Through The Eyes Of A Child (Reflections On "Star Wars")...

One month from today, the sixth – and final – installment of the “Star Wars” saga will be released. As we count down to a moment that will hopefully bring some much desired closure to the story, I wanted to take the opportunity to get some things off my chest about the franchise in general and this prequel trilogy in particular.

Not long after my tenth birthday, I remember going to the Merritt Theater on Main Street in Bridgeport, CT where I grew up and seeing the original Star Wars film - "A New Hope" - for the very first time. The lights dimmed. On the screen the old 20th Century Fox fanfare played, followed by the now immortal phrase “A Long Time Ago, In A Galaxy Far, Far Away…” and then…BAM…the now familiar Star Wars logo popped up and shrank as if it had been shot out of a cannon at the rear of the theater. The opening scroll went up the screen and a story began.

It was, in fact, a story that was already somewhere in the middle of the telling. The words made little sense. A “period of Civil War”? “Rebel spies” and “secret plans” for the “ultimate weapon”? And come to think of it, exactly what was “their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire” anyway? We never did find out. But to a 10-year old kid, it was largely irrelevant. Only later, as I got a little older, did I even give any thought to the meaning of the opening scroll. I didn't care. The view of that giant Star Destroyer filling up the entire screen from overhead said it all. This was going to like no other movie anyone had every seen before.

Over two succeeding three-year intervals I waited for the next chapter of the story to arrive - the vastly superior “Empire Strikes Back” and the up and down “Return of the Jedi”. When it was all over, the feeling I had about those films is one that has never quite been duplicated. The Lord of The Rings Trilogy was pretty close. But being an adult who was already very familiar with the story, the comparison is very much apples v. oranges. A whole generation – mostly of boys – held that special feeling in their psyches that would never quite go away.

Now here’s where I start the criticism – not of the new films, but of all the incessant bitching and moaning of people – mostly men – my age who like to go around and trash the prequels as if they are some sort of abomination that bear no resemblance to the masterpieces that they remember. They constantly find fault and point out what they would have done differently. They all forgot that the special feeling that I just mentioned was as much of a result of their original perspective than anything inherently special qualities about the original movies themselves.

When these folks look at “The Phantom Menace” or “Attack of the Clones”, they no longer look at them through a child’s eyes and imagination. Young kids grew up to be cynical and jaded grown-ups. Nothing about these movies meets their standards. Even the titles are held up to ridicule. But I ask you honestly, is “Attack of the Clones” really any more corny a title than “The Empire Strikes Back”? Were the goofy antics of Jar-Jar Binks any sillier than the ridiculous comic relief offered by C-3PO? Perhaps a little, but the kids love it nonetheless.

People my age need to remember that the dialogue of “A New Hope” was almost laughably unbearable. You need look no further than hearing Han Solo respond to Princess Leia’s lament that the danger wasn’t over by saying “It is for me, sister” for an example. My God, how 1970’s is that? Look, I have many criticism’s about the prequels, but I get past them and let myself enjoy the movies with my son, who is now almost as old as I was when I first sat in that theater.

Neither of us can wait to see “Revenge of the Sith”. It will be darker and perhaps scarier than the others – maybe even a little disturbing. But when he and I are sitting in a theater a little more than a month from now, I will consider myself quite lucky that in addition to fulfilling my own desire (and sorrow) to see the final transformation of Anakin Skywalker into the iconic Darth Vader, I will get another chance to see and enjoy it they way that he will.

Through the eyes of a child.

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Rove Backs DeLay, Calls Critics "Desperate"...

The Washington Times reports that Sr. Presidential Strategist Karl Rove publicly expressed his support to the House Majority Leader who is currently under fire from political opponents.

"I'm sorry that the Democratic Party has been reduced to this kind of drivel," he said. "If you don't have ideas, if you're not articulating a vision for America, if you're doing nothing but obstructing as Dean and others in his party seem to be intent upon doing, I guess you're stuck doing this kind of thing."

While the President has said that DeLay is an "effective leader" with whom he looks forward to working with, he stopped short of expressing his explicit backing of the Majority Leader during this controversy, which he left for Rove to address on behalf of the White House.

Former GOP Majority Leader Trent Lott expressed his disappointment in what he sees as a lack of support for DeLay from the Bush Administration:

"I do think the White House needs to remember that people [who] fight hard for you as a candidate and for your issues as a president deserve your support," Mr. Lott said Sunday.

I have to agree with Lott here. I know the President likes to stay above the fray on political matters such as this - as the MS Senator is all too aware - but Republicans need unity at this time. And a vote of confidence from the top is sorely needed here.

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Dems still pushing postponement of Bolton vote...

