Helmer/star Clint Eastwood plays the tough guy once again, working with a fine screenplay by Nick Schenk (based on a story by Dave Johannson). Gritty urban scenes, a bitter old-timer thrown into a multiculti world he dislikes, and the eponymous car are all important elements of this film—one of this year’s best. Retired autoworker and
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This seasonal song, describing the days between Christmas and January 6th—the traditional day of the Epiphany (now celebrated in US Catholic dioceses the first Sunday following January 1st )—has been dismissed by many as a cheerful, nonsensical ditty. However, there’s plenty going on here… For one thing, unlike most other popular songs, and surely unlike
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Unless you had something invested with Bernie Madoff, what’s not to like about the current situation? As of this writing, impeachment is being initiated in Illinois against the governor, who hails from the same sordid Chicago political machine as our president-elect. With the embattled governor showing no intention of resigning, this mess could actually continue
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“Religious Practice and Health: What the Research Says,” sponsored by the Heritage Foundation, was held December 3, 2008 in Washington, D.C. Leading researchers in the field presented their findings about the role of religious practice in health outcomes. There certainly is a body of knowledge that suggests a positive influence of religion or spiritual practices
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I.G.Y. was the lead single—peaking at #26 in Billboard on 27 November 1982—from Donald Fagen’s gold album “The Nightfly,” that entered Billboard‘s album charts on 30 October 1982. On the liner notes, Fagen said that: “The songs on this album represent certain fantasies that might have been entertained by a young man growing up in
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There are still plenty of pundits posting articles on why or how Obama won the election. Several writers are making a big deal about the amount of money raised by Obama (implying that illicit means were used), and that the electorate was uniformed or just plain stupid. One website features video exit interviews outside a
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The latest wrinkle in the bailout merry-go-round is the proposal that we taxpayers should give billions of dollars to dinosaur automakers GM, Ford, and Chrysler. The touted benefit is that millions of jobs would be saved, but at what cost? In the last two years, GM all by itself has lost about $57 billion. We
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While it might have been possible for a Republican to have won this election, given all the negatives of an unpopular lame-duck incumbent of the same party, and the hagiographic media coverage awarded to Obama, McCain as a candidate and his unbelievably inept campaign were not the way. As Forrest Gump said, “Stupid is as
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This downer relationship picture is fatally hampered by its lack of sympathetic lead characters and its bizarre mid-winter tableau, in which we see Fall season high school football and marching band activities. Add to that little action except for two shocking tragedies, and you get one more example of a weak story that is too
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Technically, the term “unintended consequences” refers to never anticipated possible side effects, resulting from any purposeful action of mankind. For the most part, the term is applied to government actions, since the government tends to do big things, and, in general, exhibits the greatest amount of hubris. Many sources cite the example of a highway
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