Speaking this morning about health care reform at Arcadia University in Glenside, Pennsylvania, President Barack Obama urged people to stand by his proposal because “it’s the right thing to do.”
** NEW COLUMN COMING UP … IS MEG WHITMAN LIKE ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER?
** QUICK HITS. Speaker Nancy Pelosi signaled today that the House is moving closer to passing the Senate version of the national health care reform bill. With needed changes to be passed on a majority vote, filibuster-free basis in the Senate through the so-called budget reconciliation process. … President Barack Obama hit the road today in Pennsylvania with a rousing speech in favor of health care reform. He goes to Missouri to deliver a similiar message on Wednesday. … General Gabi Ashkenazi, chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, arrived in Washington today for talks on the emerging sanctions proposals targeting Iran’s nuclear program. Israel and the Palestinians have agreed to indirect peace talks. Vice President Joe Biden is trying to improve on that this week. …
** CALIFORNIA 2010: THE OPEN PRIMARY GAMBIT. As I mentioned this morning, an intriguing bit of legalistic and political legerdemain is underway around the open primary initiative, now on the June statewide ballot. Now there is an effort underway to change the descriptive wording of the bill passed by the Legislature last year. Placing this on the ballot was part of the price for enactment of last year’s budget.
Last week, the big California School Employees Association (CSEA) went to court to try to change the wording to something more negative and, lo and behold, the Legislative Counsel’s office is refusing to defend the wording adopted by the Legislature. Not a surprise, when you understand that Leg Counsel, despite being non-partisan, works for the Democratic legislative leadership, which in turn is heavily influenced by some public employee unions who like the system the way it is. Like the CSEA, which gave over $400,000 last year to Democratic politicians.
What is a surprise is that the measure’s proponents say they received no notice of this, and learned of it only late Friday on a blog. And in a further surprise, in point of fact if not politically, Legislative Counsel operation is apparently willing not only to not defend the measure but to concur in a stipulated agreement to strip the measure of supportive statements that make it attractive to voters.
What a great movida! In other words, had the initiative’s proponents not fortuitously learned of this, the whole campaign might have been, in essence, over before anyone knew. (What is a movida? A very slick, crafty, and underhanded political move.)
Ironically, before this move emerged, I spoke recently with former Governor Gray Davis, who knows all the ins and outs of such things. I remember seeing him years ago, when he was governor, at the state convention of the union in question, the CSEA, and he told me then that he had attended 25 of their conventions in a row. Imagine the fun of that.
Now that he is not seeking that sort of support, he has a different tack. For one thing, the veteran Democratic politician, who served as Jerry Brown’s gubernatorial chief of staff, state legislator, and state controller and lieutenant governor before winning two terms as governor, now thinks that the state Legislature should be made part-time.
“Nothing gets done in the first few months of the year, so send them back to their districts where they can spend time with the local people, not the lobbyists,” Davis says.
“Let’s make the Legislature more accountable,” he says, “and let’s save the Legislature from its own worst instincts.”
By which he means the desire by Democrats and Republicans to use up all revenue by pushing more spending programs and tax cuts. Which, not coincidentally, was the thing that he unsuccessfully grappled with in his foreshortened governorship.
Davis thinks that legislators are made more accountable by redistricting reform, a Schwarzenegger initiative victory in 2008 (which won’t take effect until the next election cycle) to take the drawing of district lines out of politicians’ hands, and by an open primary. In an open primary, which was proposed by Schwarzenegger, the top two finishers regardless of party affiliation face off in the general election.
The idea is to force candidates to appeal from the beginning to all voters, not just the partisans who tend to turn up in party primary elections.
Davis thinks that these things — the redistricting reforms coupled with the open primary — will affect “10% to 20%” of the Legislature, going at least part of the way to re-establishing the more productive political atmosphere that existed in the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s.
Davis notes that he himself ran for governor and was elected in a modified open primary system in 1998. And that it encourages, not discourages, voter participation.
