17 November 2008: 1:07 pm: SamPolitics & News

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.



You’ve got the Bible and California’s half-assed process for amending its constitution.


I’ve got Section 1 of Amendment XIV of the United States Constitution.


I win. Game over.


Now give them back their marriage licenses.

10 November 2008: 8:27 pm: SamHistory, Entertainment

Just when I thought Hollywood had grown disinterested in telling World War II stories, I hear of a new Brian Singer project called Valkyrie.



Valkyrie is written (at least partially) by Christopher McQuarrie, who worked with Singer on The Usual Suspects. It tells the story of what is informally known as the “20 July Plot,” a conspiracy of anti-Nazi Germans (mostly Wehrmact officers, although there were some civilian government officials involved) that resulted in the attempted assassination of Adolf Hitler on 20 July 1944.


The story seems to center around Oberst (Colonel) Claus von Stauffenberg, who was one of the primary players in the assassination plot.


In addition to a strong director and writer, the cast seems very strong as well:



I’m obviously thrilled to see Eddie Izzard in anything, and of course have immense respect for the acting talents of Stamp, Wilkinson and Brannagh. Christian Berkel is a nice surprise, he turned in an outstanding performance as Dr. Günter Schenck in 2004’s Der Untergang (marketed in the U.S. as Downfall).


The choice of Tom Cruise as Stauffenberg unnerves some people, and actually created some difficulty for the film’s production.


Singer wanted to film in parts of Berlin and elsewhere in Germany that were under control of the current German government. In recent years, there has been hostility between the German government and the Church of Scientology, of which Cruise is the best-known celebrity member. The German government has labeled Scientology a “cult” and thus felt that choosing Tom Cruise to portray von Stauffenberg, a man they consider to be a national hero, was inappropriate. They initially denied Singer permission to shoot on government property.


Eventually, the German government came around when they were convinced that Valkyrie would be a respectful treatment of a story they consider to be one small bright spot in one of their country’s darkest hours.


Others have expressed doubts about Cruise’s ability to play the role with the necessary gravitas. Considering his early performances in movies like Born on the Fourth of July and later performances in movies like Collateral and Lions for Lambs, I personally disagree and think he’s got the acting chops to pull it off easily.


In addition, Tom Cruise bears an eerie resemblance to Claus von Stauffenberg.


So I’m pretty excited to see the movie. It’s a compelling story of a group of Germans who, although they may have obeyed orders for too long and shouldered their own share of the guilt, eventually decided to do something to take their country back from the brink of madness and obliteration. They failed, but it doesn’t make their efforts any less heroic.


=====================



Speaking of movies about Nazis, I recenly saw a little-known film called Eichmann. As the name might suggest, it’s about the infamous SS officer SS-Obersturmbannführer Adolf Eichmann, director of the equally-infamous Referat IV B4 of the RSHA.


If you’ve read any of the numerous books about Eichmann’s capture, interrogation, trial and eventual execution, you’re not missing any new information. But it’s an interesting, somewhat contained movie. The most interesting part of it is Thomas Kretschmann’s (who also appears in Valkyrie) performance as Eichmann. Some critics said they made Eichmann seem sympathetic, but I didn’t think so at all. Until the end, Eichmann is remorseless - claiming that he “never killed a Jew, never ordered anyone to kill a Jew” and that he was just a “transportation” officer. During the interrogation scenes, they flash back to show Eichmann (with Kretschmann out of “old man” make up and playing a younger Eichmann) perpetrating all of the crimes we know he did commit - including personally shooting a Jewish baby. I would say that they do make Eichmann seem complex and interesting, but most definitely not sympathetic. You feel no remorse when the film ends with a simple statement that Eichmann has been executed (they don’t even show it on screen). It’s just the logical and just conclusion to the story that’s been told throughout the rest of the film.


Troy Garity - who I’d never heard of before - does a great job as Eichmann’s Israeli interrogator, Avner Less. But ultimately, his character’s job is to be the sounding board and prod for Eichmann’s story. There is a side plot with Less’ wife, played by the beautiful Franka Potente, but it’s largely a useless plot and her talents are underused. The same is true of the great Stephen Fry, who plays Less’ superior.


I don’t know if people without an interest in the period or the subject will find it interesting, but if you’ve got the same morbid fascination that I do with the characters involved in history’s greatest crimes, it’s worth watching.


=====================



On a lighter note, I’ll be joining some friends on Friday night to catch an opening-night showing of Quantum of Solace, the newest James Bond movie. I liked 2006’s Casino Royale, so going to see Quantum of Solace is kind of a no-brainer for me.


