the youngest of four 

the series finale

recent dvds added to the collection: The Office: Season 1, Legends of the Fall, 12 Monkeys.

Dazed and Confused (1993): on the last day of school, a bunch of high school stoners from the 70s examine their lives and future. it’s basically american graffiti with boston playing in the background. and tons more drugs. i have already forgotten most of the six or seven separate little story lines that take place. maybe i’ve just seen this type of story so many times that i’m bored of it. let’s see, it’s a very pro-drug movie. there are a lot of good characters and it is very believable that it is set in the 70s. but i just didn't see why this is a cult favorite today. finally, it has a pretty decent soundtrack to it. i would like to know how accurate this type of life as a teenager was during the 70s. although it seemed accurate, it's hard to say whether or not there was a little stereotyping going on to really exaggerate the characters. maybe not. don't see.
mediocre, C

Animal House (1978): a delinquent college fraternity must cope with the school’s attempt to shut them down because of their wacky antics. there wasn’t much of a moral to the movie. failure and the fact that revenge is good, are about as close to morals as you'll find. i must note that the movie featured one of the best pot scenes with donald sutherland that i think i’ve ever seen. i laughed out loud about a dozen times because the movie really is a lot of fun. the film was made in the 70s but set in the 50s, so it doesn't feel dated at all. it's the standard to every raunchy college and teen movie made since. so if you don't mind that rated-r humor, this is a must see.
memorable, B+

for most of the evening i've been working on our rental agreement for when we leave our home in provo. it's six pages now and i'm just about done. lately we've been stressing over this and that with the move but we are getting things done and making decisions at a good pace i think.

today we watched our very last episode of six feet under. it delivered like i never thought a television series could. the final season as a whole wasn't the best and for the most part was kind of slow. but nothing could have prepared me for that ending. it lived up to all the hype and i don't think i'll soon forget it. it is a little sad because just as one chapter of our life is closing here in provo, so has another with six feet. for the past three years or so we have been patiently watching the six feet dvds and just like that, they're all dead. the ending was all very plausible. i wonder how nate would really feel about mya and the new girl being raised by brenda and the chenowiths and olivier. probably not happy.

a few weeks ago someone posted a comment about their take on gay marriage. today i finally got around to responding. sorry for the delay.

we complain a lot about utah and happy valley, but as it gets closer to the move we are realizing that there really are a number of things we'll miss about the place. the mountains are intense, the unique places to eat only found here, the general life we have. it's been good.

the only picture i took this past weekend 

the colorado move: part i

we are home from our excursion back east and as busy as ever. for reals. we checked out a ton of apartments in a few cities along 36.

thursday became too late for us to drive out so we got in a quick episode of six feet and packed the car for the morning. the next night we got there tom graced me with his presence. like most trips whenever i see tom, he was in the process of moving so i was lucky enough to move his crap. we couldn't watch clerks because all his belongings happened to be at april's place in castle rock. i have a prediction of when they will be engaged by but i feel reluctant to give a date. i figure someone might get offended. would that really be a bad thing to do? maybe. i'll just say that they'll obviously be engaged at some point in the not too distant future. kim and i looked at about six apartments saturday afternoon and the first one we saw kim of course fell in love with. karen, kim and i went for an evening out at ruby tuesdays. it was a genuinely good time. after church sunday morning, i drove around taking down names of apartments near flat irons. from that we made a list of about six more apartments that i'd look at the next day. that evening i made the trek out to see joe in egypt. it took me 45 minutes to get to his house in littleton from the grovers' place, yet tom thinks it would only be 40 minutes to castle rock. anyway, had a good time as usual at château bryant. dog. entourage. pictures of sweaty bikers. nothing to eat man, get some food. i'm really diggin' his lifestyle.

monday morning after watching concrete dry, the fam gave me an awesome and very undeserving dvd player. our old one is old indeed. i have been pretty satisfied with the performance of my old dvd player, but it's time to move on. they got me a sony dvd recorder rdr-gx330, for all you people that live on specs. it's pretty much the bomb and they are really way too nice. we took one final look at our top choice before getting on the freeway. who knew that apartment shopping could be so fun, memorable, emotional, and stressful. but we picked a good one. it's right back in westminster which is no problem i think. it has everything we were looking for. we'll be moving the first weekend of august which is coming pretty quick.