Sen. Joe Biden is pushing for a further postponement of the Foreign Relations Committee vote on whether to send John Bolton's name to the full Senate for approval. Democrats smell blood in the water as NE Senator Chuck "I want to be President but nobody likes me" Hagel expressed a wishy-washy attitude toward Bolton on CNN this weekend.

Republicans have been wary of Sen. Lincoln Chafee but have managed to keep him in line. Now Democrats are trying to work on Hagel and make him the one vote that kills the Bolton nomination. IN Senator Richard Lugar is set to argue against the postponement.

This is the last hope for Senate Democrats as Bolton would almost certainly be approved if his nomination is forwarded for consideration. If the GOP leadership allows Hagel to screw them over on this one, Sen. Bill Frist must step down as Majority Leader because, to date, he has shown little or no leadership in that chamber!

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Air America: It sucks because it serves no purpose...

Ace of Spades is dead-on with his take on the lastest LA Times opinion piece profiling the ratings disaster that is Liberal "Air America":

"Right radio is an alternative to the MSM. What the f' is liberal radio an "alternative" to? Reality?"

Liberals just don't get it. And I love how they poo-poo the success of Conservative talk radio as appealing to a bunch of unsophisticated, knuckle-dragging, morons. Former Gov. Mario Cuomo, himself a "miserable failure" (to quote a certain former MO Congressman) on radio, puts it this way:

Conservatives "write their messages with crayons," he maintained. "We use fine-point quills."

Is it any wonder why the whole concept of a "Liberal" talk radio network flies in the face of common sense? But then, Liberals have never been known to grasp the concept of common sense.

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All Promise, No Action...

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Podhoretz: Dem Strategy is a Suicide Pact...

The NY Post's John Podhoretz writes today about the threat Democrats are making if Senate Republicans change Senate rules to allow simple majority votes on judicial nominations: the threat that they will "shut down" legislative business in Washington.

Minority Leader Harry Reid put it very frankly back in December: "If they, for whatever reason, decide to do this, it's not only wrong, they will rue the day they did it, because we will do whatever we can do to strike back. I know procedures around here. And I know that there will still be Senate business conducted. But I will, for lack of a better word, screw things up."

This threat is just about the only card Democrats have to play against the Republican action.

But if they actually follow through, they'll do themselves and their party great injury. Even though obstructionism is a vital weapon in a party's arsenal, it only works when it goes on below the radar.

He goes on to point out that Republicans tried this exact same approach ten years ago, to its ultimate failure.

They went into confrontation mode with President Bill Clinton by sending him budget bills they knew he wouldn't sign. When he vetoed the bills, the federal government was forced to shut down.

The GOP hoped the public would blame Clinton, since he had vetoed the bills. House Speaker Newt Gingrich said, "We want the country to understand that the only way the government will close tomorrow is that President Clinton is determined to close it." That's not the way it went down. Because the GOP had provoked the showdown, it got blamed for the shutdown.

The entire business was a political calamity for Republicans. They appeared to be acting out of pique, keeping the government closed in order to force Clinton to bow to their wishes. And Clinton went after them for it, constantly saying he wanted the government to go back to work to serve the American people.

If Reid's Democrats effectively shut down the Senate, they will open themselves up to the same criticism that the GOP received back in 1995. They too will be crosswise of a president — in this case, George W. Bush, who will be able to play the same "get back to work" card that Clinton played.

It's time to call Sen. Reid's bluff. Constitutional Option now! Democrat political suicide later.

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Some People Just Live For Public Service...

Like the selfless bugger in this picture, volunteering his time to offer free mammogram screenings. Courtesy of Grouchy Old Cripple.

Give 'til it hurts, man.

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"Mad Max" fans arrested for staging movie scene re-creation...

Newsday has the story. Apparently eleven fans of the film traveling in a theatrical convoy and armed with fake machine guns were arrested as they surrounded a tanker truck along the side of the highway. They were on their way to a movie marathon.

As the group headed to San Antonio on Saturday, police received several calls from drivers who reported a "militia" surrounding a tanker truck.

Police charged nine people with obstruction of a highway and two others with possession of prohibited knives in addition to the obstruction charge.

One of the organizers, Chris Fenner, said the arrests were unfair. He said he didn't know why anyone would have confused the costumed crew recreating a scene from "Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior" -- set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland -- with a real threat.

"I honestly don't know how that could be, because 'Road Warrior' was so over the top," he said.

OK, so this fella doesn't understand why a bunch of guys dressed as post-apocalyptic nomads armed with what are probably real-looking firearms surrounding a tractor-trailer would make some of the locals a little nervous?

Hat Tip: NealeNews

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Whose afraid of the big, bad "Hill"?

