), in "Once Upon a Time in the West":

Fonda is deliciously evil in this role. The amazing thing is that Fonda carries the part, making it believable without giving any real background to the character. His only clear motivation is self-interest.

In one scene, he kills a child just because one of his henchmen has called him by name, and Frank does not want the child to identify him. Frank just shoots the kid point blank, no remorse. In fact, Fonda gives the barest hint that Frank enjoys it.

The beauty of Fonda's performance is that it is NOT over the top. It is a subtle, snake-like evil that can sneak up on you if you are not careful. But when it bites, you know it painfully well.

Fonda's subtlety was undoubtedly influenced by Sergio Leone (the director), who liked to give his characters an aura of mystery. But none of the villains in Leone's other films epitomized villainy like Fonda, who could take an inch of rope and manage to get it around the audience's throat like a noose.

2. Jack Torrance, played by Jack Nicholson, in "The Shining":

Nicholson took a normal man and turned him into a villain, right before the audience's eyes. I would rank it as the single best acting performance by one actor ever.

3. Col. Nathan Jessup, played by Jack Nicholson, in "A Few Good Men":

The final courtroom scene with Tom Cruise ranks as the single best movie scene ever for me. The intensity of Cruise going up against Nicholson in that scene is overwhelming.

Nicholson's Jessup has a self-righteous martyrdom, which Nicholson plays with both control (early in the film) and wild abandon (at the end).

4. Dr. Hannibal Lecter, played by Anthony Hopkins, in both "Silence of the Lambs" and "Hannibal":

Hopkins was a great actor long before this role came to him, but he showed how important the acting is to the villainy. In the film "Manhunter", Brian Cox played Hannibal. Anyone remember him? I thought not.

5. Nurse Ratched, played by Louise Fletcher, in "One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest":

Fletcher is my favorite villainous actress of all time.

She has the "holier than thou" villainess down to an art form. For anyone who read the book, Fletcher IS Nurse Ratched. I don't think anyone else could have played the role. The evil Ratched thinks she knows what you need better than you do, and Fletcher plays it so convincingly.

(For a real villainous treat, check her out in the tv show "Deep Space Nine".)

6. Gordon Gekko, played by Michael Douglas, in "Wall Street":

"Greed...is good." And so was Douglas in this classic role.

7. Clubber Lang, played by Mr. T, in "Rocky III":

One of the great signs that an actor has played a villain well is that you cheer for their defeat in the end. I never enjoyed watching a villain lose more than Clubber Lang.

8. Alex Forrest, played by Glenn Close, in "Fatal Attraction":

Close gave new definition to the "femme fatale" with this role.

9 (tied). Matty Walker, played by Kathleen Turner, in "Body Heat" AND Catherine Tramell, played by Sharon Stone, in "Basic Instinct":

Even though Stone's Tramell was not THE killer, she was clearly a villainess in the mold of Turner's Walker. These are the kind of women who ooze sex from every pore in order to get what they want. Would you kill for them? Or be killed by them? Or both?

10. Count Orlok, played by Max Schrek, in "Nosferatu":

Most silent movies are horrid by today's standards, and "Nosferatu" has it's horrid moments. However, Schrek's performance as Orlok is so haunting as to make this my personal favorite of all vampire films. Considering that Orlok is only onscreen for 9 minutes, that is saying something.

Villains Part I: Quote(s) of the day

"I love playing villains." - Alfred Molina

I have always thought that, if I were an actor, I would want to play a bad guy.

When watching a movie or a tv show, we may root for the heroes, but it is the villain that gives the plot dilemna gravitas.

The more dangerous or scary the villain is, the greater the challenge for our hero, and the more satisfying the final victory truly is. In the case of tragedies, the final loss by the hero can be appreciated for the hero's effort to overcome what was a superior villain/challenge.

But there is another factor in playing a villain: It is the ultimate freedom. You get to throw off society's shackles and do whatever your little selfish heart desires.

In football terms, it is the difference between being a quarterback or a linebacker. Everyone loves the quarterback, but the linebacker has more fun. I once asked Bill Bergey (former all-pro linebacker for the Philadelphia Eagles) if he thought blindsiding a quarterback was better than sex, and he said yes. (I always suspected it was)

A quarterback has to take the hits like a hero, but still manage to come back and win the game. The linebacker gets to dish out all the hits in order to keep the quarterback from winning. In football, there is the final score to determine victory. In movies and tv, the victory is only determined by the accomplishment of whatever goals the plot determines.

The heroes are stuck with all the responsibilities, while the villains get to have all the fun. To paraphrase Donald Sutherland's question in "Animal House":

"[Is] being bad was more fun than being good?"