Belly (1998): the rise and fall of two friends trying to make it in a gripping new york thug life. there are many stories going on which makes it very reminiscent of playing san andreas again. gta has many missions that really don't relate much to the overall plot of the game. this movie had many events that the guys go through, giving it a feel that we are watching a chronicle of these two men. ha ha, get it? there is some really solid acting by nas and dmx. who knew? there are so many other characters that they interact with, which, along with the too many events problem, makes for a muddy story. it was really hard to keep up with who was who. the cinematography is really good. every shot seemed to be well thought out in advance (nominated for best cinematography oscar). aside from a little bit of a weak plot, i actually liked it. all homies should dig it. i may buy it down the road.
good, B

there are so many emails i have to write and papers to fill out. i've had some pretty crappy moves in my lifetime so i'm going to try and avoid the shatty move syndrome at all costs. we now have to deal with trying to rent out the place now.

some website that gave me info on my birth date had this to say: "Your age is the equivalent of a dog that is 3.61135029354207 years old. (Life's just a big chewy bone for you!)" i think that's great news. i'm very excited now.

the decision

we're going to denver tomorrow for a wedding and i must say, i'm pretty excited. mostly because we'll get to start looking for places to live out there. we're about 98 percent sure we are moving back to colorado by the end of august. past few days i've been a tad edgy and nervous because i'm remembering that moving sucks. i found out on tuesday that i got into that masters program at cu. it feels pretty surreal and i'm just glad that we finally know what we are doing. the law school thing still really sucks. and actually, a reason for a lot of the suckiness was the hope that after law school i could maybe go back to d.c. and work there. if nothing else, i really think that my strange undergraduate years at least gave me that internship. that was my shining moment. so now it's graduate school. why graduate school? because i want to make a good enough living to buy kim a new 4runner. why telecommunications? because i have a few years of experience in that industry, enjoyed it while i was there, and would enjoy a career in it. why cu boulder? it's a really good school, close to family and friends, and is in a familiar and enjoyable area. i don't know why i feel i have to clarify some of this info.

Sense and Sensibility (1995): two sisters must go from the life of wealth and prestige to near poverty, all while falling for some of the england's most complicated men. the movie is pretty solid. fine acting and a really fascinating story both keep this movie alive. i can't imagine many ladies out there who would not like this movie. it's not too sappy and has a good sense of humor throughout the film. the setting of the movie is england during the late nineteenth century i'm guessing, which doesn't make it the most interesting period of time. it's not something i'd want to watch over and over again, so i doubt i'd buy it. it should really be seen though.
good, B

the working man

Nothing But Trouble (1991): an over the top comedy about some well-to-do's under the control of a deranged judge. the production design people must have had a field day creating everything. the comedy from chevy is just about as good as you'll get from him. john candy does great in both of his characters. i would have like to of seen how his career could have turned out. watch for a very unnecessary cameo of 2pac and digital underground perform a music video in front of the judge. dan aykroyd plays the judge and after about five minutes you forget he's even behind all the makeup. the movie gets way too ridiculous to even be interested to find out what happens next. in the end i really got nothing out of it. it's like a movie that they play on tnt at 1 in the afternoon. it comes on right after the money pit. don't see.
flawed, but not terrible, C+

The Break-Up (2006): a guy and a girl get together and after a few years they break up. no big surprises. i didn't find the movie to be incredibly funny. there were maybe six or seven really funny, laugh out loud jokes (usually from vince), but the rest were a little dry and just dumb. the ending was alright i suppose and they left the ending pretty open enough for a sequel, which would bomb of course. unless they made it soon after vince and jennifer get married. one of the biggest highlights for me in this movie was when vince was playing san andreas on his playstation. they showed a couple scenes from the game from what look to be santa maria beach and jefferson, both in los santos. so keep an eye out for that. other than that it's pretty forgettable. well, jennifer aniston is naked, so it's not totally forgettable. it's a good couple movie, but no one else should see it.
fair, B-

i'm working with the lloyds now a few days of the week helping with their embroidery business. it's not too bad and it gives me something to do during the boring week day. the work reminds me of when i worked for apparel label a couple of years back. it's tough work and sometimes fulfilling. it's not the most fun work, but it will be good though.

the family feud

with summer approaching and my running becoming more and more regular at 2 am, i'm more likely to get jumped, egged, raped, or even worse, the popo all up on my grill. so i've started to consider carrying a weapon on me. kim would probably have me get a permit and carry my glock, but i was thinking more like a knife. i wouldn't want to carry it in a pocket because it would be bouncing all over the place. that, and i'd be paranoid it would drop out. i picture myself running down the street at night with a gun and all i can picture is cj in san andreas (gta) with his .45. if anything i'd want to run down the street with my machete. who would dare try stuff with a guy wielding a machete? so i think the best idea is just a good sized pocket knife. i'm pretty sure there is no law that says i can't run through the streets in the middle of the night with a knife in my hand. and it will be closed of course. i'll double check with one of the officers at el trabajo. i think that means work. then it's convincing kim, then a knife by saturday night. 10:15 on a saturday night, to be exact. also a favorite of cj, kim did recommend brass knuckles.

