The Hurt Locker

Now that they’ve released the DVD, Elly and I got around to viewing THE HURT LOCKER last night. What a terrific and moving film. You get so caught up with this team of explosive experts in their last month before being sent home that you are on the edge of your chair during most of it.

Director Kathryn Bigelow has incredible visual and action sense… she, and the Photographer, have placed cameras all over the place in each scene… you can’t escape what is going on no matter where you look.

One issue she deals with that I haven’t seen done anywhere else is the notion of “combat addiction” – especially in the character of Sergeant James who, near the end of the movie, returns home to the utter boredom of family, grocery store, house maintenance… and then feels compelled to reenlist, ending the film with a new 365 day tour.

As Bigelow says:

War’s dirty little secret is that some men love it. I’m trying to unpack why, to look at what it means to be a hero in the context of 21st-century combat.

The three central characters show three radically different sides of the US soldier in Iraq and their dependency on and conflict with each other is pretty much the whole movie. We see other soldiers come and go… and when they go, they go in explosive sequences…literally.

I liked Bigelow’s earlier film, The Weight Of Water, which combined history and research of an Ax Murder in the 19th Century with the frustration and career end of a writer played by Sean Penn… and again, Bigelow stressed the visual imperative. Perhaps her earlier background as a Whitney Museum supported visual artist comes into pay here.

Anyway… The Hurt Locker is up for a bunch of Oscars and is a truly deserving film. Writer Mark Boal, Cinemetographer Barry Ackroyd, and actors like Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, and Brian Geraghty are all excellent. Minor appearances by Guy Pearce, Ralph Fiennes, David Morse, Evangeline Lilly and Christian Camargo add a tremendous depth to the piece.

We waited for the credits to see where it was filmed… it felt so much like we were in 2004′s Iraq. The locations were shot in Jordan, and some of he interiors were done in Vancouver. Surprise surprise!

Get out and see this if you haven’t… the DVD is now available and is turning up at rental places.

February 28: Last Day to get Bill’s Cast O’ Characters for FREE with donation to this blog…

Bill’s Cast O’Characters Font (worth $29.95) is Free when you support Under The LobsterScope with a donation of $5.00 or more.Today (February 28) Only!

We have had a record number of donors in February… but we need more.

Since 2004 I have been bringing you Under The LobsterScope totally free-of-charge and have avoided advertising or “blog begging” or any of the other methods of scavenging that blog writers are prone to. Unfortunately, this has had to change…just a little… to keep this information for progressives, liberals and others coming.

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All contributors of $5.00 or more receive a copy of my Picture Font, Bill’s Cast O’ Characters (I send you the True Type versions for both Macs and PCs). As I said, I regularly sell this font for $29.95.

Tomorrow (March 1) the offer for this font will be over (I’ll be putting up another one) and Cast O’Characters will go back to its Regular For Sale Price only.

I appreciate those of you who have come on board over the last few days and hope more will join in. And for those of you $5 Plus donors, I hope you are enjoying Bill’s Cast O’Characters. I know it is a picture font I use all the time.

UPDATE!  UPDATE!  UPDATE!

It is now March 1 and Bill’s Cast O’ Characters is no longer available for Free (You may purchase it for $29.95 – drop me an e-mail and I’ll tell you how.)

Starting today, the Free Font is Bill’s Century Marks, a unique picture font which you can’t get anywhere else. It is yours FREE with a donation of $5.00 or more.

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Poll shows that majorities will get behind Reconciliation…

These polls were conducted by the nonpartisan Research 2000 in key states. Like any poll, it is dependent on the wording.

