RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: Katy Perry and The Cabin in the Woods
Plus, a wide variety of releases and an Indiana Jones collection.
This week on home video, we've got a lot of new releases to discuss, including some very well-received movies and a couple of outright flops, as well as a collection of movies some of us have been waiting quite a while to get on Blu-ray. See below for the full list!
The Cabin in the Woods
92%
Before unleashing the blockbuster behemoth that was The Avengers upon the world, Joss Whedon collaborated with former Buffy the Vampire Slayer colleague Drew Goddard on The Cabin in the Woods. Intended as a satire of traditional horror movie tropes, Cabin centered on a stereotypical group of teens (headlined by Chris "Thor" Hemsworth) who decide to head to the woods for a vacay, only to discover their cabin is no ordinary cabin. We don't want to give away much more than that, because, as anyone who's seen the movie will tell you, the less you know about it going in, the better. Suffice it to say that most critics found The Cabin in the Woods funny, strange, subversive, and thrilling enough to give it a Certified Fresh 90%.
Katy Perry: Part of Me
77%
Look how far Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (aka Katy Perry) has come in just the four years since she "kissed a girl" and "liked it." This California gurl's star has risen high and quickly, like fireworks, and one might say she's living the teenage dream; a concert biopic seemed like a foregone conclusion. Luckily, critics largely felt that Katy Perry: Part of Me, which blends concert footage with personal testimony from Perry herself to depict her career trajectory, was a success, partially due to Perry's genuine likability, but also because of her inspiring work ethic, her dazzling stage show, and a few moments of raw emotion. It might feel a bit self-congratulatory to some, but it's decently made and Certified Fresh at 77%.
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
78%
Coming off the strong reception for his 2011 thriller The Debt, director John Madden went with a decidedly gentler story in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Based on the Deborah Moggach novel These Foolish Things, Best Exotic focuses on a group of aging British retirees who decide to move to India for various personal reasons after seeing an ad for the newly restored Marigold Hotel there. Cultures clash, of course, but the experience ultimately proves rewarding. Lead by an impressive cast of veterans that includes Judi Dench, Tom Wilkinson, Maggie Smith, and Bill Nighy, The Best Exotic Marigold hotel overcomes its somewhat familiar themes with genuine tenderness and some top-notch acting, earning it a Certified Fresh 77% on the Tomatometer.
The Magic of Bell Isle
29%
Morgan Freeman's voice is like hot butter on your breakfast toast, but how does it sound when he plays a crotchety old grump with alcoholic tendencies? Freeman here plays Monte Wildhorn, a down-on-his-luck novelist who decides to spend a summer in a lakeside cabin and ends up finding inspiration in the young family next door. Despite his best efforts to bring menace to the character, Freeman simply can't outperform the predictability of the narrative, which was too shamelessly sentimental for critics, even if earnestly so. Virginia Madsen, Fred Willard, and Kenan Thompson all have decent supporting turns, but in the end, most critics simply found the whole affair a bit corny, veering into made-for-TV territory. Also, did we forget to mention Rob Reiner directed this?
Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap
96%
There have been lots of films that have attempted to relate the history of rap music, but we'd argue that few of them could offer the kind of insight and access available to Ice-T, one of the genre's early superstars. In The Art of Rap, co-directed by Ice-T and Andy Baybutt, the former gangster rapper/hard rocker-turned-actor engages in intimate conversations with rap icons ranging from Afrika Bambaataa and Marley Marl to Common and Eminem, capturing both candid revelations and even some impromptu freestyles. What emerges is a collection of unfiltered thoughts on the progression of rap, and while it may not offer the most comprehensive portrait of its history, The Art of Rap is vibrant, engaging, and enlightening. At 96%, it certainly deserves a watch, especially if you're a fan of the music.
Chico & Rita
86%
Nominated earlier this year for Best Animated Feature Film at the Oscars, the Spanish film Chico & Rita is that rare animated movie aimed squarely at adults, particularly those with an affinity for jazz. Initially set in 1940s Cuba, the story chronicles the complicated romance between Chico, a talented songwriter and pianist, and Rita, a beautiful and equally gifted singer, as they meet, fall in love, travel the world, and navigate the path of heartache down which their love affair so often takes them. Critics were largely smitten with Chico & Rita, calling it a lavish production full of sensuality, rich colors, and impeccable music choices; though a few pined for stronger characterizations and dialogue, most were content to let the film wash over them, and for that, it's earned a Certified Fresh 86%.