The Omen (2006): the remake of a classic satanic film about the birth of the antichrist. here's the closest analogy i can think of. today there are thousands and thousands of guitarists out there that can play so many hendrix tunes. but that obviously doesn't make them as great as hendrix or even in the same league. what they lack is the originality combined with talent that jimi had to create the songs in the first place. this movie was so similar to the original omen that it felt like i was watching the first one only with better film quality. lines in this movie were taken word for word from the first. almost scene for scene as well. this version wasn't as scary as i remember the first being. the biggest difference from the original that i saw is that they choose not to use the original music which was so prominent in the prior films. this was one reason this wasn't as scary. also, most of the character’s reactions to the events that took place were pretty unbelievable. a number of continuity problems existed, but nothing that would distract most viewers. and wow, a complete and blatant rip-off of the sixth sense where they would always show some bright red feature in the scene to foreshadow something really bad was about to happen. it was so unoriginal and obvious. not only was that effect used in this movie, but they even stole the red balloon idea which was straight out of six sense. personally, i would much rather watch the original omen over this. however i think that the average audience would get hung up on how dated the original seems today. so for you average viewers, i suppose i’d recommend seeing this remake. anyone else that can still appreciate movies made before the 90s, skip this garbage and go for the first one. mediocre: C.

people are all excited that we killed al-zarqawi and say that this is why we have gone to iraq, but they forget that he was absolutely nothing before we toppled saddam. zarqawi rose to power during and as a result of the war. he might be the reason why are still stuck there and of course it is a good thing that he is dead, but i believe he would never have come to power had we not attacked iraq in the first place and instead focused more on finding bin laden and breaking up al-qaeda.

there is so much drama going on with my family and my grandpa. i don't even know how to best explain anything. basically grandpa ben isn't doing too well and family members are taking property before he is dead and the will is read (or even shown to anyone but the people taking the property). i haven't seen my grandpa in like twelve years and the next time i do it will be at his funeral. i don't think i can visit him now because he'd probably realize i'm there to see a last time before he dies and i'm not sure how that would make him feel. i'm not going to say that i never had opportunities to visit him these last few years, but we just never had the most convenient chances to go. there are a few other excuses i can think of but i guess they're not really important. i hope everything works out but i don't see that happening. relationships are going to turn out worse than they are today because of all of this and that's a damn shame.

mr. 

mrs. 

the bmi

X-Men (2006): an action packed story of good mutants versus bad mutants and the naïve humans trying to stop them both. it’s basically nothing different from the first two movies. the script is littered with stupid and clichéd one-liners. it’s like there is a book somewhere with generic lines that can be just added here and there in between all the action, and the writers will just flip through the book and pick out lines at random. the acting from the u.s. president was awful and he was really unbelievable. part of the battle at the end included magneto’s evil mutant army, yet all they did was charge at the good guys and humans like they were the confederate army or something. the most i ever saw was a couple of them would jump really high while the rest would get mowed down. what kind of mutant is that? there was a terrible continuity issue when they attacked alcatraz. one minute it was nice and sunny out in san fran, then they cut to a scene of the x-men flying to meet them, then they cut to sf right where they left off from the prior scene, only this time it’s pitch black outside. i’m know i'm being nitpicky, but come on, are the filmmakers that lazy to let this happen? not only that, but it takes the x-men like maybe 20 minutes to fly from ny to sf. granted they are in their modified sr-71 blackbird, but in real life the fastest it took a real sr-71 blackbird to fly from la to dc was two hours. most will overlook these details when they watch the movie, but i still think it’s poor filmmaking. magneto is a very smart person in the movie and in the comics, but for some reason he isn’t smart enough to stop wolverine, who is obviously magneto’s biggest threat in the movie. there were countless times that he could have just ripped out wolvi’s adamantium from his bones and incapacitated him indefinitely. i’m not making this crap up. he did this back in the fatal attraction series in the early 90s. they probably wouldn’t know how to handle the special effects of something like that, but either way, it makes magneto look like a dope for not taking advantage of that. the special effects were obviously good and one of the few highlights of the movie. but it was much of the same as the first two, meaning the first two were better. it was good to see important characters actually die though. in the comic books they just live on and on. obviously this story had to stray a little from the comics. for example jean and scott never got to get married and have their son nathan i believe. kim says she saw magneto use his power again at the end of the movie, but i don’t think he did. were they trying to leave it open for a fourth? let’s hope not. and finally i didn’t find it as witty as the first two. it’s worth seeing i guess only to complete the story. you get rebecca romijn naked, with and without her mystique costume so that's a plus! you gotta feel back for john stamos now. oh well, he had his fun while it lasted.