Of course, as though they were secretly trying to assure my ticket dollar, it was announced some weeks ago that the first full-length trailer for the high-anticipated J.J. Abrams-directed Star Trek (due out next May) will show in front of Quantum of Solace. Trekkers like myself have been eagerly gobbling up every press release, interview, photograph and clip of video even remotely related to the new Trek movie, so placing the Trek trailer in front of Quantum of Solace should help drive its revenues up a bit, at least on opening day :)

: 1:13 pm: SamPolitics & News

I was perusing Google News this morning, and noticed this article:



The Associated Press: Obama planning US trials for Guantanamo detainees


The article certainly makes it seem like President-Elect Obama is preparing to at least start the process that will make good on Items 3 and 4 of my “10 Things in 100 Days” list. However, this bit makes me a little nervous:

A third group of detainees — the ones whose cases are most entangled in highly classified information — might have to go before a new court designed especially to handle sensitive national security cases, according to advisers and Democrats involved in the talks. Advisers participating directly in the planning spoke on condition of anonymity because the plans aren’t final.



I don’t understand this at all. The national security argument was bogus when the Bush Administration was making it across the board, and it’s bogus when the Obama Proto-Administration is making it in these select cases. If the standard U.S. criminal court system was adequate to try sensitive cases like the espionage trials of Aldrich Ames and Robert Hanssen, I simply don’t understand why it’s not adequate to try these cases.


It smells of the Obama Proto-Administration caving to pressure not to give the “worst of the worst” the treatment they’re legally entitled too because they don’t want to appear soft on terror. Limiting this treatment to a third of the prisoners instead of the entire batch is a step in the right direction, but unless someone can explain to me why it’s necessary for even this smaller number of prisoners, I’m going to have to say that it’s just not enough.

: 12:52 pm: SamGeneral

Okay, okay. I’m not being entirely fair there - but it’s a catchy title for this post so I’m sticking with it :P



On Friday after work, I hopped a Megabus for a three-hour trip to Chicago to visit friends from the Ars forums.


The trip up was pretty bad. The bus was completely full, and most of its passengers appeared to be annoying college students (the first stirrings of old age happen the first time you hear yourself mutter “damned teenagers” under your breath). The seat I was in had trouble staying upright, and I couldn’t recline it very far because one of the annoying college girls was sitting behind me. It was a grueling trip, made all the worse by the fact that our late departure from Indianapolis meant that we hit the Chicago area at rush hour.


But after departing the bus and a six-block walk and a ride on the train, I arrived at my hotel around 8:00PM CST. I stayed at the Renaissance out by O’Hare. The hotel was very nicely-appointed. The room was large and comfortable (and only $99/night), although their lack of free amenities (no free Internet in the rooms, no free continental breakfast, etc.) was kind of annoying.


Several other people from Ars stayed at the same hotel, although some work interruptions kept me from catching up with them for dinner on Friday or lunch on Saturday. We all met up with the Chicago crew and some other out-of-towners on Saturday night for drinks and food at one bar, then several of us walked up the street to another after that. It was a late night, but I managed to make it back to the hotel and get plenty of sleep. I woke up Sunday refreshed, grabbed some grub and hopped back on the Megabus for the trip home.


The bus was a bit better on the way back, it was slightly less-crowded and most of the passengers appeared to be my age or older. I’d also selected the last seat in the row, so although I still had problems getting the seat to stay upright it wasn’t much of a problem because no one was behind me. The trip back went fairly quickly and we actually arrived in Indy about ten minutes early. My brother picked me up from the bus stop, I went home to make some grilled cheese and watch TV :)


I didn’t bring a camera with me, but there are plenty of pictures of the Arsmeet portion of my weekend (taken by others, of course) toward the end of Ars Lounge thread about the meet.


I always have a good time when I visit Chicago and this was no exception. I can’t wait to go up again soon!

5 November 2008: 10:36 pm: SamPolitics & News

Here are ten things that Barack Obama can do during his first 100 days in office that will convince me that voting for him was a good idea:


  1. Order the Attorney General to immediately review all legally-questionable activities undertaken by the previous administration and recommend investigations be started in Congress where applicable.

  2. Order the United States’ intelligences services to immediately halt all surveillance being done without court-issued warrants.

  3. Order the United States military and intelligence community to immediate cease all cases of extraordinary rendition, including both foreign citizens held without trial and American citizens still being held without legal counsel.

  4. In conjunction with the above, order the closing of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and other “secret” detention facilities around the globe.

  5. Order American law enforcement, military and intelligence bodies to immediately halt the practice of taking foreign nationals into other countries (e.g. Syria) for the purpose of interrogation using illegal methods (explicit torture).

  6. In conjunction with the above, order all U.S. authorities of any kind to cease the use of “enhanced interrogation” techniques.