The answer is yes.

(Hat tip to Yahoo.com for the picture)

Quote of the day

"Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines." - John Benfield

Nothing profound here. I just thought it was funny.

Quote of the day

“What is acting but lying and what is good lying but convincing lying?” - Sir Laurence Olivier

Screw you Mexico!

I was reading this news article over at CNN.com titled "Mexico, other nations condemn U.S. fence". My blood got to boiling.

"Mexico and four Central American nations condemned the U.S plan to build hundreds of miles of triple-layered fencing on its southern border, saying it would not stop illegal immigration.

In a joint news conference in Mexico City late Thursday, the foreign ministers of Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Mexico said that building barriers was not the way to solve problems between neighboring nations.

"The position of Mexico and the other countries is that walls will not make a difference in terms of the solution to the migration problem," said Mexican Foreign Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez."

If it won't work, why say anything at all? The fact is they know it just might work, and they are scared. Scared that they may be stuck with having to perform economic reforms so their people can work AND make a living. Scared that their corrupt governments may have to clean up their acts.

""All of us are looking for a comprehensive migratory regulation so that millions of Latin Americans can continue working in and supporting the United States economy," Briz said."

...and sending billions of dollars back into their floundering economies.

""Building walls, constructing barriers on the border does not offer an efficient solution in a relationship of friends, neighbors and partners," Fox said in the border city of Tijuana."

How about invaders and criminals?

"[Fox continued], "We will go on defending the rights of our countrymen without rest or respite. With passion we will demand the full respect of their human rights.""

Who is denying their human rights? The only denial of human rights occurs WITHIN the banana republics south of the U.S. border.

How is returning illegal immigrants to their home country a denial of human rights? Unless their home country denies their human rights.

Is that an admission of Mexico's guilt, Vicente Fox?

Quote of the day

Anyone else miss "The Far Side"? I know I do. Gary Larson was the epitome of the phrase "creative genius".

"Newspapers will run a headline: 'Shark kills human.' You never see a headline from the other perspective: 'Man swims in shark-infested water, forgets he's shark food.'" - Gary Larson

(Hat tip to thinkexist.com)

Quote(s) of the day

“If you don't stand for something you will fall for anything.” - Malcolm X

"Give us clear vision, that we may know where to stand and what to stand for - because unless we stand for something, we shall fall for anything." - Peter Marshall (preacher, 1902-1949)

"Those who stand for nothing fall for anything." - Alexander Hamilton

It must be true then.

Seriously, this is where most politicians part ways with me. Their guiding principle seems to be whatever it takes to get themselves re-elected. They only do the right thing when the public starts clamoring for it.

How does this happen? Look towards the American voters:

"Nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public." - H. L. Mencken

Replace "taste" with "intelligence", and there is your answer. Politicians have been underestimating the American voters for many decades, with only a few rare instances of the voters calling them on the carpet (Ross Perot comes to mind).

The time is approaching when the American voters need to call the politicians on the carpet again. Our politicians are acting with ambivalence towards us, when they are not completely corrupt. It is time for the sheep to turn on the wolves.

Quote of the day

I had Marx yesterday, so it is only appropriate:

"The more I see the less I know for sure." - John Lennon

Were you expecting Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin?

Ragged Thoughts

Robert A. George rocks!

He drops by my blog to say thank you (link here).

Now he has even given my blog a little blogger love over on his blog.

Maybe this is only interesting to me, but I still think it's cool!

Quote of the day

"One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got into my pajamas I'll never know." - Groucho Marx

Groucho Marx has always been one of my favorite comedians. His sense of silliness and comic timing are impeccable. I can still watch any of the Marx Brothers movies and laugh my butt off (although I do fast forward through the musical sequences, which were horrendous).

Quote of the day

"You can't base your life on other people's expectations." - Stevie Wonder

If you know the right thing to do, then do it. While there is nothing wrong with asking permission, or seeking a consensus, but if you don't get it, then do the right thing anyway. Even if you are judged harshly, at least you will be judged with a clear conscience.

Editorial of the day

Robert Novak's editorial, "Corporate Pork-Busting", is a must-read.

For those of you not familiar with the Northrup Grumman, here is Novak's description:

"An earmark in the bill's Senate version would give $500 million to Northrop Grumman to reimburse cost overruns on U.S. Navy shipbuilding contracts caused by Katrina damage at the Mississippi Gulf Coast shipyards in Pascagoula and Gulfport.