So here’s a clip from a Plum Line article from Greg Sargent:

clipped from theplumline.whorunsgov.com The polls — sent over by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, DFA and Credo, which sponsored them — ask the question this way: If the Senate passes a health care reform bill that you consider to be beneficial to your family, would you object to the Senate’s use of “reconciliation” rules to pass that bill with a majority vote, or not? In Nevada, 55% wouldn’t object; in Illinois, 67% wouldn’t object; in Washington state, 65% wouldn’t object; in Missouri, 58% wouldn’t object; in Virginia, 60% wouldn’t object; in Iowa, 66% wouldn’t object; and in North Dakota, 53% wouldn’t object. The key here, obviously, is that the question casts the legislation as “beneficial to your family,” which of course makes it more likely that people will be okay with using reconciliation to pass it. The point is that public sentiment about reconciliation itself might not be anything Dems need to worry about.

Cartoon(s) of the Week

Looks like we have a theme running here.

Joel Pett in USA Today:

What is the Republican Main Concern?

- and -

Chan Lowe in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel:

What is the Republican Main Concern?

- and -

Jimmy Margulies, North Jersey Media Group:

What is the Republican Main Concern?

-and-

Daryl Cagle, MSNBC.com:

What is the Republican Main Concern?

It certainly isn’t getting Health Care Reform for America!

Atheists to meet with Administration at the White House – BUT NO OBAMA!

Speaking as an atheist, this really bothers me. The President seems to have time for every religious group out there – despite the fact that their beliefs, and hence their political causes, are based on unprovable mythology – but not with those of logical and provable ideologies.

A clip from McClachy:

clipped from www.mcclatchydc.com President Barack Obama has burnished his Christian credentials, courted Jewish support and preached outreach toward Muslims. On Friday, his administration will host a group that fits none of the above: America’s nonbelievers. The president isn’t expected to make an appearance at the meeting with the Secular Coalition for America or to unveil any new policy as a result of it. Instead, several administration officials will sit down quietly for a morning meeting at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus with about 60 workhorses from the coalition’s 10 member groups, including the American Atheists and the Council for Secular Humanism. Tina Tchen, the director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, and representatives from the Justice and Health and Human Services departments will participate. On the agenda are three policy areas: child medical neglect, military proselytizing and faith-based initiatives.

Quote for the Day – a Dem view of yesterday’s Summit

“I am disappointed that based on what many of the Republican participants said today and said in advance of this meeting, it seems clear that Republicans are stuck on the same talking points and same playbook they started off this debate with last year – which is to oppose the President’s effort to reform health insurance in America, no matter what. While Democrats worked hard to include ideas we have consensus on,  Republican rhetoric would seem to be stuck in park.”

-Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee.

I don’t think they even got in the car.

The Tea Party Movement Has a Competitor

Let’s hear it for Annabel Park of Silver Spring, MD, who, when really upset by the Tea Party Movement and it’s Fox News promoters, started a response movement in her living room: The Coffee Party Movement. And, wonder of wonders, it has caught on… enough so that I’ve added Coffee Party to my blog rolls.

Here’s the Coffee Party Mission Statement:

The Coffee Party Movement gives voice to Americans who want to see cooperation in government. We recognize that the federal government is not the enemy of the people, but the expression of our collective will, and that we must participate in the democratic process in order to address the challenges that we face as Americans. As voters and grassroots volunteers, we will support leaders who work toward positive solutions, and hold accountable those who obstruct them.

And here is Annabel on how she started it all:

Interested? Then go HERE and join the Coffee Party Movement. I did.

And now the morning after…

Listening to the news reports and, quite predictably, the conservatives think yesterday’s Presidential Health Care Summit sowed Obama as a “bully” and the liberal press pointed out his fairness and gentlemanly attitude to the opponents of his Health Care Plan.

So, does this mean that there is ANY possibility of the two sides coming together on ANYTHING? Doubtful. Doubtful. Looks like the Congressional Dems will start the approach to a Reconciliation vote on Health Care… and the President will legitimately say he tried to bring them all together.

My final score is Obama 1, Conservatives 0.

I got a kick out of this… The Truth can be revealing.

This from the Summit as picked out by Ezra Klein in the WaPo::

clipped from voices.washingtonpost.com

Facts and figures

This morning, Lamar Alexander said that reconciliation has never been used for anything as big as health-care reform. Health-care reform has a 10-year cost of about $950 billion. The Bush tax cuts, which passed through reconciliation, had a 10-year cost of about $1.8 trillion. Lamar Alexander voted for them.

