And what’s this I hear Mahboob Khawaja is accusing the Canadian government of “a murderous rampage to arrest and torture many Muslim and Arab families across the land”? Seems to me the only person Khawaja is concerned about is his son, Mohammed, who was arrested by the British in a bombing plot. The British also seized tons of explosives. Your son’s guilty so you deflect by accusing the authorities of acting like there’s a war on. Oh, wait a minute. There IS a war on. Its like the Khadr kid who has been allowed back in Scarborough. Captured throwing grenades at US soldiers in a firefight in Afghanistan. And people think these guys are innocent of terrorism? What the hell are we letting into our country?? Oh, but he’s paralyzed so it’s ok? Oh, but he’s renounce violence so it ok? Bullshit. This guy kills our allies in a war we are in – that is traitorous by any definition, and we should just leave him to rot in Afghanistan. Instead, the Canadian taxpayers pay for his transport back and for his medical and welfare expenses here in Canada. A terrorist is a terrorist is a terrorist. And Canada should treat them as the murderous sons-of-bitches they are – not treat them like veteran war heroes.
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I watched “The Incredibles,” new on DVD, over the weekend. It was a great movie, and for me, probably the best movie of 2004 (when it was released in theaters). Pixar has excelled at making cartoons that have attracted children and adults alike. Children will love the cartoon/comic-style humor and story. And they will learn from the not-so-subtle simple messages of the movie: that not everyone is exactly the same – it’s ok to be different, individual. Destroying your marriage is worse than destroying the world. A father would do anything to defend his family. That it’s ok to be the hero and do the right thing. And doing the right thing even when everyone doesn’t want you to is still doing the right thing. I will not discuss all these lessons, even though I agree with them all one hundred percent. There are plenty of other movie reviews that go over those.
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For those that aren’t as simple-minded, they will enjoy the multi-faceted socio-political commentary of the movie. A word to all the communists, socialists, progressives (aka communists), liberals (aka communists), and Democrats (aka communists) out there: these lessons go against the social convention of the day and the plummeting of our society towards never-ending political-correctness. And it was for this reason I enjoyed it the most.
The Incredibles live in a society where individuals who can “make a difference” are encouraged not to, but to work together instead as “cogs” in the great machine that is society, not to do anything that is not in sync with the rest of the machine. To do otherwise will disturb the peace or *gasp* worse, cost the taxpayers money! Every person has a role in this great machine and it is better to accept this role and not be a shit disturber. The Communist Chinese have a saying “The nail that stands out gets hammered down.” Or was that the United Nations? Hmm, don’t make a difference as an individual, but work only within the community? What is the lesson here?
“They keep inventing new ways to celebrate mediocrity” complains Bob Parr, aka Mr. Incredible. The obvious lesson is that society, in striving to make everyone equal through political correctness, has made everyone the same. “Everybody is special” grumbles the son, Dash, means “nobody is.” The elimination of winners in school competition for the sake of making no one unhappy has not created a whole generation of winners – it has made everyone losers, and no one is happy. Why should anyone try to excel or overachieve when the results of underachievement is the same? Every person is exactly the same? Hmm – walks like a duck, sounds like a duck. And it sounds like communism - quack quack. We should not “celebrate mediocrity”, but should encourage its individuals to strive for excellence.
Also, Mr. Incredible laments the fact that society discourages him to do good. It is a direct metaphor to the US and its current fight against evil and tyranny. He is discouraged from helping others and fighting evil – and has been put to work instead in some lame-ass meaningless job with the ultimate goal of, as his boss puts it, “increase shareholder value” (sounds like my job). As long as the society in general progresses and makes some money, then everything is fine – no matter the existence of tyrants, murderers and rapists. Stopping crime, fighting evil, and saving the world used to be good things. Eerily enough, once upon a time, the same used to be true in the world where we live. Not anymore. There was a time when nations – heroes – stood up to villains, fought, and won. The victory wasn’t cheap – it never is – but it was always right. Even if it “disturbs the peace” or costs money. It was right. It was always for the greater good.
Nowadays, it is unfashionable to fight the villains. Rather, a country – like the hero in the movie – must work within the community to gain acceptance. Or work within the UN – and in accord with all the “global community” - instead of going it alone, even when going it alone is right. The problem is, as the movie points out, the villains don’t care what you do – they just go on being villains. Until they are stopped.
Sometimes it takes a cartoon to simplify what we see around us everyday and to expose the world for what it truly is. And that is what makes this movie truly incredible.
And the last word is concerning tactics in the war on terror, whether it’s using harsh interrogation techniques (I still would not condone physical torture) or daisy cutter bombs. It comes, as it should, from the mother. Its ok to use all the powers at your disposal to defeat the enemy, Mrs. Incredible tells her children: the bad guys are not like the one on TV, these ones if given the chance “will kill you”.
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I'm elated, the election is over, and - whether the Dems fight it or not - Pres
Bush and the GOP have won re-election. Though its not a time to gloat, and
realizing that almost half of the country voted against the President and
conservative values, I do have to say that the liberals (Democrat) and
otherwise must realize that their views are not the majority. The votes on same-sex marriage all came back against it (ie. for the amendment), and
the Conservatives control both houses with solid majorities. One thing for
certain - President Bush should be commended for making unpopular policy
decisions with his Christian values. Kerry said he would not let his "Christian" values influence his policy decision making, but by making
the decisions he did, he revealed where his values truly were - liberal. Anyone wondering why Bush is the way he is, should read the Old Testament
book of Daniel in the Bible.