This movida by the union and legislative leaders goes to court tomorrow. Since the Legislature won’t defend the law it passed, Schwarzenegger and his allies are seeking standing to defend the initiative.
** NEW SURVEY: VIEWS ON ABORTION ARE MORE POLARIZED BY PARTY THAN EVER. With the anti-abortion views of a small group of conservative House Democrats emerging as the possible stumbling block to a final passage of the national health care reform bill, a new survey of Gallup Polls from 1975 through 2009 reveals a tremendous amount of stability in the majority view that abortion should be legal within certain restrictions.
And, while the survey shows that the views of independent voters are essentially stable, mirroring the majority viewpoint, the views of Democrats and Republicans have become more polarized in opposite directions.
The Democrats have grown more liberal on abortion, while the Republicans have grown more liberal.
Gallup’s long-term abortion question — instituted two years after the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade case gave sweeping constitutional protection to abortion — asks Americans to say whether they believe abortion should be legal “under any circumstances,” legal “only under certain circumstances, or “illegal in all circumstances.”
In the broadest terms, the largest segments of Republicans and Democrats have consistently preferred the middle “legal only under certain circumstances” abortion position. What’s changed since 1975 is that the percentage of Republicans favoring the “illegal in all circumstances” position has grown and the percentage favoring the “legal under any circumstances” position has decreased. The reverse pattern is seen among Democrats.
Among independents, the overall outline of views has been more stable. While most take the middle position, independents favoring the availability of legal abortion under any circumstances have consistently outnumbered those who favor keeping it illegal in all circumstances (albeit by a dwindling margin in recent years).
Among all Americans, the dominant view over the past 3 ½ decades has been the moderate “legal only under certain circumstances” position. Several changes occurred during the 1980s and 1990s in the balance of preferences for the two extreme views — always legal vs. always illegal — but in 2009, attitudes were back to their original 1975 levels. …
Whereas Republicans and Democrats had similar outlooks on abortion in the 1970s and 1980s, that started changing in 1990; and by 2009, more Republicans believed abortion should be illegal than broadly legal (by a 21-point margin), while the reverse was true among Democrats (by 19 points).
Which does not explain the phenomenon of this small band of anti-abortion House Democrats.
The U.S. commander in Iraq, General Ray Odierno, and Ambassador to Iraq Christopher Hill today discussed the estimated turnout of over 60% of Iraqi voters in Sunday’s national parliamentary elections. The election took place despite a series of terrorist attacks which left dozens killed and many more wounded. As a result, the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops appears to be on schedule.
MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK.
A big week on tap in presidential politics and California politics. President Obama is working on selling the national health care reform bill this week, both on the road and behind closed doors. He’s also assessing yesterday’s Iraqi parliamentary elections, next steps in Afghanistan, and the Iranian nuclear crisis, as well as dispatching Vice President Joe Biden to get the Israeli/Palestinian peace process moving.
In California, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is working with legislative leaders to get more action on the state’s chronic budget crisis. The Legislature has produced less than 10% of needed solutions in the past two months. He’s also pushing the open primary initiative on the June ballot, which legislative leaders now appear to want to undermine. And Schwarzenegger’s would-be successors are off and running, with Democrat Jerry Brown having formally announced his candidacy with a big flurry of in-depth media interviews and Republican rivals Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner jousting over who’s the most conservative heading into next weekend’s state Republican convention.
Obama announced his path forward on the national health care reform bill on Wednesday, and expanded on his message in his weekend video/radio address, which plays above. As expected, he wants the House to adopt the Senate bill and the Senate to to pass changes needed to mollify House Democrats through the majority vote budget reconciliation process, thus avoiding a Republican filibuster. They probably need to have this done, one way or the other, no later than Easter. It has certainly dragged on far longer than anticipated.
Obama wants the national health care reform bill passed by March 18th. Why then? That’s when he leaves on a big trip to Asia.
Obama had wanted Congressional passage by the end of last August. Subsequent deadlines came and went. Following passage of different versions of national health care reform by the House and the Senate, something never done before since then President Teddy Roosevelt first called for universal health care, the two houses were closing in on agreement when inattentive Democrats lost the Massachusetts special election for the late Senator Ted Kennedy’s old seat.