The Babymakers
8%
The good people of the Broken Lizard comedy troupe have brought us a couple of poorly reviewed but widely beloved cult classics (Super Troopers, Beerfest), but their latest outing looked as though it fit, even superficially, among the slew of relationship-based indie comedies out these days. The Babymakers stars Olivia Munn and Paul Schneider as married couple Audrey and Tommy, who are having fertility problems due to Tommy's low sperm count. The obvious solution? Rob the sperm bank, as hilarity presumably ensues all around. Sadly enough, critics felt the film too often mistook raunch for humor and essentially wasted the talents of its otherwise capable cast. The result was the lowest-rated Broken Lizard production at a dismal 10% Tomatometer score, which makes it only slightly worse than either of the two aforementioned comedies, at least according to critics.
Indiana Jones: The Complete Adventures
Sure, there are lots of people who like to pretend the Indiana Jones saga ended with the initial trilogy, but we can't simply remove The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull from cinematic history, and besides, even that final installment has its fair share of defenders. With that in mind, this week brings us "The Complete Adventures" 5-disc Blu-ray set, which contains all four Indiana Jones movies on individual discs and about seven hours of extras on the fifth. While almost all of the bonus content is ported over from previous releases, aside from an hourlong 2-part doc with lots of behind-the-scenes goodness, the real draw here is getting the classic Indy movies on Blu-ray for the first time, so if you've been waiting, here's your first chance to grab all of them at once.
Also available this week:
- David Fincher's paranoid thriller The Game arrives in a brand new Criterion Collection Edition.
- Marcel Carné's 1945 classic Children of Paradise, which was previously available in a Criterion Collection edition, also gets a shiny new update, including a Blu-ray release.
- Japanese director Sion Sono's (probably best known for 2002's Suicide Club) campy, manic take on love and sexuality, Love Exposure, arrives this week.
Big Brother
Count me in the group that's happy with my original trilogy Indy DVD's. I'll be getting Cabin in the Woods though. Saw it in theaters and really enjoyed it. Only thing better for me than Morgan Freeman voice is Joss Whedon dialog. Now if we ever got Morgan Freeman to read Joss Whedon dialog who doggy, look out.
Sep 17 - 05:22 PM
Gordon Terry
Now, if we could get you NOT to vote for Mitt Romney on November 6th . . . (today Romney said that 47% of the voters are receiving government hand-outs -- your Republican candidate is misinformed now; think of how more misinformed he'll be in The White House) // his running-mate is younger than you are. (Even Clint Eastwood struck-out against The Republican Party today). Maybe Clint is trying to generate more movie-tickets for his Curve-movie.
Sep 18 - 03:39 PM
The Watcher
The funniest thing about this is that more republican voters are on EI than Democrats.
Sep 18 - 06:17 PM
Infernal Dude
Wow. Give it a break Gordon. Be more intolerant and over generalize everything. Does changing Big Brothers voting choice really make a difference?
Sep 18 - 10:00 PM
Big Brother
What he actually said was 47% of American's think of themselves as victims looking for a handout. I think the only thing wrong with that is he got his percentage a bit low compared to previous generations. I think if you try to engage people in political discourse a larger portion than 47% come off as entitled spoiled children looking for someone else to blame and solve their problems for them. Does that kind of rhetoric win elections? No. Does it make it any less true? Also, no. We like to hear about how great and brave we are and how are butt is so much more precious than everybody else's, but all that leads to is unemployment when their are jobs available because we're too good to work those jobs, people crapping out kids they can't afford just to get more welfare and the belief that one man and his hope were going to save us from a recession without any input or effort on our part. If you're willing to buy that bill of goods again, you're more than welcome to stay the course. I think a change is needed. unfortunately, change means Romney, not ideal, but all I've got under the current system. Personally who I think the country needs is Colin Powell, but apparently he's so whipped by his wife that he won't run. Mores the pity.
Sep 18 - 10:29 PM
Infernal Dude
All over the place, man. I don't agree with Gordons pestering you but you are making very contradicting points. In the end, Romney's not a change. We have tried deregulation and tax cuts. Didn't work. But you vote for who you want Brother. Just don't be bitter if you lose or proud if you win. Because in the end.... your vote meant shit. Just like Gordons. Now MY vote is what matters because I'm voting for..... TO BE CONTINUED. Mu-ah ha ha ha!!!
