Asymmetric

After weeks of picking winners, Obama finally gets to fulfill the other duty of liberal fascists, picking losers. The first victim is GM's Wagoner. I happen to agree with Obama on this one and only wish that he would be this straight-forward and disciplined when it comes to other industries, like economically nonviable energy, Obama's winners.

It's not entirely a coincidence that Obama's flash of tough centrism comes a day before a special congressional election in New York.

Nothing is ever as good or bad as it seems, but the race between Republican Tedisco and Democrat Murphy in NY-20 is huge. If a veteran Republican can't win over a Republican district after it's become clear that the Democratic President wants to stagnate the country into a Euro-style economic malaise and limit personal freedom, it will be a very depressing day for conservatives.

Dennis Prager picks up on another example of environmental ridiculousness, similar to mine on DDT and Malaria:

Use a tiny slice of an Arctic tundra that nobody will ever visit, yield energy that people can use today, and bring states revenue? "No way, you despoilers."

Tens of thousands of acres of desert that people can actually visit to produce tiny drops of government-subsidized energy, for half the day in the best of conditions, "Of course!"

We shouldn't do anything to stop North Korea from launching a rocket. South Korea is far richer, populous, and thanks to the North's communism, about three inches taller than their Norther cousins; the South can handle this themselves. They can ask Japan for help too.

Technical problems have kept me from my Juan Cubanoseedian duties recently.

Here's a nice jam called "Sonando" by Maraca. Typical of much modern Cuban music, the lyrics are rambling and the singing, unmelodious chanting, improvised in the montuno style.

The playing is very good and the music has a quality hook.

Cuban Nights

As it pertains to the use of condoms in combating AIDS in Africa, the Pope is correct dogmatically, of course, but also from a social scientific perspective.

In short, condoms are useful in individual contacts, but can't replace the Christian message of chastity at a societal level.

Critics on Facebook would point out that the pope has an ulterior motive (it can't be called a "hidden agenda" as the intent is clear). They'd be right. The Church might still be against condoms even if they were effective in preventing AIDS on a mass scale.

But the pope isn't the only one with an agenda and the Catholic Church isn't the only institution to prioritize dogma. The other popular Western religious movement, environmentalism, has placed bird eggs above African babies for close to forty years by discouraging the use of DDT. They're efforts, usually by tying money to the non-use of DDT, have constituted a de facto ban on DDT that has resulted in millions of deaths (there is a time when environmentalists care quite a bit about malaria: when it spoons with another agenda, global warming).

To summarize the environmentalist mindset:

Global warming: little evidence, ambiguous impact (it may be positive), efforts to control it will be super-expensive (trillions upon trillions) and may not even have any effect- "Let's go for it!"

Malaria reduction through DDT: Cheap, guaranteed to save millions of lives- "no way!"

Mainstream evidence here, here, here, here, here, and here.

In order for the cartoon above to make any kind of sense, either:

1. After Germany had withdrawn German citizens by force from the Polish Corridor in 1938, Poland would had to have attacked German civilians with rockets and sent suicide bombers to Berlin cabarets, while calling for Germany's destruction; and Germany would had to have reacted with a targeted raid in Warsaw.

or

2. Israel would had to have staged an unprovoked attack on Poland, taken its territories, and captured a percentage of the Polish population for an extermination program.

I don't know what it says about the state of our culture that a good percentage of the best movies from the last fifteen years have been for children (animation's share of the best comedies over that time period is even greater. How many adult comedies are as funny as Shrek, Toy Story, Monsters Inc., Ratatouille, etc.?).

I do completely understand their appeal, however. Pixar and Dreamworks seemingly have the most clever writers, talented computer artists, and competent directors. They're able to create bi-leveled movies with something for both adults and children while providing their audience a safe haven from adult themes and tradition-shattering foolishness.

In Monsters vs. Aliens, an meteor hits girl-next-door Susan on her wedding day. The meteor contains quantonium which, as everybody knows, is the most powerful substance in the universe. Susan absorbs the quantonium, and it makes her grow to gigantic proportions.

The government captures and places her in a holding cell with Dr. Cockroach, Ph.D., an insect-headed mad scientist, the Missing Link, a 20,000-year-old fish-man, B.O.B., a gelatin-like, jolly, indestructible monster and Insectosaurus, a fuzzy bug that stands at 350 feet tall.

Each of them has strengths and weaknesses that interplay with each other to great comedic effect.

They bond while in jail. Dr. Cockroach attempts to help Susan realize her dream of getting back to normal size and thus being reuniting with her fiance, Derek Dietl.

Meanwhile, evil alien Gallaxhar has a dream of his own, to get the quantonium and conquer earth.

Gallaxhar sends a giant robot probe to earth to find the quantonium. The government dispatches the monster team to San Francisco to engage the probe. Susan discovers her super powers and defeats the probe.

Gallaxhar goes himself to earth and captures Susan.

The last part of the film concerns the monsters' battle to rescue Susan and defeat Gallaxhar.

Subplots include Susan's relationship with her fiance and a very brief crisis of confidence from Link after "a girl" saves the world instead of himself.

MvA is both more and less than similar efforts. It's more because it treats classic horror movie fans to The Blob, Attack of the 50-foot Woman (Susan grows to 49'11" in MvA), Creature from the Black Lagoon, Mothra, and The Fly references.

It's less because we've seen this type of ironic humor before. Which doesn't mean that the jokes aren't funny. Gags like the situation room girl screaming after every alien update and the president greeting the aliens with a synthesizer had me LOL.

The animation and 3D effects are as stunning as you'd expect.

Politics/Message:

We have a "follow your heart"/"acceptance of difference/self" theme and a tea spoon's worth of feminism in that Susan must independentcize herself from Derek.

Otherwise, MvA is a very conservative movie. There's duty and loyalty stuff. The writers respect marriage by not having Susan and Derek say "I do."

What makes MvA a right-wing snickerfest, however, is whom the writers lampoon. Movies that make fun of conservatives portray them as prudes, ignoramuses, hypocrites, or war mongers.

There's a character named "W.R. Monger," but he's a real hero, more like the harsh drill sergeant from Stripes than a blustery coward like the DI's captain.

The way to make fun of liberals is to show them as naive and foolish. The president's insistence of a friendly encounter with the Gallaxhar's robot probe after which he's attacked, reminiscent of the welcoming scene in Mars Attacks!, and his cowardly, useless, media-motivated, reactions afterward, qualify as liberal parody. Now, whom does the MvA president resemble more: war hero McCain or the relatively inexperienced and untested man who beat him?

There's also a scene where the staffers react to the crisis by wanting to offer the aliens Green Cards and asking, "What would Oprah do?" before being set strait by Monger.

Cast and credits below:

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Tags: aliens versus monsters, make fun of obama