Must see: War Made Easy

This movie, War Made Easy, just vaulted to the top of my Netflix que, and it looks like a good one.

The trailer above is a trip down not-so-great-memory lane - some 1950s footage of some warmongers I don't know, and then just about every president from Johnson through George W. Bush pledging that "we desire peace," when just about every one of them have done things to either provoke war, prolong war, or start a war. It's pretty amusing listening to President Bush say, with a straight face, "We desire peace," isn't it?

The only two presidents I can think of since Johnson who don't have war blood on their hands are Carter and Clinton, and the former had a truly disastrous foreign policy that led to other disasters anyway. Clinton went to war in Kosovo, which was a just and politically courageous thing to do, but he surly must be haunted by the senseless slaughter of our troops in Somalia, as well as his inaction during the Rwandan genocide.

Anyway, I'm really looking forward to watching this DVD and writing about it. Based on the trailer, it looks thought-provoking at worst. At best, I hope it's a long-overdue, thorough examination of our warmongering society and mentality.

The movie is narrated by Sean Penn, and I'm not sure how I feel about that. I've admired him for his outspokenness in the past on President Bush and the War in Iraq, but his visiting Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez is crossing a line that I'm not happy about at all. In fact, it's a disgrace. I'm fan of President Bush either, but meeting with a foreign leader who has verbally attacked the United States and threatened war makes no sense whatsoever. The sad part about Penn's visit to Chávez is that he's probably turned off just about anyone who previously would have at least given him a chance regarding his political views. First we had Hanoi Jane, and now we have Hugo Sean? Shame on you, Sean.

Anyway, the movie looks terrific, and I don't care who's narrating it.

War Made Easy is now available on DVD.

Some unflattering Giuliani revelations

I'm sitting here, literally shaking in anger, because I just typed a very long post (which I will not try to recreate) that got lost because of Blogger. Nothing makes me happier than when I spend a 1/2 hour typing something, hit "Publish" and "Error" comes up. I hit the back button, and *Poof!* it's gone, just like President Bush's credibility. Some day, I have to learn to do two things: 1. Learn that the 1 time in 100 that I don't insanely save my work every two minutes, it will be lost in cyberspace, and 2. Get the hell off of Blogger. As great as this Website can be, it has lots of drawbacks, too. It's not happening anytime soon, but at some point, I will get my own Website and URL, and Count Me Blue will have a new home. Okay, rant over.

These clips are just a bit dated, but nonetheless still relevant to Rudy Giuliani. It seems that the mayor's law firm, Bracewell & Giuliani, has Citgo, the Venezuelan state-owned petroleum company, on its books as one of its clients. This should be a major embarrassment to "America's Mayor," who should know better than to begin a presidential campaign with this dirty little secret still in his closet. Venezuela's president, Hugo Chávez, is a sworn enemy of the United States. During this current Bush Administration, Chávez has made great sport of poking President Bush in the eye with inflammatory comments at the U.N. and pretty much around the world to anyone who will listen. As a result of Chávez's actions, Citgo has been the target of a well-publicized boycott by U.S. consumers. I haven't seen any Citgo stations in the Northeast in some time, but I wouldn't buy any gas in a Citgo station if there were any, just like I refuse to buy any gas at an ExxonMobile gas station. Anyway, this has got to be embarrassing to Rudy.



I'm sure more details about this will come out, but it's a pretty interesting discovery. Right or wrong, Rudy should know better. Of course the press is going to go sniffing around a candidate's personal and professional life before and during the campaign. I can't say that I always agree with it, either, but it's the reality of American politics in the 21st century. I haven't read all that much about this, but I will and I'm sure I'll have more to say. But, if true, it's outrageous.

One quick point of fact, Mr. Mayor - just shy of 3,000 Americans died on 9-11, not "four of five thousand." I'd expect "America's Mayor" to get that right.

I'm no fan of the president, which is hardly news, but Chávez is openly anti-American, and Giuliani's law firm has no business representing Citgo in any way. (Hey, I'm an American first and a Democrat second, always.)

However, there's another incident that should be at least as embarrassing to Giuliani as the Citgo revelations....



The national firefighters union is openly anti-Giuliani and has publicly stated so on many occasions during the last few weeks. At best, this should be pretty troubling to Giuliani and any of his supporters.

