Burning the Qaran

Let me start by saying that the burning of the Qur'an that is being planned by some minister in Florida, while protected by the Constitution, is insensitive, ill-advised, inflammatory, and just plain stupid. The vast vast majority of Americans on both sides of the political spectrum are opposed to this act.

Therefore, if the "Muslim World" ignites over this, and the ranks of terrorist organizations increase as a direct result of this, these people already hate America and simply are looking for an excuse to engage in jihad against the infidel.

If a Muslim cleric decided to do this same thing in an arab country, would the vast majority of the Muslims in that country implore that Muslim cleric to exercise some restraint and to respect the beliefs of Christians? I seriously doubt it.

My Review of Inception

I had the pleasure of seeing Inception last night. All I have to say is Christopher Nolan is a master film maker(and he has a crazy imagination). This is now the 4th Nolan film I have seen (Memento, The Prestige, The Dark Knight), and I have liked every one of them. I loved TDK, but that is because I am a Batman fanatic and loved his reinvention of the franchise. Of the other films mentioned, this is by far his best work and in some ways, dare I say, exceeds TDK.

The movie is original, engrossing and visually stunning. But what is great is that the visual effects are driven by the story, not the other way around (as in movies like Transformers). I am sure that this film will be put into the class of great science fiction films like Blade Runner, The Matrix, Gattaca, and 2001 (not my favorite). I was entertained, because I bought into the premise which actually is simple enough. Cobb (Leo Decaprio) is a person who leads a team into other peoples minds through a process called dream sharing. Once in, his team steals the secrets of their mark. Saito (Ken Wantanbe) hires Cobb and his team to sneak into the mind of Robert Fischer Jr. (Cillian Murphy) to plant in him an idea that will ultimately cause him to dismantle his father's multinational corporation. The problem is that this type of dream manipulation is not only dangerous, but has never been done because to plant a foreign idea in someone else's dream is more difficult than having a person walk into a room filled with motion detectors and not be detected.

What intrigued me as much as plot were the insights into the mind and dreams. For me at least the premise was totally believable, even if it is in reality impossible. But of course that is what great science fiction does. The great science fiction films and books take premises that are probably impossible, but through great writing and directing, make them POSSIBLE and believable.

Rotten Tomatoes gives it a combined 84% on its tomato meter. Personally I think those that did not give the film positive reviews just did not get it. Whether it was to complicated or they did not like the ending, which does bake ones noodle a bit, I could not disagree more. This is one of those films like The Usual Suspects, and The Matrix where I would love to have my memory wiped and to be able to see it for the first time all over again. This movie was simply fantastic.

***** out of ***** stars.

Illegal immigration is not a racial issue

It is amazing how the left has come out and tried to paint the new Illegal immigration law in Arizona as a racial issue, painting those who support it as a bunch of knee-jerk, red neck, cross burning klansmen. However the truth is always such a horrible thing when talking about this issue. The fact is is that the US Government, which has the constitutional mandate to protect US borders, has utterly failed, and furthermore seems to be turning a blind eye to what has become a serious problem in border states like Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas. Illegal immigrants make up 15% of the total prison population in the United States. And to top it off, it is estimated that educating illegal immigrants is costing the US 78 billion dollars, most of this burden is put on the states.

In Arizona, according to an article I found, in 2005, illegal immigration costs account for more than 1.3 billion dollars. Considering the fact that the State has a 1.4 billion dollar shortfall, one can see how getting illegals out of this state will help to balance the budget.

No one is arguing the fact that many illegal immigrants come here to seek a better life. But the fact is is that they drain the economy of capital resources without paying their fair share of taxes. Many of these illegals commit identity theft so that they can work here in the US, by using stolen social security numbers and forged ID documents. Many other illegals come here and simply break the law.

The law was and is the right thing to do. If the federal government ever becomes concerned with protecting our borders, then maybe AZ police forces can stand down, but until then. This step must be taken.

Desert News

SLOOF LIRPA is April Fools backwards. GOTCHA!

Tea Partiers....Its time for a March on Washington

It is time we showed these buffoons what a tea party activist is. I am one. We need to March on Washington. We need to show Obama and his band of minions what it means to peaceably assemble. We need to go to Washington this summer and show these people that we mean business...That we love this country and the founding principals that this republic was built on. This is not a social democracy.

Its time. Who's with me.

On Health Care Reform...Part 1

It is naive and ridiculous to equate polls that show that majority of Americans who are in favor of health care reform with the idea that they want an overhaul that includes a single payer socialistic health care system. As a discerning person, if I were asked whether or not the health care system needs to be reformed, I would answer with a resounding "Yes!"

President Obama and the liberal left, believe the only answer to this is to throw the baby out with the bathwater, and essentially scrap the old system with a health care system that will magically provide high quality health care for all while costing next to nothing. Their rhetoric rings hollow, when the details in the health care proposal come out showing massive new taxes for just about everyone. Regardless, they call the "public option" (code for government run single payer health care)necessary to increase competition among private sector health plans.

There are some facts that need to be pointed out.

First, while the American Health Care system needs to be reformed, this very same flawed health care system, complete with its capitalistic incentives, has produced the absolute highest quality of care in the world. (Evil) pharmaceutical companies, because of the incentive to make gobs of money, have invented new drugs that have extended both longevity and quality of life for all citizens. Neither of these two facts are in dispute. The successes of health care and pharma companies has in part led to spiraling costs. People under 50, for the most part don't get sick and don't spend money on health care. As people live longer, it costs more and more to keep them alive, with a decent quality of life. I am not proposing or advocating anything here. I am simply stating a fact.

Second, the rationale for the "public option" that said public option will improve competition is utterly false on two levels. First, is the straw man arguement that there is no competition now. There is, but depending on the state one lives in, that competition is severly limited by laws prohibiting interstate commerce in the health insurance industry. My wife's dilemma is a perfect example of this problem. She works (remotely) for a company in another state, who's parent company is in yet another state. Because she is only one of three employees in this state, health care cost for our family is roughly $700 dollars per month. If federal law allowed interstate commerce among insurance companies, she could be grouped with the hundreds of employees who work in the state where her company's main office is, thus cutting her insurance IN HALF. By simply removing these limitations, the government would be able to increase competition without spending a dime. The second point is the idea that a public option would fairly create competition. The government does have to make a profit to exist. A public health care plan, with the deep pocket of the federal government complete with deficit spending, could spend as much as it wants, undercutting the private sector and effectively killing competition. Make no mistake, this is the precise purpose of the public option.

What I hear from liberals is the argument that it is fundamentally wrong for corporations profits from peoples sickness and suffering. This is anther straw man argument. First I do not believe honest profits are wrong, and in fact the capitalist/free market system is the reason that the United States has the highest quality, and greatest innovation in health care in the world. If this were not so, why then do people, when they are really sick, often seek medical care in the United States. It is my argument that the market forces have been turned off, and it is this very reason that health care costs are spiraling upward. If Congress wants to fix this problem, they need to examine how and why market forces are not keeping costs down, as they do in almost every other industry.

More on this later.

What terrifies me...

is that the current administration does not understand the nature of our enemy. Michael Cain's Alfred, in The Dark Knight said it perfectly.

Because some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.

Until the Obama administration understands that there are people in this world that can not be sweet talked, cannot be negotiated with, cannot be bought, we as a people will be at risk. We have had two terror attacks on our country in the past few months. One, Fort Hood, was successful, the second, The Christmas Day plot, was not. This is not the end. Yet this President and his congress are focused on global warming legislation and health care reform. Perfect.