Jay Cost of Redstate.org has a great op-ed in the Wall Street Journal's Opinionjournal.com today about the "overestimating" of Hillary Clinton as a Presidential hopeful.

"I have never understood this. Where do her political credentials come from? It seems to me that she was a great supporting player to a good (though highly overrated) politician. She played the part of the forgiving, intelligent, driven wife with great effectiveness. When she takes center stage, however, the results are quite mixed. She botched health-care reform so badly that President Clinton got absolutely nothing from a Democratic Congress. She coined the term "vast right-wing conspiracy"--guaranteeing that conservatives everywhere would curse her existence until the end of time. She did win that New York Senate seat, but that, to my mind, was pretty unimpressive. She beat latecomer Rick Lazio, who was not a formidable candidate, to say the least (the word "sophomoric" comes to mind)."

While I'll admit she needs be taken seriously and will very likely end up with the nomination in 2008, I heartily agree with Jay that she is a horrible politician.

"There is nothing subtle about her strategic positioning. Not a thing. Everybody talks about Hillary's political calculations not because they are brilliant but because they are obvious, because everything about Hillary screams "political calculation." There is nothing organic to her politics; it all seems artificial."

Which is exactly why her negatives in almost every poll - including Scott Rasmussen's "Hillary-Meter" - are so high. Even her supporters can see what a phony she is.

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NBC's Chip Reid Speculates on DeLay Story: Some in MSM want to "take this guy down"...

This morning on my commute in to work, I was listening to WFAN, which broadcasts the Don Imus show. Imus' guest was NBC and MSNBC correspondent Chip Reid. They were discussing the DeLay situation and the host made a passing comment about how it seems like the usual suspects always seem to line up on an attack like this.

Reid responded (and I am paraphrasing here) - "I almost hestitate to say this. But I think there are a few members of the Main Stream Media who would very much like to be the one who takes this guy down. And that's a dangerous path for any person in the media to take - trying to 'take someone down'."

Now I'm sure Reid would be the first person to qualify his remark as meaning that the MSM sees DeLay as a target because he is some "big name politico" and not just because he is a Republican, but I aint' buying it.

If anyone could find a transcript from this morning's show (which is simulcast on MSNBC), please add the link to the comments section or email me and I will add it to this post.

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Why They Hate DeLay...

Jeffrey Bell in The Weekly Standard sums it up nicely: because says what he means, means what he says and he's not intimidated by Democrats.

"The truth is that Tom DeLay is a special target because he is the first legislative power broker to be an authentic Red State conservative. He is an unhyphenated Reaganite: militantly pro-life and pro-values on social issues, a pro-growth tax cutter on economic issues, and an unapologetic, spread-American-values interventionist abroad. In the years since the GOP's congressional realignment victory of 1994, no other GOP leader in either the House or Senate fully fits this description."

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Bob Livingston: Defending Delay...

Last week it was reported that former Congressman Bob Livingston was approached by the New York Times to run an op-ed piece commenting on the current attacks on Tom DeLay. Livingston had his own situation where he ended resigning in the face of a personal scandal.

Livingston said he'd write a column supporting DeLay, but the Times then refused. It seems all they wanted was a noted Republican to call for Delay to resign.

Well, Livingston did write his editorial - a strong endorsement of DeLay supporting him in the face of this MSM smear campaign.

DeLay has been the most effective majority leader of either party in the last half century. Even with the razor-thin margins he has had to work with, when was the last time he lost a vote? His understanding of the intricacies of redistricting is legendary. The only person I know who came close was Rep. John Burton, a liberal Democrat from California whose groundbreaking use of computerized gerrymandering in the 1970s was considered clever and praiseworthy by many of the same voices who condemn DeLay for the same talents. And on a personal note, DeLay is an honorable, compassionate human being who does not deserve the current treatment he gets from much of the media.

The whole piece is here in Human Events online

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Protest Warrior fools the "fools" at Time...

Time Magazine is featuring Ann Coulter on the cover this week. And the Time website has what they identify as a picture of "protesters" against her at the GOP convention last year. But if you look closely at the photo, it is actually of a group of guys from Protest Warrior and another bunch called "Communists For Kerry" who are, in fact, goofing on the real protesters.

Bwaahaahaaaahaaa! Nice one guys. Do your homework next time!

Kudos to Viking Pundit for linking the photo.

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Proposal in Illinois to restrict ultrasounds...

Pro-abortion advocates are pushing a bill that would prohibit ultrasounds without a doctor's orders. Why? A parent (or parent-to-be) that sees a baby in the womb is hard pressed to argue that it is only a "fetus".

