2008 BUMPER STICKERS

Some of these are pretty funny ...

1) When Bush Took Office, Gas Was $1.46

2) 1/20/09: End of an Error

3) That's OK, I Wasn't Using My Civil Liberties Anyway

4) Let's Fix Democracy in THIS COUNTRY First

5) If You Want a Nation Ruled By Religion, Move to Iran

6) George Bush: Like a Rock. Only Dumber

7) You Can't Be Pro-War And Pro-Life At The Same Time

8) If You Can Read This, You're Not the President

9) Hey, Bush Supporters: Embarrassed Yet?

10) George Bush: Creating the Terrorists Our Kids Will Have to Fight

11) Already smarter than George Bush! (On a baby's t-shirt)

12) America : One Nation, Under Surveillance

13) They Call Him "W" So He Can Spell It

14) Cheney/Satan '08

15) Jail to the Chief

16) No, Seriously, Why Did We Invade?

17) Bush: God's Way of Proving Intelligent Design is Full Of Crap

18) Bad president! No Banana.

19) We Need a President Who's Fluent In At Least One Language

20) We're Making Enemies Faster Than We Can Kill Them

21) Is It Vietnam Yet?

22) Bush Doesn't Care About White People Either!

23) Where Are We Going? And Why Are We In This Handbasket?

24) You Elected Him. You Deserve Him.

25) Impeachment: It's Not Just for Sex Anymore

I NEED A SHIELD AGAINST BLUE CROSS

I've written several posts on this blog regarding the controversial topic of universal health care (if you're interested in a couple of them, click here or here). The tone of those posts was more on the "hey, here's some information" side of things ... but now I'm genuinely angry. On the front page of Tuesday's Los Angeles Times was a little gem of a story titled Doctors balk at request for data. I highly recommend reading the story yourself, but here's a quote that sums it up quite nicely:

The state's largest for-profit health insurer is asking California physicians to look for conditions it can use to cancel their new patients' medical coverage.

Blue Cross of California is sending physicians copies of health insurance applications filled out by new patients, along with a letter advising them that the company has a right to drop members who fail to disclose "material medical history," including "pre-existing pregnancies."

"Any condition not listed on the application that is discovered to be pre-existing should be reported to Blue Cross immediately," the letters say. The Times obtained a copy of a letter that was aimed at physicians in large medical groups.

I have to be honest here: I read things like this, and I have to ask why anyone on either side of the political spectrum would say that this way of doing business is, um, healthy for our nation. In Michael Moore's movie Sicko, he emphasizes early on that the film isn't about the people without health care; it's about people with it. This letter to doctors by Blue Cross is exactly the type of thing he's talking about. You see, Blue Cross and their ilk have a great little scam going: don't cover anyone with pre-existing conditions. And if someone gets really sick, try everything in your power not to cover them any longer. Another quote from the article:

Patients in a raft of lawsuits accuse the insurers of canceling coverage over honest mistakes and minor inconsistencies on applications that they contend are purposely confusing. Victims of cancer and other serious medical problems often are unable to get new coverage once their insurance has been rescinded and they may go without treatment when they need it most. Suddenly swamped by medical debt, some people have lost homes and businesses.

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are running around in Texas and Ohio right now trying to convince you that this needs to change. But all it seems to take is someone like Rudy Giuliani to yell, "Socialized medicine! Socialized medicine!," and we all run in fear. Well, let's get real .... Blue Cross doesn't care whether you're a Republican or a Democrat. If you have a pre-existing condition, they don't want to have anything to do with you. And if you have insurance -- and get really sick -- they will try to drop you. It's that simple. This letter reveals their true intentions.

People who don't want to change the state of our current health care are afraid of government bureaucrats running the system. Fine, I get that. But I ask you to think about Blue Cross's actions and ask yourself if corporate bureaucrats controlling your health is any better? The fact is that a corporation will do everything they can to maximize profits, because that's what they do. And you know what: that's okay. However, in the case of medical insurance companies, that means only covering healthy people. And that's wrong!

For what it's worth, I'm writing this as someone with a good job and top-of-the-line private insurance. And, yet, I still worry ... for all of us.

I MAY BE LEGEND

This is my last movie review for a while ... promise :)

QUICK PLOT SUMMARY
Will Smith plays Lieutenant Colonel Robert Neville, a man who appears to be the last survivor of humanity. In an ironic twist of fate, the cure for cancer mutates into a virus (side effects may include death or turning you into a zombie), but Neville is mysteriously immune to the bug. The benefits of surviving this plague are suspect as Neville spends his days in a desperate cycle of foraging for supplies, trying not to be eaten by infected humans, and searching for a cure. The movie is based on a 1954 book of the same name.