Sep 18 - 11:22 PM
Janson Jinnistan
Because the richest 1% certainly never come off as spoiled over the issue of having to pay record low tax rates. Keep digging that hole, Mittens.
Sep 19 - 12:33 AM
Big Brother
Yeah and just because the rich do that makes it ok to emulate a bad example. It's that kind of argument that is so damaging to getting a handle on our problems. Just because someone else does something marginally stupider than us, doesn't excuse our own stupidity. "The rich are MORE responsible for the problems of our economy, so my contribution to the problem rather than the solution is cancelled out." The Poor and the Rich, the democrats and republicans (God willing someday soon many other parties with inputs), the Christians and the Atheists, etc, etc need to stop jibing at each other and working against one another and start figuring out how to compromise and come up with honest to god best solutions for everyone instead of just the best solution for their particular sect, demographic or issue.
Infernal Dude, I agree with your tolerance of differing opinions. It's sorely lacking from open discourse. Believe you me, I don't think Romney is perfect. If it wasn't clear from my earlier post I consider him for lack of a better phrase the lesser of two evils. I do disagree with you however that he's not a change of pace. Yes, we tried deregulation and tax cuts and it didn't work that time so close to the worst hit to the economy since the great depression (9/11), but this ain't a Wild-E-Coyote cartoon one attempt isn't the limit for each idea, nor is that the extent of idea's on the table. I look at America today and don't like what I see so I can't in good conscience vote for staying the course.As you say though, those are just my thoughts. If Obama wins again he'll have my best wishes that his second term goes better than the first. I wouldn't wish ill on any Presidential regime, that is the very definition of cutting off your nose to spite your face.
Sep 19 - 06:43 AM
Janson Jinnistan
Why are you trying this hard, Gordon? Don't you think Romney is doing an adequete enough job of proving why he isn't presidential material. Despite BB's protests, anyone who honestly thinks half the country are "victims" who don't take personal responsibility for themselves (nevermind that Reagan actually passed the earned income tax credit - the reason why half the country doesn't pay income tax) were NOT going to vote for Obama under any circumstance. Let the rich have their tantrum, sit back and laugh, and let it all play itself out in the next couple of months.
Sep 19 - 12:31 AM
Big Brother
I was actually very close to voting for Obama last election and I voted for Clinton in the first election I was allowed to vote in 1996 and I wasn't disappointed when he got elected. I like McCain's track record and lifestory better, but I was as interested to see as anyone if the Presidents rhetoric could become reality, a modern day JFK if you will. Sadly, I can't say he's come close to living up to the promises. That makes me sadder than you'll ever know. If the economy and job rate had turned around I'd be the first one there to pull the ballot for a second term. For me his three rousing successes haven't been enough for me. He got us out of Iraq, but it's still up in the air how that situation is going to settle and we're still as bad or worse than ever in Afghanistan, Healthcare I was never excited about to begin with and even if I was we got such a half-assed solution passed I can't imagine how anyone is happy with it and The Arab Spring which I give the President full credit for is starting to sour. He handled the first part beautifully, but is on shaky ground again with this new situation in Libya/Egypt.
Please don't try to take my feelings on this one issue and try to paint me as a dyed in the wool anything. I fully support Gay-Marriage, an open immigration policy and think we need much stricter gun control laws just to name a few of my more prevalent left leanings. I'm not a staunch Democrat or Republican, I'm just a big fan of personal accountability and taking responsibility for your own lot in life and I don't see a lot of that in peoples words and actions. I fully understand that that's not popular, who likes to be called a whiner even if you are. Believe me, if the govt solving all my problems was a viable option I'd gladly take my place in a hammock and drink umbrella drinks, but it's not. Welfare needs to be revamped so the goal is to as quickly and efficiently as possible get off it, Unions need to realise their purpose is to make sure people aren't abused and membership should be optional. Not to insist all their members live like kings at the expense of their industries viability, exclusion of non-members and employment of incompetent members just because they're union. Again these are my thoughts, if you disagree I'd love to hear your view point, preferably in a civilized, polite and intelligent manner.