This week, Obama travels to Pennsylvania and Missouri to push the health care bill.
Obama and U.S. military commanders are heartened by yesterday’s Iraqi national parliamentary elections. Turnout is estimated at 62%, despite a spate of terrorist attacks which killed at least three dozen people. Preliminary results will be available in a few days.
Obama dispatched Defense Secretary Bob Gates to Afghanistan, where he is reviewing plans for the next big operation in Afghanistan, expected to be the clearing of Taliban fighters from in and around their traditional stronghold of Kandahar. That is where the fundamentalist religious students movement first took hold in the mid-1990s in the midst of civil war between rival warlords following the U.S.-fueled defeat of the Soviet Union.
On Iran, Obama continues working on a new sanctions regime against Iran and its nuclear program. Iran has repeatedly defied agreements with the International Atomic Energy Agency and resolution from the UN Security Council. The question is whether new sanctions, on which Obama wants agreement from Russia and China, will be strong enough to dissuade the Iranians from their present course.
In California, Schwarzenegger is gearing up a campaign for the open primary initiative on the June ballot. But first he has to fend off an attempt to change the descriptive wording of the bill passed by the Legislature last year. Placing this on the ballot was part of the price for enactment of last year’s budget. Last week, the big California School Employees Association went to court to try to change the wording to something more negative and, lo and behold, the Legislative Counsel’s office is refusing to defend the wording adopted by the Legislature. Not a surprise, when you understand that Leg Counsel, despite being non-partisan, works for the Democratic legislative leadership, which in turn is heavily influenced by some public employee unions who like the system the way it is.
In the race to succeed the term-limited Schwarzenegger, super-rich state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, who is on the air advertising now against the months-long unchallenged ad drive of billionaire Meg Whitman, the leading Republican hopeful, easily won the endorsement of the archconservative California Republican Assembly over the weekend.
Both Whitman and Poizner addressed the Orange County convention, with the heavily funded Whitman operation having a large presence. But Poizner easily bested her in the endorsement vote, by a better than 3 to 1 ratio.
Meanwhile, Jerry Brown, who cleared the Democratic primary field last year, finally announced his candidacy last week with a well-regarded three-minute webcast address. He then embarked on a lengthy round of freewheeling, in-depth press interviews, also acquitting himself well. And establishing in the process that Brown, who turns 72 next month, can beat any reporter in the state in pull-ups. Probably.
** OBAMA TODAY. President Barack Obama is in Washington and Pennsylvanian today.
He received the daily intelligence and economic briefings in the Oval Office.
Obama then traveled this morning to Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, where he delivered remarks on national health care reform at Arcadia University.
At 9:30 AM Pacific, Obama departs Willow Grove, Pennsylvania on Air Force One en route to Andrews Air Force Base.
At 10:15 AM Pacific, Obama lands at Andrews Air Force Base, where he boards Marine One.
At 10:30 AM Pacific, he lands on the South Lawn of the White House.
At 10:50 AM Pacific, Obama welcomes the national college football champion University of Alabama Crimson Tide to the White House and delivers remarks.
At 12 noon Pacific, Obama meets with President Mauricio Funes of El Salvador in the Oval Office.
At 1:30 PM Pacific, Obama delivers remarks at an International Women’s Day reception in the East Room.
At 2:30 PM Pacific, Obama meets with New York Senator Chuck Schumer and South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham in the Oval Office.
Vice President Joe Biden left Washington last night on a week-long trip to the Middle East, a visit that comes just after the aforementioned Iraqi elections.
But his focus is on jump-starting the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
Defense Secretary Bob Gates is in Afghanistan today, meeting in Kabul with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and General Stanley McChrystal. Gates will assess the Marjah operation and look at plans for a coming offensive in Kandahar.
Obama is also monitoring geopolitical crises in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, and Iran.