MY REVIEW
As I left the theater upon viewing I Am Legend, I couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. The film is certainly enjoyable, and it would be hard to argue that Will Smith doesn't deliver on all fronts. But none the less, uneasy was my mood. It wasn't until a couple hours after the film that it hit me, and I started to think about the Tom Hanks' movie Castaway. In both cases, the story centers around a man who is truly alone in the world and must learn to survive in the most hostile of environments (although, I think I'd take Hanks' situation over Smith's). The other similarity between these two vehicles is the emphasis on lack of human interaction and its negative effect on the mind. For Hanks, it is the volleyball, Wilson, that gets him through the tough times. For Smith's character, Robert Neville, it's his dog.

So, what does Castaway provide that I Am Legend lacks? Simply put, Mr. Neville could stand to catch a break or two along his journey, but no substantial victories were to be found. Now, I'm certainly not arguing that movies short on happiness are taboo, but in a film like this, you really do need to give your audience some hope intermingled with your tragedies. The moviegoer wants a reason to follow you through the adventure rather than simply experiencing two hours of physical and emotional torture. They need the hero to be, you know, heroic.

Again, I don't mean to imply the film is bad, because it's not. But it has issues. Over and above the high bummer quotient, I would also argue that it doesn't do a stellar job of paying off some of the setup. For example, the film is sprinkled with flashbacks, giving the audience some background into the events leading up to the destruction of humanity. Nothing wrong with that, right? However, the movie constantly teases us with images of Neville's important role in the virus outbreak but leaves us hanging as to what that role ultimately turned out to be.

I recently spoke to a couple friends who went to I Am Legend, and they felt the film was too short and ended abruptly. I don't necessarily share that opinion, but it would have been nice if the ending were more ... um ... satisfying.

MY RATING
3.5 Stars (Out of 5)

MY RATING WHEN I READ THAT WILL SMITH MIGHT BE A SCIENTOLOGIST
0.5 Stars (Out of 5)

A DIFFERENT KIND OF WAR

To help relieve mind of things other than Super Tuesday and election results, here's a review of Charlie Wilson's War.

QUICK PLOT SUMMARY
Tom Hanks plays Charlie Wilson, a Democratic Texas Congressman who led the U.S. effort to secretly arm the Afghans against The Soviet Union. Julia Roberts plays wealthy activist Joanne Herring, the main motivator for Wilson to join this cause. Phillip Seymour Hoffman is troubled CIA agent Gust Avrakotos who guides Wilson through the complex political and international hurdles involved in arming a country to fight the Soviets. The film is based on a true story and a book with the same name.

MY REVIEW
I have to be honest and say that I went into this film with a little bit of a bias. It's been my long held opinion that Aaron Sorkin is the greatest screenwriter on the planet. From A Few Good Men to The West Wing, Mr. Sorkin has proven time and again that his ability to effortlessly intertwine dialog with intelligence, drama, and wit is unparalleled. Add to that the fact that the movie stars Tom Hanks and is directed by Mike Nichols, and you have to wonder if it's possible for Charlie Wilson's War to be anything less than stellar. Of course, a perfect meld of talent does not always a great film make (The Da Vinci Code jumps to mind).

So, it is with much enthusiasm -- and maybe a little relief -- that I can unequivocally state that Charlie Wilson's War doesn't disappoint. Not only is it a great film, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that between Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts, the best thing in the film is .... Phillip Seymour Hoffman. If you can find a better example of someone coming out of left field and completely taking over a movie, please tell me. I experienced so much joy watching him play CIA agent Gust Avrakotos that I thought maybe the movie should stop in order for someone to walk into the scene and hand him an Oscar right there. It's just too bad for him that Javier Bardem chose this year to be uber-creepy in No Country for Old Men.

Since it is political season, I feel compelled to mention that the topic of the film isn't exactly a warm fuzzy. I mean, it wouldn't be a stretch to state that Charlie Wilson indirectly (or maybe directly) led to the horrible tragedy of 9/11. For those who might feel that way, I would just ask that you watch the film and judge for yourself. Charlie Wilson as portrayed by Hanks, is certainly not without flaws (the naked hot tub scene that launches the film is a good example), but neither is he the devil. It's a complicated issue, and he's a complicated man. But the decision to see this movie is not at all a complicated matter.

MY RATING
4.5 Stars (Out of 5)