  7. Vigorously consult with our allies to assess the damage done to our national reputation by the previous administration and begin steps to repair those damaged relationships.

  8. Begin immediate negotiations with hostile governments (e.g. Iran, North Korea, Syria, Pakistan, China, Russia) to come to peaceful resolutions of our conflicts.

  9. Order the current (or newly-appointed) commander in Iraq to make the safe withdrawal of American forces the new goal of operations in that country. Coordinate these efforts with the Iraqi government.

  10. Sign an executive order explicitly stating that the Secretary of the Navy may never name any U.S. vessel after ex-President George W. Bush.



I’m mostly joking about No. 10. Mostly.

: 6:27 pm: SamPolitics & News

I don’t actually have people I’d like to see in every single cabinet position…but here are a few that I have pretty strong opinions about:



Secretary of State: Dick Lugar or Lee Hamilton


Secretary of the Treasury: Paul Krugman


Secretary of Defense: Colin Powell or Jim Webb


Attorney General: Jonathan Turley

: 1:12 pm: SamPolitics & News

As someone who blogs primarily about politics, I’d be remiss if I didn’t say a little something about last night’s election results. Everything under the sun that can be said already has by network and cable news anchors, pundits, commentators and better bloggers than myself…but still, I thought it was only appropriate to share my opinions and impressions.



Firstly, it should come to no surprise to anyone that I’m thrilled about Obama’s narrow victory in Indiana. I saw Indiana stay in the “too close to call” column all night, even well after every major news outlet was projecting Obama’s overall victory in the electoral college. Although his national victory was important to me, having Obama win or at least come close in Indiana (a state, as I’ve pointed out before, that went 20+ points in Bush’s favor in 2000 and 2004) was VERY important to me. I didn’t want Barack Obama to take Indiana because I’m a Democrat (because I’m not) and not even because he was my pick for President (although he was). I wanted Obama to take Indiana for two reasons:

  1. It would hopefully prevent the Republicans from taking Indiana for granted in future Presidential elections. Guess what guys, even after 44 years we’ll change our minds if you screw us over hard enough!
  2. I’d hoped it would be the first step on a long journey to transforming Indiana’s image as the “Mississippi of the North.” I don’t say that to imply that everyone in Indiana who voted for McCain did so for racial reasons, but having Indiana break with the Southeast United States and not vote GOP for once sends a signal (hopefully).


So when I woke up this morning to see that Obama had taken Indiana (albeit by a slim ~23,000 vote lead), I was ecstatic.


Unfortunately, my other major pick from yesterday (Libertarian candidate for governor Andy Horning) didn’t fare so well. Not that I expected him too, of course. And Dan the Douchebag won re-election for the upteenth million time in a row, too.


But Indiana’s eleven electoral votes are going for a Democratic candidate for the first time since 1964 and that’s historically significant, even if Obama wasn’t your particular choice.


Indiana’s color-changing ways aside, the rest of the evening held few surprises for me. I didn’t expect the EC to go so heavily for Obama or so early, but I expected he would win a convincing victory. I found both McCain and Obama’s speeches very inspiring and well-delivered. I think if McCain had run his campaign with the same tone as his concession speech, he would have come a lot closer to the brass ring last night.


I’m naturally in awe of the history-making nature of Obama’s election, but as I said - everything that can be said about that has already been said by people more eloquent than myself.


So now I guess we look forward to four years of something different. I hope it will be GOOD different, but we’ll have to wait and ssee.

4 November 2008: 7:24 pm: SamPolitics & News




I arrived at my polling place around 10:30AM today, to be greeted by long lines out the door and into the parking lot (by far the longest lines I’ve yet seen at that particular polling location). I found one and got in line, only to be told that it was a line for a precinct other than my own. A helpful poll worker led me inside to get me signed in and into line for my precinct -which had an appreciable, but thankfully much shorter line that the one outside.



I waited approximately an hour and five minutes before being able to cast my vote using a MicroVote electronic voting machine. According to some brief research, MicroVote machines have a reputation for being unreliable, but not particularly easy to manipulate in a dishonest fashion. Indeed, one of the two machines at the head of my precinct’s line appeared to be having intermittent problems (it appeared to be the power cord - poll workers were checking and re-checking it every few voters). Fortunately, I voted at the other machine, on which I did not observe any work or troubleshooting being done.


I’m a firm believer in the sanctity of the private vote, but I certainly have no shame in my vote today. For reasons detailed over dozens of statements in this own blog, I happily (although not with overwhelming enthusiasm) voted for Obama/Biden (D) for President of the United States, Horning/Kelly (L) for Governor of Indiana. Other races were much less obvious, although I was pleased as usual to cast a vote AGAINST Dan Burton (R) for Indiana’s 5th District House seat. Because Dan Burton is an f-ing d-bag :P


So that was my voting experience today. I’m getting ready to order some food and re-watch an episode of John Adams until the good election coverage starts. I think out of sheer disgust at the major networks, my primary coverage tonight might be that of Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert election night tag-team.