Sep 19 - 07:06 AM
Janson Jinnistan
Strange place for this discussion. I blame Katy Perry. At issue is the misnomer you mentioned above, that 9/11 represented the "worst hit on our economy". Not so. It didn't have anywhere near the negative effect as the financial crises of 2008, which needs to be seen as a separate issue, and one that was the responsibility of Wall Street dating back to the 80s, essentially creating a commodity market off of trading debt obligations. This is a complicated issue, and unfortunately most people don't understand it. The mortgage-backed securities that led to the crises were just the latest in a long line of consolidated debt instruments, fueled by the housing bubble, that went belly up quite independantly of anything related to 9/11 or the war on terror, etc.
Seeing how most (if not all) of the audience Romney was speaking to in the latest tape are the exact type of hedge-fund investors who were profiting off of this "new" economy, Mitt's invocation of class warfare (the half of Americans who actually expect government to function in some kind of way) follows up on his similar expressions of 1% entitlement - not having to show his tax returns, building his Bane career almost entirely on this type of vulture...I mean "venture" capitalism that exploits the use of debt to flay the flesh off of otherwise profitable businesses.
You see, the problem is that what was once a manufacturing economy (and a very productive one) was turned into a debt-producing economy by the exact type of financial firms that Romney was a part of. For someone who has profited so much on obligating as much debt onto businesses that drove them into bankruptcy (after, of course, collecting his lucrative service fees), he seems like an odd choice to be the fiscally responsible president.
In a way, this was the same plan that W used - rack up the credit card (unpaid wars, tax cuts, Medicare D) and then auction off pieces of government apparatus that the debt has caused to fail - education, post office, military services (to Blackwater, etc).
The mafia used to do this too. Buy a restaurant, run up the tab, and when the bill came due, burn it down and collect the insurance money. The government "insurance" money is Social Security, and they are hell-bent on getting their grubby hands on that too.
Sep 19 - 07:44 AM
Big Brother
It's a matter of interpretation I guess. I remember both obviously and it seemed to me that 9/11 based on being something no one saw coming rather than the housing bubble bursting which I remember people predicting back in 2003 seemed worse. I admit though it could just be because 9/11 was such a more obvious in your face blow skewing my perception. I haven't looked into the full numbers to back it up and don't think it's something really tangible.
Agree with you about the manufacturing vs commodity based economy though I think you're spinning Romney's words and making him a scapegoat for a bigger issue to support your view. He wasn't talking about people expecting their govt to do any kind of work or function on a basic level. He was talking about people who blame the govt for all their problems and expect the govt to insure their happiness regardless of what they do. People who grossly misinterpret the function of govt. I also think he was referring to those people from a campaign perspective. I.E. no matter what I say those people aren't going to vote for me, not that he doesn't care what happens to them. The thing that interests me about this 47% scandal is the sheer number of people taking offense. If you're not one of that percentage and aren't doing what Romney said, why are you offended? It's like me saying "Lazy people suck." If you're not a lazy person why are you getting offended by the comment or getting wrapped up in the percentages if you're not one of them or at least on some level thinking of yourself as one. As for his Bain Capital/Business dealings/track record perhaps this is just me being a cynic but I honestly can never tell how much of that crap is true and how much is just the political spin put on it and perhaps more cynically I'm not sure I believe that their's a politician out there who wouldn't step over an orphan if there was $5 profit in it for him. I just don't really have an honest feel for any of them. Obama could be strangling puppies in the Oval Office for all I know. Romney could have a penchant for punching old people in the groin on weekends. What it comes down to for me is can the guy running for President do a good job and possibly solve some of our problems. Based on 4 years performance I can't say I think it's likely President Obama can do either, Romney, maybe. I'm willing to give him a chance and if he sucks in 4 years I'll hold out hope for better. I will speak to one thing I do know though and that's that the military was far better off under Bush than it has been under the current President. Blackwater once again is just a political buzzword in order to get a reaction. Blackwater was a very minor contracting firm in the scale of things and did way less supplanting of the military than you give them credit for. They were as I said a very small portion of a contracting effort that during the fog of war managed to find loopholes in the system to slip thru and do things they shouldn't of and were fairly quickly discovered and shut down in short order. What they did was much less offensive to me than the policies currently at work from Secretary Pannetta to downsize hardworking and valuable members of the military thru Perform to Serve programs which basically amount to a 1 strike and you're out policy