Last night’s Academy Awards saw the little-seen Iraq War drama The Hurt Locker win most of the top awards, including best picture, best screenplay, and best director. Director Kathryn Bigelow is the first woman to win the Oscar as best director. She is also the former wife of Avatar director James Cameron. With just over $21 million in global box office, The Hurt Locker is the least popular film ever to win the best picture award. Avatar, which lost out last night, passed $2.6 billion in global box office over the weekend, further extending its record over that of Cameron’s previous film, Titanic.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is in Los Angeles and Sacramento today.
Schwarzenegger has no scheduled public events today.
He will hold private talks in and around the Capitol.
** IS OBAMA’S AFPAK STRATEGY ACTUALLY WORKING? I’m not a big fan of the big escalation in Afghanistan. While there are many things that would be good to do in Afghanistan, there is only one thing that we have to do: Deny it as an operational base for Al Qaeda or other transnational jihadists. As Vice President Joe Biden and others have pointed out, that can be done with far less than the nation-building exercise which ex-President George W. Bush promised and President Barack Obama at times seems bent on delivering. Yet there are some signs that Obama’s strategy, which goes well beyond the escalation, is working. Is it? …
That said, what I like about Obama’s AfPak strategy, though I do not like the big escalation in Afghanistan, is that there is a suppleness to it. It evolves. Or, at least, it seems to evolve. For all I know, what appear to be evolutions in the strategy is merely Obama choosing to reveal new elements of it over time. … From my March 5th column.
** THE CALIFORNIA AS FIRST “FAILED STATE” DEBATE: SCHWARZENEGGER, DAVIS, WHITMAN, AND JERRY BROWN. With Democrat Jerry Brown finally declaring his candidacy for California governor today and billionaire Meg Whitman’s super-rich Republican rival Steve Poizner starting his own TV ad campaign against her, this seems a good time to talk about a big new negative theme about the rather tarnished Golden State.
Is California America’s first “failed state?” That’s what a lot of people are saying. So I talked about that with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger; the governor he replaced, Gray Davis; and a famous former governor favored to be the next governor, Jerry Brown.
It’s a hot topic. You see it suggested in the press. It’s spinning into the very high-stakes California governor’s race. There was even a formal debate about it in late January in New York City.
Schwarzenegger in particular was very struck by that debate, sponsored by Intelligence Squared, as he told me when we talked about it the other day. The event dripped with irony, as it featured Schwarzenegger’s brother-in-law, Bobby Shriver, as the most prominent member of the team of three arguing that California is America’s first “failed state.” And it featured Schwarzenegger’s one-time bitter opponent, former Governor Gray Davis — removed from office in the famous 2003 California recall election that swept Schwarzenegger into power — as the most prominent member of the team of three arguing that California is nowhere near being America’s first failed state. …
Davis tells me … The veteran Democratic politician, who served as Jerry Brown’s gubernatorial chief of staff, state legislator, and state controller and lieutenant governor before winning two terms as governor, now thinks that the state Legislature should be made part-time. … From my March 2nd column.
** SO WHO IS THE REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL FRONTRUNNER ANYWAY? PALIN, ROMNEY, PAUL (!) … … From my February 23rd column.
** MAD MEN: THE STREAK CONTINUES. … From my February 22nd column.
** THE BIGGEST SPENDING RACE IN AMERICA IS UNDERWAY! (WELL, SORT OF.) … From my February 19th column.
** TONY BLAIR’S GHOST (WRITER). … From my February 16th column.
** THE MACHINATIONS OF MEG WHITMAN: BEHIND HER ATTEMPTS TO ELIMINATE COMPETITION AND HER WHOPPER ABOUT HOW LONG SHE’S LIVED IN CALIFORNIA. … From my February 10th column.
** LOST IN LOST. … From my February 4th essay.
** SELLING MEG WHITMAN: GLITCHES EMERGE IN THE BILLIONAIRE’S PLAN TO ACQUIRE THE CALIFORNIA GOVERNORSHIP. What would Don Draper do? … From my February 2nd column.