Technology has even created 3D ultrasounds that allow a much clearer image much earlier in a pregnancy. This kind of puts a kink in the old "it's only a clump of cells" argument.

Michelle Malkin links the story from the Illinois Leader and quotes Junkyard Blog, who weighs in:

"Why would Planned Parenthood, an industry leader that aborts children and makes millions doing it, care a bit about the safety of children in the womb? Simple. It's hard to see an ultrasound and remain pro-choice. Once you see that your potentially aborted wad of tissues has fingers, toes, eyes and a nose and all the rest it becomes a person in your mind, and that makes you less likely to become one of Margaret Sanger's company's customers."

For Planned Parenthood, and other groups that push abortion, ultrasounds are bad for business. As of now the bill has passed the Illinois House.

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Flaming Shot Goes Horribly Wrong...

Ace of Spades links this post from Alarming News. First of all, I want to know - what moron invented the "flaming shot" and how did this idea catch on?

Kids, this is what happens when you kill one too many brain cells. Warning, the clip isn't sickening or anything but it's a bit disturbing.

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New To The Blogroll...

Under "Right-Thinking Blogs", I've added:
Dagney' Rant
Dummocrats
Evil White Guy's Blog
Insane Troll Logic
Moonbat Central
Sweet Spirits of Ammonia &
The Templar Pundit

Two New "New Englandahs":
Anchor Rising from Rhode Island and another former Democrat "mugged by reality", Neo NeoCon

Ryan S. of Jokers To The Right has another blog: Trimming The Fat, which is now also listed among "The Blue State Conservatives"

Two New "Kids", The Politicker and Fresh Tasty Ideas (the latter isn't exactly a kid, but he is a student...for his Ph.d)

I've created a new section called "New Finds" for blogs I'm keeping an eye on. The first listing is On The Wire.

Also, I have added a couple of links under the "Think Tanks, Political Organizations & Resources" section:

Scott Rasmussen's Polling Site (which features the "Hillary Meter") and Economics In One Easy Lesson. This last one is a link to a .pdf file of a publication of that name by . Other than Thomas Sowell, I've never read such a clear, concrete explanation of good economics versus bad economics. Absolutely worth you time to read the whole thing.

Welcome aboard, gang!

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Time is running out on the judicial nominations...

Captain Ed has a really good rationale for aggressively moving forward on Bush's judicial picks.

Some argue that waiting a few more weeks or even months -- or even until next year's election -- will not make much of a difference and may convince more waverers to support the rule change. I feel this is incorrect. The Senate GOP received a tremendous mandate for the end of Democratic obstructionism in November 2004, and the more time that elapses between then and an eventual rule-change attempt, the less likely the centrists will keep that mandate in mind. The Exempt Media will work over the proposal to make it sound more and more extreme, as it already did this week when Bill Frist discussed it with religious leaders like James Dobson. The more that happens, the more trepidation centrists will feel about ending filibusters and being seen as siding with so-called "extremists".

He also discusses how this whole process may act as a deterrent to getting good folks on the bench in the future.

Given this humiliating process, the motivation for accepting a nomination to the federal bench has dimmed considerably. The Democrats have the knives out for everyone proposed for federal appellate seats, and the GOP won't lift a finger to defend them.

Read the whole post here.

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Promises, Promises...

OK, so Novak has the "inside scoop" that Bill Frist and the GOP Senators can muster the necessary votes to stop this filibuster horse-hockey.

I've heard this so many times before I want to puke. But I put a lot of stock in Robert Novak. Apparently Olympia Snowe of Maine and Lincoln (I'm famous 'cuz of my daddy) Chafee of RI will not vote for the "constitutional option". Nor, as we know by now, will John McCain.

That still leaves 52 Republican Senators on the reservation. They only need 50 (Cheney presiding over the Senate could cast the tie-breaking vote). And according to Novak, NE Senator Ben Nelson, a Democrat, may be persuadable to vote with us. So what's the deal, McFly? Are you in or are you out?

Is this actually going to happen? Stay tuned.

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Blair, Labour Pull Ahead In Recent Polling...

The spread between Britain's Labour party and the Tories is anywhere from one to ten points, depending on the poll you look at. If this trend continues, or even holds, Tony Blair is headed to a third term as Prime Minister.

Personally, I have little use for Labour which stands for nothing more than an increase of the power of the UK's "nanny-State" but I am on record as endorsing Blair for PM for another term. This post explains why.

The BBC tracking polls has Labour at 38%, Conservatives at 33%, and the Liberal Democrats at 22% as of April 15. With just under three weeks to go until the May 5th Parliamentary elections, Tony Blair looks to be in good shape to stay put.

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If it's Saturday it must be time for the Diane Lane Photo of the Week...

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