and medical based reviews for members who can't perform their physical readiness tests twice due to medical reasons and the ever popular "Do more with less" catchphrase that has come back in vogue. People seem to have quickly forgotten how undermanned we were and how costly that was at the start of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Unless you're willing to bet we're not going to get into another armed conflict in the future I don't see how you justify returning the military to those levels. In addition, it mystifies me why this President or Democrats in general with the policies they support would want to. If you're having trouble finding a job and are seriously willing to work for it instead of getting on welfare, join the military. The big government you like will take care of you until you get on your feet and provide you with all your basic needs until you can support yourself and universal healthcare, baby we got it. It's not as great as you might imagine, but we got it. Gays finally welcome too and you get to put your money where your mouth is when you talk about loving your country. We don't have the problems with racism to the degree they plague the private sector. Heck, the military when it comes down to it is a liberal paradise AND Republicans support us too why the heck would you want to downsize that? OK my stump for the military is over now. Back to debating political issues in a movie forum :)
Sep 19 - 04:44 PM
Dave J
I'm not going to address everything you've written but I will say that the leaks already proved that Romney cannot govern a country since he contradicted everything he said about Obama about 'dividing up America', when in reality Romney's policies already "divided" America when he was caught talking about the unfortunate 47%! And you're sterotyping about the people who're on welfare because they're also plenty of successful people who used to live on food stamps etc.. or on gov't assistence and they say that if it wasn't for that extra boost or the help they got from the gov't, they wouldn't have been where they're today so Romney was stereotyping. People living in gov't assistance can also be the result of bad luck or victims of the recession caused by Bush and his overspending on the war, particularly the war on Iraq. More taxes toward the middle class than to taxing the wealthy 1 or 2% is also another reason why most Americans are living in welfare- I know because during my spare time I'm also a volunteer for the Salvation Army as well as other charities, if I can spare the time. Just the other day ex- gov Jesse Ventura claims that the only reason wealthy foreigners come to the US is to exploit the system and at the same time contribute more funds to their favorite campaigns to keep it the way it is.
And your suggestion that if they want a job, they should join the army, are you serious! So does this mean civilize human beings who don't agree with war have to go as well? People who have mental problems before triggering a kill spree should join the army just so they don't have to be on welfare? This is right wing thinking and it is dangerous because no one should be forced to join something if they don't have to! Not every person have the same type of mentality as you for they can trigger just for the sight of any type of violence or blood for that matter! When Jesse Ventura was on Piers Morgon live the other day, he even went so far as to say that Bush wanted 9/11 for he already received information that Jihads were going to attack but didn't do nothing to happen because acording to Ventura, Bush was looking for an excuse to go to war!
Sep 19 - 05:24 PM
Dave J
Let's get something straight Bigbrother, the only advice I can give you is that if one of the two Presidents is looking after your best interests is the one you should vote for eg if you re a blue collar worker making $250,000 or less then vote for Obama; if you're among the wealthiest 1- 2% then vote for Republican because Romney did say that if he does get in, he 'll go back taxing the middle class more as opposed to the wealthiest Americans!
Sep 19 - 05:31 PM
Big Brother
I don't have a problem with Welfare and agree with you it's a useful program if utilized as it was intended. I'm saying unlimited Welfare is a bad thing and checks need to be put in place to insure people are using Welfare as a sole means of support with no desire or encouragement to get off of it.
To your second point, I'm actually in favor of a flat tax. I don't think people should be punished for being successful, but on the flipside of that you also have to close several of the tax loopholes that allow the wealthy and their accountants to avoid paying taxes.
Lastly, as I said I believe every politician and I don't exclude Romney or Obama from this is out for himself and I'd ask you, how well has President Obama been looking out for you and the middle class the last four years? Not exactly in the best boat ever right now. I don't usually like to talk about my background, but I can assure you, I make well below your $250,000 threshold. Romneys taxcut plan is actually one of the weaker elements of his campaign for me. Sometimes like it or not you've gotta pay taxes, it's the most proven and reliable system for raising revenue. What I'm saying along with a lot of things I know is that I'm tired of everybody looking out for themselves, we need someone who's going to look after America. Romney probably isn't that guy either, but it's been proven in my eyes that President Obama isn't. I still remember where staying the course with President Bush got us, I'm in no hurry to do that again.