The President Conducts His Health Care Summit

They are on Lunch Break as I write this, but watching and listening to this Summit of members of both parties, with participation by both houses of Congress and the Administration members who are concerned with Health Care, I am struck by the fact that Obama is in control.

Every time the Republicans try to jump on how many pages is in one proposal or another, Obama calls them back onto the subject at hand and refuses to play Party Attack. When Mitch McConnell complains that Democrats have used a greater percentage of time, Obama has to remind him that there was just one President who called the meeting and made an opening speech … and he is a Democrat… therefore it is going to be lopsided.

I’ll admit as well that Obama is paying attention when either side presents real ideas and gets down to discussing a real piece of legislation.

From Obama’s opening remarks:

And it may be that at the end of the day we come out of here and everybody says, well, you know, we have some honest disagreements; people are sincere in wanting to help, but they’ve got different ideas about how to do it, and we can’t bridge the gap between Democrats and Republicans on this.

But I’d like to make sure that this discussion is actually a discussion and not just us trading talking points. I hope that this isn’t political theater where we’re just playing to the cameras and criticizing each other, but instead are actually trying to solve the problem.

That’s what the American people are looking for. As controversial as the efforts to reform health care have been thus far, when you ask people, should we move forward and try to reform the system, people still say yes, they still want to see change. And it strikes me that if we’ve got an open mind, if we’re listening to each other, if we’re not engaging in sort of the tit-for-tat and trying to score political points during the next several hours, that we might be able to make some progress. And if not, at least we will have better clarified for the American people what the debate is about.

So, with that, I just want to say again how much I appreciate everybody for participating.

The initial Republican point-of-view was presented by Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), who was picked for the job by McConnell and John Boehner. Here’s a quick clip to give you a sense of Lamar:

I have a suggestion and a request for how to make this a bipartisan and truly productive session. And I hope that those who are here will agree I’ve got a pretty good record of working across party lines and of supporting the President when I believe he’s right, even though other members of my party might not on that occasion. And my request is this, is before we go further today, that the Democratic congressional leaders and you, Mr. President, renounce this idea of going back to the Congress and jamming through on a bipartisan — I mean, on a partisan vote through a little-used process we call reconciliation, your version of the bill. You can say that this process has been used before, and that would be right, but it’s never been used for anything like this.

Anyway… I don’t think a new, “start from scratch” bill will come out of this… and we may get a Senate reconciliation bill approved by 51 or so Democrats.

We have this afternoon’s session to see if I’m wrong.

Quote for the Day

“I warned them this was going to happen. Happy animals don’t kill their trainers.”

- Russ Rector, a Fort Lauderdale dolphin trainer turned marine mammal activist

Yesterday’s trainer death by an orca whale at Orlando Seaworld was apparently not the first death this whale has caused. Good article HERE.

Rubio swears he needed GOP charge card to fix family minivan, buy wine, do other stuff —

This from The Daily Caller:

Just weeks after Florida GOP Executive Director Delmar Johnson was canned for spending party money on high-class steaks and planes, the Miami Herald reports that Senate candidate Marco Rubio did much the same thing, using a GOP-issued credit card to fix his family minivan, snag booze, pay a property management group, and buy “supplies” from a “a music equipment store.” Rubio defended his actions in a statement: “There was no formal process provided by the Party regarding personal charges.” While the party may not have been clear then, it sure as hell is now, with Florida GOP spokeswoman Katie Gordon telling the Miami Herald, “The RPOF American Express card is a corporate card and is meant to be used for business expenses.”

Gee… and his goal is to be on the Senate payroll… do they give him an Amex card?

Miss Beverly Hills tries to one-up Carrie Prejean, says it’s divine law that gays be put to death.