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An over-legislated society
Recently, the Ontario liberal (sic) government announced plans to make it illegal for private citizens to smoke in their own car, citing danger to child passengers. This is clearly a prime example of a government intruding into the lives of private citizens, legislating otherwise perfectly legal activities. Already it is illegal to smoke in all public places – the government wants to make it illegal to smoke in private places as well. The activity does not alter perceptions or affect my ability to operate a motorized vehicle. The same argument about second hand smoke affecting children can be applied to a smoker’s own house – and you know that given this latitude, that is where they’re going next. If they want to make the activity illegal, just friggin’ outlaw it. Otherwise it is none of the government’s business which legal activity I choose to partake in the privacy of my own property. This is clearly a case of government encroachment on private life. And I don’t even smoke.
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Well, its been a couple of days since the first presidential debate. It was frustrating to watch, because I felt that I could have answered Kerry better. One of my buddies called me halfway through and said “Tell W to wipe that stupid grin off his face – he looks like a chimpanzee.” Even my wife, no veteran of politics or debates, commented “Why is the President grinning like that?” Definitely something to work on for the next debate. However, I don’t think Kerry blew the President out of the water – though he was the winner of the debate, it wasn’t a big win, or even a resounding win. Kerry was able to keep the debate on the topics which he wanted (and which the moderator, Jim Lehrer, directed). George was unable to steer it decisively to the real topic at hand – the real focus of the debate (more in a minute). Kerry had his own problems. He doesn’t display emotion well, so he doesn’t come across as sincere, but more aloof and expressionless. Then he made a mistake of saying that a president needed to know how to commit to a decision, but be able to correct it when he thought it was a mistake. Sounded awfully close to flip flopping – not something you want to do as CinC and making decisions regarding national security. Last point – what the debate really was about: can John Kerry defend the United States of America before an attack? Even from the debate, one can tell the answer is “No”. Kerry comes across as very anti-war, someone who would rather debate a problem in international bodies than solve it. He cannot make a decision himself, giving the onus to the UN. He would try to appease the enemy and bring them before the United Nations even as the enemy hits him again and again. Let’s face it, France and Germany is never going to give the US a green light unless a bomb goes off in the country proper. They do not believe in the doctrine of pre-emption, and neither does Kerry. And for that reason alone, John Kerry should not be elected as president of the United States.
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Just got back from Boston and New Hampshire, where Lynne and I have been on vacation. Overall, it was very relaxing. The weather was good and we ate way too much seafood in Boston. As the US gears up for its federal elections, I’ve been keenly following the campaigns and rhetoric. I have a good feeling about this election – I think W is solidifying his lead and will win.
Coffee - I am a coffee snob. I thought I was a coffee snob when I would only drink Starbucks (and only a handful of their varieties – particularly Sulawesi), but now I’m much, much worse (more on that below). I used to enjoy trying out different local beers when I travel – now I look for local coffees to try.
On my recent trip to New Hampshire, I tried 3 different local roasts – one small shop (whose name I don’t even remember), a cup from Merlino’s steakhouse, and a cup of Green Mountain Roasters’ Lake and Lodge blend. Its difficult to rate because there are many variables when you let someone else do your brewing. Its much easier to buy their beans and brew it yourself, as you can control the consistency of each brew. However, that being said…
I think only the first one was roasted on premises, in small batches, and, being a recent convert to home roasting, I decided to try their Colombian Supremo. It was ok for a breakfast coffee – not overly hearty, but having the right caffeine kick. But there is a reason I prefer dark roasts (I tend to roast my own Colombian Supremo at least to Full City + roasts or darker). It was a good consistency and tasted fresh, which was important. Merlino’s had what I call diner coffee. It tasted good, and had the characteristics I look for in restaurant and hotel coffees. More than the roast, I think this coffee owes its flavor from putting the correct amount of grinds in the brew (conventional wisdom is 2 tablespoons for each 6oz cup of water). On my way home, I tried a cup of Lake and Lodge blend from Green Mountain Roasters. It was only ok (though to my surprise, I finished it in a snap), supposedly their dark roast, and I found it thick and buttery. I tried it mainly because Kenneth Davids (considered the expert on coffee) gives a positive review for many Green Mountain coffees on his coffeereview.com site.
So, how much of a coffee snob am I? I used to purchase only Starbucks Sulawesi and brew it myself (brining it into work in a thermos). I control the variables of the brewing process, so the coffee comes out the way I like, and I only buy the beans that I like. since discovering home roasting last month, I’ve decided only to purchase unprocessed (green) beans and to roast it myself. Now I not only control the brewing, I control the roasting. I experimented on Labor Day and have gotten the process down to how I like it. And since I consume the coffee within a few days of roasting, the coffee is fresher than anything I’ve ever tasted (I typically taste each batch within the first 6 hours), and, since I control the roast, I can roast beans from different origins to the way I like it, thus I can roast my Colombia Supremo dark (most coffee shops associate a single bean with a single roast style – ie. Starbucks Sulawesi is dark and Colombia is mild).
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