Sep 19 - 08:09 PM
Big Brother
Sorry, just read your last paragraph too. I was being semi-facetious about my military comments. Sorry that didn't come across, but based on your response, are you f'ing serious? You don't know me, certainly not enough to essentially call me and anyone else in the military murderers or in the old vernacular "baby killers". Obviously the military is not for everyone, but I WOULD question the credability of any able bodied individual who faced with the option of living on the street, not working, starving who would rather take a permanent handout from the govt rather than sacking up and going out and earning a living while defending said govt. The next time you feel the need to be so critical of a member of the military just remember you only have the right to be so critical because killers like us stepped forward and were willing to die for you to be so vocal with your ignorance. I apologise to everyone else in the forum for not being able to keep a civil tongue about that particular topic.
Sep 19 - 08:18 PM
Big Brother
P.S. Jesse Ventura is your guiding star now? Thanks, I needed a laugh.
Sep 19 - 08:20 PM
Janson Jinnistan
"The thing that interests me about this 47% scandal is the sheer number of people taking offense. If you're not one of that percentage and aren't doing what Romney said, why are you offended? It's like me saying "Lazy people suck." If you're not a lazy person why are you getting offended by the comment or getting wrapped up in the percentages if you're not one of them or at least on some level thinking of yourself as one."
Yeah, sheer number. It's almost as if he's talking about...approximately 150 million people or something. Gee, how come so many people are taking offense? Well, for the record, I am one of these 47%, as I qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit, which is what Romney is talking about - those Americans who don't earn enough to qualify to pay income tax. Nearly 100 million WORKING Americans qualify for this tax credit (including the military). If you are honestly suggesting that these people are lazy, or as Romney stated, feel they are "victims" who don't take "personal responsibility" for their lives, then I'm afraid any attempt at a civil discussion is impossible.
It also doesn't help to invoke what you don't know as a legitimate arguing point for either the comparable damage of the 2008 financial crises vs 9/11, or the established record of Romney's accomplishments at Bain Capital. This information is available and verifiable, and doesn't require keeping your head in the partisan sand.
Sep 19 - 09:41 PM
Dave J
Big Brother, I'm well aware about your military background and I appreciate your services, however, you definitely do not represent the thousands of abled Americans who may be physically fit to join but "mentally" cannot. There were two particular incidents where "stress" and "shock" may be contributing factors for those killing sprees- one happened in Iraq where the soldier went from house to house and just killed people at random; the second incident happened right here at home where an American soldier who happens to be a Muslim went into a base and started gunning everyone for no reason. Returned army veterans who assume that theirs nothing wrong with them but still cannot adapt to a normal sustainable life, and they're movies made about this, "Brothers", "Born On The Fourth Of July", "Birdy", "Coming Home" etc... The way to avoid further incidents such as this to ever happened again is to keep them away from the army until they're good and ready. I just saw the other day that skin heads are encouraged to join the military so that they can get the training they need for obvious reasons. And besides they're people who already know that joining the military is an option if they're not confident finding any work anywhere else and the turn out was high because of the recession left by George W Bush. And don't think I've spoke to war veterans myself, I've spoke to lots who're as of right now still living on the streets and cannot come back even if they wanted to because the army does not want them to which has alot to do with their mental capacity and are still in shock- some even moved up to Canada just for the health care when they couldn't get it down here! A great percentage of my money goes into helping war veterans who 'fell through the cracks', money they've told me they promise to pay back but cannot, which is one of the reasons why I have resorted buying most of my things used and second hand.
And I just want to say one last thing, if you've watched both conventions very carefully, anywhere did the Republicans ever mentioned about helping nor aiding war veterans! Throughout the whole time, the only time it was mentioned was when Clint Eastwood came up to the auditorium and was talking to a chair for comedic relief which overshadowed other speakers, as opposed to the Democratic convention which had consisted of several ethnicities war veterans was mentioned throughout at least 4 to five people! And Jansen is correct these 47% Romney was referring about also includes homeless war veterans with mental problems who cannot be hired but should be taken care of by our government.
P.S.And if you look at my comment very carefully 'no where' did I ever say that Jesse Ventura is my guiding star.