This is another topic that I won't pretend to know all of the facts about, but if the firefighters are this strongly opposed to "America's Mayor," on it's face I certainly give it credibility. What I do know is it's a disgrace that citizens and rescue workers were allowed in so quickly after the collapse of the Twin Towers and WTC 7. The adverse effects of this are going to be felt among some of the rescue workers and citizens of lower Manhattan will not be fully realized for years to come. The tendency to Monday Morning Quarterback some of the decisions made on 9-11 is pretty myopic, especially considering the chaos following the attacks. However, the health of residents in lower Manhattan and the rescue workers should have been the first concern, without fail. I've read some reports that the air quality in and around Ground Zero was moderately to very hazardous. It's important to remember that Guiliani was making these decisions. I've read that Rudy was concerned that the NYSE would relocate, and that was the rationale behind many of his decisions.

I take this view about 9-11 - if Guiliani is going to run on 9-11, then his record and decision making will inevitably get some scrutiny. Critics of that ought to remember John Kerry running in 2004 on his war record, and the microscope that got shoved up his derrière.

I plan on doing a whole lot more reading on Rudy later on this year, specifically a movie that examines the decisions that he made before, during and after 9-11. The book, Grand Illusion: The Untold Story of Rudy Giuliani and 9/11, is written by Wayne Barrett and Dan Collins. I'm waiting until June when it comes out in paperback for half the price. I only buy hardcover if I find them dirt cheap or if the book's a must read.

Anyway, the book has received a great deal of attention, and I've read it sheds a pretty bright light on Giuliani's decisions relating to 9-11. We'll see. Perhaps the book will also better explain the animosity between the FDNY and Rudy. Part of it I know stems from Rudy's calling off the recovery of some bodies, including some New York Firefighters. Was it too soon or not? Who knows, but I find it troubling that remains of 9-11 victims continue to be discovered in and around Ground Zero.

Anyway, I can't miss the opportunity to post this footage, which is truly disturbing, and hilarious.



Rudy in drag is one scary sight. I don't know whether to wince, laugh or scream out in pain while watching this. It's kinds like the sun - you just have to look away. And The Donald? What was he thinking? I know it's just a joke, and I can take a joke as well as anyone, so I guess in the end Rudy deserves some props for having the confidence and sense of humor to do it. But seriously, there's something pretty disturbing about a man in drag. Rudy makes Mrs. Doubtfire look hot.

The Hugo dustup - anyone ever heard of "sticks 'n stones"?

I got a big kick out of the whole dustup that resulted from Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez's remarks at the United Nations last week about President Bush. Here is what he said:

"And the devil came here yesterday," said Chávez, referring to President Bush, who delivered a speech from the same podium the previous day. "And it smells of sulfur still today, this table that I am now standing in front of."

Okay, Hugo's a dick. This is not in doubt. But, it's also not in doubt that this is America, and people are free to say what they want to say.

However, the biggest entertainment about the whole incident didn't come from Chávez, it came from the Republican right. What a surprise. How DARE you criticize our president!

Anyway, I found a pretty good piece by Jeff Cohen of Alternet about the whole comedy. He sums it up a whole lot better than I can. Get the whole article Here. An excerpt of what Cohen had to say - pretty poignant prose:

Across the U.S. political and media spectrum, there was wide agreement yesterday: Name-calling and personal attacks are bad for national and global dialogue. Prompting the unity were Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez' comments that President Bush was the devil incarnate, "El Diablo."

Among those exercised (and exorcized) about Chavez' name-calling were some of the loudest name-callers in American media today -- including Rush Limbaugh and other rightwing talk hosts. Limbaugh tried to equate Chavez' remarks with the alleged Bush-bashing that comes from top U.S. Democrats. In case you've forgotten, it was Limbaugh who ridiculed Chelsea Clinton, then 13, as the "White House dog."

It was Limbaugh in 2001 who routinely referred to Democratic leader Tom Daschle, literally, as "El Diablo." Along with "Devil in a Blue Dress" theme music, Limbaugh would carry on at length about how Daschle may well be Satan in soft-spoken disguise.

Well said, Mr. Cohen.

The reference to Limbaugh had me laughing about him, as usual. I think God for people like him - he does quite little to advance the Republican cause. I found this funny parody of him on the 'Net - just had to share...

One last thing - here's what the self-righteous Rush had to say about illicit drug use/addiction in October 1995: "Too many whites are getting away with drug use...the answer is to go out and find the ones who are getting away with it, convict them and send them up the river too."

Well said, windbag. Yea, I'm a name caller, too. It's my right as an American, and it's one of the main tenets this country was founded on. In a free and open society, we have to put up with language we don't like - even if it's from Hugo Chávez.