...The company, whose revenue last year totaled $40.7 billion, has received $500 million from its insurer and is in litigation seeking another $500 million. The Defense Contract Management Agency has declared "it would be inappropriate to allow Northrop Grumman to bill for costs potentially recoverable by insurance because payment by the government may otherwise relieve the carrier from their policy obligation." Factory Mutual Insurance Co., with 2004 revenue of $2.7 billion, then would be receiving indirect corporate welfare."

Fortunately, Senator Tom Coburn caught this piece of pork in the bill which would have provided "emergency funds for the war against terror and for Hurricane Katrina relief." Coburn added an amendment which:

"...barely lost, 51 to 48, in a rare Senate vote crossing party lines. Republicans split 28 to 27 against Mississippi's powerful senators, with John McCain and Majority Leader Bill Frist supporting Coburn. Democrats voted 24 to 20 for Northrop Grumman. North Dakota's twin deficit hawks, Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan, voted with Coburn, but Edward M. Kennedy, Hillary Clinton and Democratic Leader Harry Reid supported corporate welfare."

Amazing how the split votes looked very similar for both parties, isn't it? When it comes to pork, there is NO DIFFERENCE between the two parties. They are both slime.

It is also interesting to note how Kennedy, Clinton, and Reid all supported corporate welfare. Or is it they are in favor of ANY kind of welfare? Not that Democrats would ever worry about spending someone else's money. Or Republicans for that matter.

Another silly blog thing: Pirates edition

I found a silly thing to add to my blog: "What's My Pirate Name?". You fill out a questionaire, and it gives you a pirate name. Here's mine:

My pirate name is:

Black Tom Bonney

Like anyone confronted with the harshness of robbery on the high seas, you can be pessimistic at times. You can be a little bit unpredictable, but a pirate's life is far from full of certainties, so that fits in pretty well. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from fidius.org.

My theory on illegal immigration

I originally posted this theory over at Townhall.com:

Contrary to what EITHER of our behemoth political parties want to do, we need to get the illegal immigrants out of here. Period.

If the politicians want to make it easier for 100 million Mexicans to come into this country legally, that's fine. But if they are here illegally, I am tired of hearing the excuse "but we can't round up 12 million of them". I don't care if you round them up, or make it impossible for them to make a living here. Do NOT give them amnesty.

In case you hadn't noticed, I have changed my views somewhat on this subject. The foot dragging of the political class in this country taught me something. They WANT this to happen. I suspect they set up the circumstances to ALLOW it to happen.

My theory is they want to bring in millions of young workers to help us get through the retirement of the Baby Boomers so the politicians won't have to do anything about the impending Social Security/Medicare collapses.

Instead of fixing the problems we have, our politicians are making different problems (such as crime). Welcome to three card monte, Washington style.

Quote of the day

"Be careful in revising those immigration laws of yours. We got careless with ours." - advice given to Hubert Humphrey by an American Indian from New Mexico

I wonder if the Mexicans will round us all up into reservations?

You may laugh now, but I'm sure the Indians didn't consider the possibility when the Pilgrims arrived either.

(Hat tip to quotationspage.com)

Quote of the day

"Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing." - Salvador Dali

The genius in this statement is that even the greatest of ideas are NOT completely original. They are merely a mental reworking of what we already know.

Editorial of the day

CNN's Lou Dobbs is not one of my favorite broadcasters. However, I share his hatred of the current illegal immigration situation. His editorial, "Do you take us for fools?", exemplifies my own anger with the current crop of failures running our government.

Dobbs states my own frustration nicely:

"Only a fool, Mr. President, Sen. Kennedy, Sen. McCain, would believe you when you speak of new legislation. You don't enforce the laws now."

As Dobbs sums up:

"...318 employers out of five and a half million in this country have been fined for hiring illegal aliens since 2001. In 2004, only three employers were fined. That is a dismal record, Mr. President, as dismal as the fact that the number of ICE agents assigned to enforce immigration laws in the workplace has declined from only 240 back in 1999 to now less than 100.

The problem in our lack of border security and illegal immigration is becoming increasingly obvious: two political parties that are beholden to corporate America, the largest employers of illegal aliens, and the leadership of both parties that are selling out American citizens in search of cheap labor and political advantage. How dumb do you all think we are? Again, that's only a rhetorical question.

Over the next few days on my broadcast, I'm going to make a suggestion that I hope may help the leadership of both the Republican and Democratic parties begin to take some notice of our laws and our expectations that those laws be enforced. And also take at least some notice of the fact that Republicans and Democrats also represent American citizens, not just corporate America and special interests."

If I had to guess, I would say Dobbs is going to recommend voting for third parties. That would be my advice. Regardless of any election outcome, if a large enough percentage of voters vote for third parties, that would get the Democrats and Republicans to sit up and take notice.