** HOW JERRY BROWN CLEARED THE DEMOCRATIC FIELD FOR GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA. … From my December 9th column.
** OBAMA: RIDING WITH HISTORY. (NOTE: As Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States, this column was the featured column on the top of the front page of the Huffington Post.) … From my January 19th, 2009 Huffington Post column.
** HELP FOR HAITI.
You can donate to the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, www.clintonbushhaitifund.org, by clicking here.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM RUSSIA TODAY. Russia has re-emerged as one of the world’s great powers. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer, bringing you English-language, jargon-free, fast-paced coverage of global and Russian news from the Russia Today channel. You probably already know about CNN International, BBC World, and Al Jazeera. Russia Today, which also features culture, entertainment, and sports, is based in Moscow and is owned and operated by the TV Novosti division of Russia’s state news agency, RIA Novosti. While it’s quite foolish to expect to see, say, criticism of Vladimir Putin on Russia Today, the channel is very interesting nonetheless. With U.S. cable news chattering away as it does, this sort of respite can be informative. The NWN live link to RT does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM AL JAZEERA. With the US entangled in two wars in the region, it’s valuable to keep up with news and perspectives from the leading Middle Eastern-based TV news network. Based in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar, Al Jazeera is very influential and more than a bit controversial. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer. The NWN live link to AJ does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** TRACK GLOBAL AND NATIONAL ENERGY PRICES IN NEAR REAL TIME VIA BLOOMBERG ENERGY MARKET WATCH. Having crashed over $147 for yet another record on July 11th, 2008, crude oil is trading around $81 per barrel.
This is up about $47 from the low of $34 per barrel prior to enactment of the Obama economic recovery program, reflecting a low point in global economic activity.
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| Comments (48) |
Great news from Iraq.
“The Hurt Locker?”
I’m curious who has seen it.
The Academy always screws science fiction.
That’s right. So the elections worked contrary to Paul Burton yesterday and the troop withdrawal stays on schedule.
Jonas Blane says:
March 8, 2010 at 9:34 am
Great news from Iraq.
The Oscars were super boring.
Good, let’s get out this year.
Jonas Blane says:
March 8, 2010 at 9:34 am
Great news from Iraq.
Yes.
> Len says:
March 8, 2010 at 10:30 am (Edit)
The Oscars were super boring.
I think Jim Cameron doesn’t win popularity contests in Hollywood, either.
> Capitol Boy says:
March 8, 2010 at 9:44 am (Edit)
The Academy always screws science fiction.
I saw it. It’s a very good movie. It didn’t make a big impression on me, though it was far better than the other Iraq War pictures.
>#
Jonas Blane says:
March 8, 2010 at 9:37 am (Edit)
“The Hurt Locker?”
#
Capitol Boy says:
March 8, 2010 at 9:44 am (Edit)
I’m curious who has seen it.
Yes.
Odierno says the withdrawal is on schedule after yesterday’s election.
>#
Jonas Blane says:
March 8, 2010 at 9:34 am (Edit)
Great news from Iraq.
More video today?
What is the latest on Gruesome Newsom for Lite Gov? Is he in or is he out?
Obama sounds confident about getting health care done. I like that. Might as well pass it after all the time they’ve spent on that sucker.
I didn’t see it. I read a lot of vets say it’s bogus.
Bill Bradley says:
March 8, 2010 at 10:41 am
I saw it. It’s a very good movie. It didn’t make a big impression on me, though it was far better than the other Iraq War pictures.
>#
Jonas Blane says:
March 8, 2010 at 9:37 am (Edit)
“The Hurt Locker?”
#
Capitol Boy says:
March 8, 2010 at 9:44 am (Edit)
I’m curious who has seen it.
Yeah. High time to execute the ole Bravo Oscar maneuever out of Dodge City…
Jonas Blane says:
March 8, 2010 at 9:34 am
Great news from Iraq.
Those are strong comments on health by president Obama.
As you know, it has to be done very carefully. The place is barely stable now. Having broken it, we don’t want to re-break it.