How’s your election day going?

29 October 2008: 1:25 am: SamGeneral

It’s been a few week since I’ve posted. Work has been busy, family stuff has been busy and other stuff has been…eh, a bit crappy (but that’s not for posting here). So I’ve been in a bit of a funk lately, but nothing I won’t recover from. Worry not, I’ll be back to being cranky and ranty in no time.



There’s been some news-worth election stuff this month, but mostly the candidates are saying and doing things in pretty much the same fashion they have been for the whole campaign. So I’m just riding things out, catching news a little less frequently than usual (but still frequently enough to know if something major happens) and thinking that election day can’t come soon enough.


Other news stuff has also been pretty much par for the course: The economy still sucks, the NSA is still a den of treason and we’re still violating the sovereignty of any country we feel like. C’est la vie.


I am going to visit with some Ars folks in Chicago next weekend, so that’ll be fun. It’ll be my first trip aboard a Megabus. I’m bringing my iPod, loaded up with Weezer and Lovage, and expecting a quiet trip.


I’ve made a pretty major change this week, which seems minor on its surface but signals a fundamental shift in the focus of my personal life. I hate it, it sucks and I don’t even know if it’s necessary or the right thing to do…but I’m feeling a little painted into a corner and really don’t know what else to do. And it’s not really a subject where I have a plethora of people I can talk to about it, so I’m going to do what I think I should do and try to work through it on my own. I probably won’t post about that in more detail, it’s something I’ve already blabbed too much about to certain people. But it blows, and hard.


But yeah…that’s life. I’m getting up, going to work, waiting for each day to be over so I can go home and go to bed and get up and do it again. Sounds terrible, but even in the happiest lives there are stages like that - I just happen to be in one right now. I have every confidence that I’ll shrug it off eventually. In the meantime, I’ve got lots of Trek episodes on the DVR and know a good pub with a friendly bartender.

8 October 2008: 7:20 pm: SamPolitics & News

I know many of you are already aware of this website, but I wanted to make sure everyone knew about FactCheck.org. They’re an independent and (as far as I can tell) completely unbiased publication that does exactly what their name suggests - fact-checks the candidates on any number of issues and statements.



FactCheck.org has proven particularly useful to me during the presidential and vice presidential debates this month.


FactCheck.org’s analysis of the first presidential debate.


FactCheck.org’s analysis of the vice presidential debate.


FactCheck.org’s analysis of the second presidential debate.


Needless to say, both the Democratic and Republican tickets have been shoveling their fair share of BS during these debates. I’ll leave it to you to sift through the articles above and see if you have a favorite flavor of BS. I just think they’re valuable guides to the honesty levels at these debates and wanted to share them with those who may not know about this particular online resource.


(The following is not written because there wasn’t plenty of false information put forth by the Obama campaign last night, but simply becuase it’s something I didn’t know about John McCain and his buddy Phil Gramm. I think it sheds some light about all of the talk from the McCain-Palin camp about Obama’s withdrawal plan being a “white flag of surrender.”)


One interesting fact noted in FactCheck.org’s analysis of the second debate revolves around McCain’s scornful statement about American troops “withdrawing in humiliation” from Somalia in 1993.


Here’s what FactCheck.org had to say about that statement:

Black Hawk Down



McCain lamented having to “withdraw in humiliation” from Somalia in 1993, but failed to mention his own role:

McCain: We went in to Somalia as a peacemaking organization, we ended up trying to be – excuse me, as a peacekeeping organization, we ended up trying to be peacemakers and we ended up having to withdraw in humiliation.

What McCain isn’t saying is that he led an attempt to force the Clinton administration to withdraw more quickly. After the First Battle of Mogadishu (immortalized in the book and film “Black Hawk Down”), Clinton proposed a six-month plan for withdrawing combat troops. Then-Sen. Phil Gramm complained that the plan was an attempt to “save face,” and McCain introduced an amendment to cut off funding for combat in Somalia and force an immediate withdrawal. The amendment was tabled and the Senate backed Clinton’s plan. In his 2002 memoir, “Worth the Fighting For,” McCain called his amendment “hasty” and wrote that he “regretted” what he came to see as “a retreat in the face of aggression from an inferior foe.”




So it seems that John McCain has no problems with “waiving the white flag of surrender” when it’s not his party that’s perpetrated the given military blunder. Interesting stuff, even if it’s fifteen years old (although McCain’s statements in his book are from 2002).

Next Page »


Wordpress button