What on Earth is wrong with this country? Do peole have to believe this crap?

clipped from thinkprogress.org Last year, Miss California Carrie Prejean endeared herself to the right wing when she answered a question about same-sex marriage by saying that she believes marriage “should be between a man and a woman.” Now, Miss Beverly Hills 2010 Lauren Ashley, who will compete in the Miss California pageant in November, has gone further. Carrie Prejean isn’t the only beauty queen open to expressing her objection to same-sex marriage. Miss Beverly Hills 2010 Lauren Ashley is also speaking out in support of traditional nuptials: “The Bible says that marriage is between a man and a woman. In Leviticus it says, ‘If man lies with mankind as he would lie with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death and their blood shall be upon them.’ The Bible is pretty black and white.” “I feel like God himself created mankind and he loves everyone, and he has the best for everyone. If he says that having sex with someone of your same gender is going to bring death upon you, that’s a pretty stern warning, and he knows more than we do about life,” says Ashley. Despite her strong words about homosexuality, Ashley also said that she “has a lot of friends that are gay,” and that there’s “no hate between [her] and anyone.”

13 Republicans Join Dems to Pass a Tiny Jobs Bill…

It’s not enough, but it’s a start. Now it goes to the House where they say they will push it right through.

Here’s a clip from the NY Times:

clipped from www.nytimes.com Senate Votes 70-28 to Approve $15 Billion Jobs Bill The Senate today easily approved a $15 billion Democratic plan to try to spur job creation, as lawmakers hastened to demonstrate that they were taking steps to improve the nation’s employment picture. The vote was 70 to 28. Thirteen Republicans joined 55 Democrats and two independents voting in favor. The measure would give employers a temporary exemption from payroll taxes for newly hired workers who had been unemployed for 60 days or more. Though modest in scope, the bill was hailed by Democrats as evidence that after months of impasse, Republicans and Democrats can find some consensus on pressing domestic issues. “For the first time in a long time, we have a bill that is supported by both Democrats and Republicans,” said Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York, the No. 3 Democrat in the Senate and a co-author of the main provision on payroll taxes.

Just got back from being on the radio.

This is too early in the morning for me to really get moving, but, that being said, I was on WSHC-FM Radio on John Case’s Winners and Losers Program. Laura and Rudy Bakin and Alan Harner (and of course John Case) sang a smidgen of the “thimbles variations” from Hunting Of The Snark on the air and we got to talk about the show with Case and his buddy John Reed.

I don’t know how we sounded, but I guess I’ll hear about it at rehearsal tonite.

Sometimes Theatre News Just Makes Me Laugh

This from Carnal Nation:

Avenue Q debuted on Broadway in 2003 to rave reviews and was a Tony winner three times over: for Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book. The show is scheduled for March 16 and 17 in Colorado Springs, at Pikes Peak Center, as part of the Broadway in Colorado Springs series. And it’s already causing controversy.

Lamar Advertising sells space on local bus shelters in Colorado Springs and they rejected the posters advertising Avenue Q. Why? Apparently they find them to be too risqué. Keeping in mind that there are primarily puppets in this show, what would be too sexy for a bus stop? Believe it or not, it’s merely a fuzzy pink pair of puppet boobs—or, more accurately, fuzzy pink puppet boob cleavage—that the Lamar folks found offensive. Granted, that fuzzy pink cleavage belongs to character Lucy the Slut, one of Avenue Q’s more colorful residents.

There’s more at the source.

Let’s take a look at reality…

3 More Senators Have Signed On…

… to wanting the Public Option on the Reconciliation Bill:

Tim Johnson  (D-SD)

Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)

Daniel Inouye (D-HI)

That makes 23, not counting Harry Reid.

We’ll be on the radio early tomorrow morning…

John Case, who plays The Butcher in The Hunting of the Snark at Full Circle Theater, also has a weekday morning show on WSHC-FM (89.7) in Shepherdstown. He’s invited some cast members to sing a little from the show and me to talk about it (with Ruth Raubertas, our music Director).

He comes on at 7:30 AM and runs til 8:00 AM… I don’t know where we’ll be in there, but we are supposed to show up in the stucio at 7:30.