> Jack Aubrey says:
March 8, 2010 at 12:13 pm (Edit)
Yeah. High time to execute the ole Bravo Oscar maneuever out of Dodge City…
Jonas Blane says:
March 8, 2010 at 9:34 am
Great news from Iraq.
Well, I don’t know what a bomb disposal unit is like. The central thrust of the movie, that war is driven by adrenaline junkies, seems off to me, but there are certainly adrenaline junkies in the military …
> Jack Aubrey says:
March 8, 2010 at 12:12 pm (Edit)
I didn’t see it. I read a lot of vets say it’s bogus.
Bill Bradley says:
March 8, 2010 at 10:41 am
I saw it. It’s a very good movie. It didn’t make a big impression on me, though it was far better than the other Iraq War pictures.
>#
Jonas Blane says:
March 8, 2010 at 9:37 am (Edit)
“The Hurt Locker?”
#
Capitol Boy says:
March 8, 2010 at 9:44 am (Edit)
I’m curious who has seen it.
Mayor Newsom is getting ready to make an announcement, one way or the other, very shortly.
I expect him to run for lieutenant governor of California.
> Truth Teller says:
March 8, 2010 at 11:47 am (Edit)
What is the latest on Gruesome Newsom for Lite Gov? Is he in or is he out?
Assuming the fine print is not as ruinous as some say, or is now not as ruinous as it may have been, that’s probably true.
> Jack Aubrey says:
March 8, 2010 at 12:11 pm (Edit)
Obama sounds confident about getting health care done. I like that. Might as well pass it after all the time they’ve spent on that sucker.
Thank you for the wonderful article on the Huffington Post. I am so happy that Afghanistan and Pakistan are going so much better than before. I am so sad that there is still the horrible loss of life. I hope the coalition you describe is formed soon.
They must of done that to make the movie more entertaining.
Bill Bradley says:
March 8, 2010 at 2:14 pm
Well, I don’t know what a bomb disposal unit is like. The central thrust of the movie, that war is driven by adrenaline junkies, seems off to me, but there are certainly adrenaline junkies in the military …
> Jack Aubrey says:
March 8, 2010 at 12:12 pm (Edit)
I didn’t see it. I read a lot of vets say it’s bogus.
First-ever female winner of Best Director. It’s good to see Hollywood and the Academy begin to overcome their sexism.
Hey, who’s the guy in the video??!! Reminds me of somebody who ran for President way back in ’08.
I bet you think the Academy Awards should have had an affirmative action quota all along.
Whose going to be our Mayor. I hate to admit it bad as Newsom is but San Francisco could do worse if its one of the idiots on the Bored of Supes.
Bill Bradley says:
March 8, 2010 at 2:15 pm
Mayor Newsom is getting ready to make an announcement, one way or the other, very shortly.
I expect him to run for lieutenant governor of California.
> Truth Teller says:
March 8, 2010 at 11:47 am (Edit)
What is the latest on Gruesome Newsom for Lite Gov? Is he in or is he out?
Barack is back on track!!
Clutch J says:
March 8, 2010 at 4:02 pm
Hey, who’s the guy in the video??!! Reminds me of somebody who ran for President way back in ‘08.
It’s a heckuva speech.
> Clutch J says:
March 8, 2010 at 4:02 pm (Edit)
Hey, who’s the guy in the video??!! Reminds me of somebody who ran for President way back in ‘08.
I have mixed feelings about that.
On the one hand, it’s great that a woman has finally won the award. Her work is very good. On the other hand, The Hurt Locker pales by comparison to Avatar as a feat of filmmaking.
> Clutch J says:
March 8, 2010 at 3:59 pm (Edit)
First-ever female winner of Best Director. It’s good to see Hollywood and the Academy begin to overcome their sexism.
It made for a nice soap opera in the movie, actually. The star, whose name escapes me but was nominated for Best Actor, keeps insisting to his wife back home — Lost’s Evangeline Lilly — that he really does want their family life. But once home, he can’t wait to get back to Iraq, where he’s repeatedly acted like a dangerous fool.