Sep 20 - 04:18 PM
Big Brother
J. I didn't say I wasn't aware of the financial background of the 2008 crisis, I just don't know how it compares to 9/11 financial impact since something as big as both is open to interpretation as to which was worse and harder to recover from. Most of the information I've seen on the subject has had at least some partisan bent to it. From a Presidential standpoint it's hard to compare the two as well because as you say the 2008 crash due in large part to the housing bubble was a very forseeable event whereas no one saw 9/11 coming and the psychological impact was far greater. I apologize for not being an authority on every subject in the world and admitting the possibility that political motivations can color an argument. As for Romney's Bain Capital record I AM aware of it, I just haven't reached the same conclusions as you have. All that tells me is that Romney is or more accurately was out for himself. As I said, I don't think he's got a monopoly on that in the political arena. Look at the verifiable information available about Bill Clinton's business and legal dealings prior to becoming President, didn't stop him from becoming an excellent President both on Economic and Foreign Policy issues. JFK's family money was based on mafia ties and bootlegging and his morality was certainly questionable. Excellent President. Nixon, scandals go without mentioning. Still excellent on foreign policy and got us out of Vietnam. Jimmy Carter, all around humanitarian and sweet human being. Shitty President. I find the debate amusing on Romney not understanding the plight of the common American. Last night President Obama had dinner at a private home in Tampa, Fl. The cost was 20,000 a plate. Yeah, he can really relate to the common man.
Dave, sorry if I went off a bit on you there, but I think you have a very skewed idea of what the military is. We are not all soldiers in the conventional sense, the vast majority of people in the military never see combat. You can join the military and become a computer programmer, a logistics guy, a finance specialist or an engineer almost anything you can learn to do in college you can learn the practical skills for in one of the military services or you can do like I did and take advantage of the G.I. Bill and Tuition assistance and get a degree in a subject completely unrelated to your chosen field. To your point about War Veterans there are several programs in place to get our veterans help. Wounded Warrior program, the VA just to name the most prominent. Also, I thought I was pretty clear with my opening paragraph that I don't have problem with people taking Welfare who legitimately need it, the loopholes and cracks just need to be closed up because it's very clear that there are a lot of people who are abusing it and using it as an excuse not to work. All I can tell you is that as a member of the military, I have never been as unhappy with the situation of military members or the govt policies pertaining to us as I am now. It's not even me personally, I've pretty much run my race and set my self up pretty nicely as long as I don't do anything stupid, let myself get fat or get injured in the next couple of years I'm pretty good to go. It's the young Sailors I see who are getting forced to get out because they did things that would have earned them a minor reprimand or been completely swept under the rug in the civilian world or under previous administrations.
Sep 20 - 04:20 PM
Dave J
First of all no apology needed anyway because you were merely making a point! And yes I agree they're military positions that didn't require persons to going to the battlefield however, I disagree when you say ""vast majority of people" since they're more than 6,000 American soldiers killed so far mostly as a result of fighting in Iraq and Afganistan much of it under the Republican administration. And some of those programs don't always work as you say because some of the veterans 'slip through the cracks'! In my opinion we shouldn't go to war until the American economy is fixed first!
"because it's very clear that there are a lot of people who are abusing it and using it as an excuse not to work" I want to address this point okay, a few bad apples does not represent the thousands of Americans who're legitimate- this is the same for everyone else whether it's wall street or any insurance agency, ones liable to find some bad apples regardless what it is, what you're doing is making an "assumption" without any proof. As a matter of fact, some of my peers even told me not to eat in some joints because they know some of the people working there because they're either unsanitary or that they actually spit on other peoples food, making the point that they're some good food establisments as well as some bad ones. They're also quite a good percentage of single mothers out there who cannot work at home and have to look after their kids at the same time for it's better for the gov't to look after them otherwise the parents can end up neglecting there children at any given time. So a policy should be put in place indicating that whatever money s/he receive must be spent here!
Sep 20 - 05:35 PM
Dave J
Wait a second, how can someone get any lower than welfare? And how do you know what the conditions are upon living under government money?
Sep 21 - 04:25 PM
Dave J
"Last night President Obama had dinner at a private home in Tampa, Fl. The cost was 20,000 a plate. Yeah, he can really relate to the common man. "
You're so right but how much was it to hear Romney speak before he was caught red handed? Was that $40,000 a plate- I guess that $20,000 a plate didn't seem that bad after all!
Sep 21 - 04:29 PM