If you get the chance, listen in.

Roger Cohen on Health Care…

This is a clip (actually the last words) of an op-ed in the NY Times this morning by author and columnist Roger Cohen. I recommend that you read the whole thing, but these last paragraphs should be tattooed on our Congress folks:

clipped from www.nytimes.com Americans don’t want a European nanny state — fine! But, as a lawyer friend, Manuel Wally, put it to me, “When it comes to health it makes sense to involve government, which is accountable to the people, rather than corporations, which are accountable to shareholders.” All the fear-mongering talk of “nationalizing” 17 percent of the economy is nonsense. Government, through Medicare and Medicaid, is already administering almost half of American health care and doing so with less waste than the private sector. Why not offer Medicare as a choice — a choice — to everyone? Aren’t Republicans about choice? The public option, not dead, would amount to recognition of shared interest in each other’s health and of the need to use America’s energies and resources better. It would involve 300 million people linking arms. Or we can turn away from each other and, like Narcissus, perish in the contemplation of our own reflections.

Roger Cohen on Health Care…

This is a clip (actually the last words) of an op-ed in the NY Times this morning by author and columnist Roger Cohen. I recommend that you read the whole thing, but these last paragraphs should be tattooed on our Congress folks:

clipped from www.nytimes.com Americans don’t want a European nanny state — fine! But, as a lawyer friend, Manuel Wally, put it to me, “When it comes to health it makes sense to involve government, which is accountable to the people, rather than corporations, which are accountable to shareholders.” All the fear-mongering talk of “nationalizing” 17 percent of the economy is nonsense. Government, through Medicare and Medicaid, is already administering almost half of American health care and doing so with less waste than the private sector. Why not offer Medicare as a choice — a choice — to everyone? Aren’t Republicans about choice? The public option, not dead, would amount to recognition of shared interest in each other’s health and of the need to use America’s energies and resources better. It would involve 300 million people linking arms. Or we can turn away from each other and, like Narcissus, perish in the contemplation of our own reflections.

New Yorker Profile of Paul Krugman

I just finished reading  The Deflationist. a profile of economist Paul Krugman. Go HERE and read it. You’ll thank me.

Jobs Bill Passes Major Hurdle After 5 GOPers Join Dems

This does NOT get us a Jobs Bill… it only lets debate proceed. These Republicans can pull out on the final vote.

This clip from TPMDC (there’s more):

clipped from tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com Five Republicans joined Democrats in a key cloture vote moments ago, allowing debate on a jobs package to move forward. After overcoming this hurdle, debate on the bill can begin. Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) broke with his party and voted with the Democrats. So did Sens. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Susan Collins (R-ME), Kit Bond (R-MO) and George Voinovich (R-OH). Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) was the only Democrat to break with his party. The final vote tally was 62-30. It had been uncertain earlier in the day whether any Republicans would help Democrats reach 60 votes and overcome the threat of a GOP filibuster. With Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) out of the Senate after being diagnosed with stomach cancer, Democrats needed at least two Republican votes to overcome a GOP filibuster threat. “Work with us on this,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said moments before the vote. “Show us you’re serious about legislating.”

Ok… Do your part to get us Health Care with a Public Option

President Obama has given the Republicans and conservative Democrats ample opportunity to get on board with health care reform. It’s time to pass health care without them. (and after Thursday’s meeting looking for a Bipartisan deal falls through, that’s all we’ll be able to do).

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has said if he has the votes, he will pass a bill with the public option. Reid has also said that reconciliation is how he’s going to pass health care, which would require only a simple majority — 51 votes. That means he doesn’t need a single Republican vote.

With 119 House Democrats and 20 Senators calling for passing a public option using reconciliation, we’re getting closer every day to passing real reform. The president has supported the public option in the past. And once this last ditch effort to curry Republican support for change fails, it’s time to pass the bill the president campaigned for.

I just signed a petition that told Congress to pass a good health care reform bill, not just a bipartisan one. I hope you’ll join me.

Sign the Petition.

Only 6 Days Left…

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