> Capitol Boy says:
March 8, 2010 at 3:16 pm (Edit)
They must of done that to make the movie more entertaining.
Bill Bradley says:
March 8, 2010 at 2:14 pm
Well, I don’t know what a bomb disposal unit is like. The central thrust of the movie, that war is driven by adrenaline junkies, seems off to me, but there are certainly adrenaline junkies in the military …
> Jack Aubrey says:
March 8, 2010 at 12:12 pm (Edit)
I didn’t see it. I read a lot of vets say it’s bogus.
Thanks, I appreciate that.
> lorena says:
March 8, 2010 at 2:40 pm (Edit)
Thank you for the wonderful article on the Huffington Post. I am so happy that Afghanistan and Pakistan are going so much better than before. I am so sad that there is still the horrible loss of life. I hope the coalition you describe is formed soon.
Obama is finding his voice anew. I like it. He can turn health care into a big positive for him, the party, and the country, if he uses his skills to do it.
With all respect to the makers of “The Hurt Locker,” it is as nothing compared to the message, the majesty, of “Avatar.”
“Avatar” is the biggest pro-diversity and pro-ecological, and anti-imperialist, movie in the history of movies. There can be no question about this.
Clutch J says:
March 8, 2010 at 3:59 pm
First-ever female winner of Best Director. It’s good to see Hollywood and the Academy begin to overcome their sexism.
I haven’t seen either movie. From what I’ve heard, I’ve no doubt that Avatar reflects far superior craftsmanship than does Hurt.
The Academy has a long history of giving the Best Pic award to what history shows to have been the wrong movie.
> BB: On the one hand, it’s great that a woman has finally won the award. Her work is very good. On the other hand, The Hurt Locker pales by comparison to Avatar as a feat of filmmaking.
I guess the Academy had a different political agenda this year.
> ML: “Avatar” is the biggest pro-diversity and pro-ecological, and anti-imperialist, movie in the history of movies. There can be no question about this.
“Avatar” is the most high-grossing film in the history of Russian cinema. “Hurt Locker” i have not heard of.
I need some advice for my blog….I like your layout. Can you help me? 9 7 8
Obama comments on Health really hit hard – America needs vision and leadership and hes the man to do it.
What new video today?
Biden in Israel, and backlash to The Hurt Locker.
Not surprising, in that Hurt Locker has only done $5 million in international box office …
> sergei says:
March 9, 2010 at 3:10 am (Edit)
“Avatar” is the most high-grossing film in the history of Russian cinema. “Hurt Locker” i have not heard of.
Indeed.
> Clutch J says:
March 8, 2010 at 7:03 pm (Edit)
I guess the Academy had a different political agenda this year.
> ML: “Avatar” is the biggest pro-diversity and pro-ecological, and anti-imperialist, movie in the history of movies. There can be no question about this.
Well, it’s not like Cameron needs more awards. I would give best picture to Avatar, which an absolute cinematic game-changer, and best director to Bigelow, who is a terrific and under-recognized director. Who actually advised Cameron on Avatar, as it happens, and vice versa.
> Clutch J says:
March 8, 2010 at 7:02 pm (Edit)
I haven’t seen either movie. From what I’ve heard, I’ve no doubt that Avatar reflects far superior craftsmanship than does Hurt.
The Academy has a long history of giving the Best Pic award to what history shows to have been the wrong movie.
> BB: On the one hand, it’s great that a woman has finally won the award. Her work is very good. On the other hand, The Hurt Locker pales by comparison to Avatar as a feat of filmmaking.
He’s not the absent minded professor there …
> marcos leon says:
March 8, 2010 at 6:47 pm (Edit)
Obama is finding his voice anew. I like it. He can turn health care into a big positive for him, the party, and the country, if he uses his skills to do it.
steps to get your ex back…
Totally agree with everything you said…
get back together after break up…
Awesome post love the style…
I’d be inclined to consent with you on this. Which is not something I usually do! I enjoy reading a post that will make people think. Also, thanks for allowing me to comment!