each year for the fourth of july provo has a few running races and this year i thought that i might enter to run the 5k. this idea of mine lasted almost an entire day before i realized that i probably couldn’t do it. i tried adding a couple more blocks to my nightly run and about killed myself. part of me says that i can’t see how people can ever work their way up to running so many miles without stopping. but of course it’s just practice and more practice. maybe I could do it but there’s less than a month now that i’d have to train. it’s pretty sad because 5k really isn’t that far. i think i’m just scared of placing last or walking half the race.

Omen IV: The Awakening (1991): a terrible sequel about a bratty little girl antichrist. it started out like a bad tv movie. turns out actually that it originally was a tv movie, so that explains a lot. so much sucked, from the opening sequence, credits, and musical score. i think it’s so stupid that the writers would even think it’s cool if the antichrist became a girl. not in the fact that i think the antichrist could only be a male, but it’s just another cliché to have a women take the place of part dominated by males. i’m not trying to come across as sexist. it’s like in terminator 3 when the new bad terminator was that really hot ass-kicking girl. anyway, they ripped off much of the story from the first one. in fact, except for a 30 second scene at the very end that references damien, you would think this entire movie was a crappy remake of the omen, rather than the third sequel. delia’s (the girl damien) performance is good but was far from that of the previous damiens. there is very little about how she was born and when they do give their 30 second explanation, i found it really hard to believe. the only good in the entire movie was a performance of the private detective hired to find out about delia. he really took over the second half of the film. of course once delia gets an idea of what he’s doing, his life on earth quickly ends by a wrecking ball. but leading up to that, his little supporting role was the highlight of the movie. that’s sad. see the first three, stop before getting to four. i now feel pretty prepared for this week’s omen.

today was a good day in part. for the first time since, oh, ever, according to the body mass index i am no longer considered overweight; but just barely. i’ve got to maintain this weight and keep pushing more off because i still have like fifteen pounds to go before getting where i’d like to be. for seriously as long as i can remember i’ve always been, well, tubby i guess is a good way to describe it. when i look at myself i still see too much stomach and i know i’ll never have a flat upper body like the majority of guys my age out there, but i’m feeling pretty good about it. but what a pain in the ass it’s been these past couple months. part of me hopes that some day i can go back to splurging on all the delectable food this world has to offer. i don’t think i can live the rest of my life with this new lifestyle of mine. but there really is no other way because once i get back into old habits, two months of hard work and routine can go down the drain in less than a week’s time. just say no to munchies! anyway, fifteen down, fifteen to go.

Killing Zoe (1994): an art-house film about a bunch of gen-x, drugged up, and sometimes bumbling misfits who attempt a heist at a major parisian bank. you really get into the characters on this one because they are so extremely believable. they act like people and not your typical movie characters (e.g. bad guy, good guy, comedic guy). in real life, we don’t actually walk around and act like we are some clichéd character who live life as a single role, and that is how the acting is done here. you’ll want to be zed’s (eric stoltz) friend, zoe’s (julie delpy) girlfriend, and by the end you will hate eric (anglade) so much that you just can't wait any longer for him to meet his demise. the first half of the movie is very witty with some great dialogue. the second half really changes pace and becomes pretty serious with the robbery. and i thought these tones of the movie really transition well into each other. i think there is really an art and challenge to creating sex scenes. many times they are done in poor taste or basically the exact same setup as every other movie with a sex scene. this one i must say was very well done. it’s a very visual movie, probably also good on the bud. i see a pattern here. my only complaint is that i wish they could have shot at better locations. i understand that the budget was small, but i’m sure paris has some really unique locations that could have been shot. the movie is really about zed’s journey through all of this, so i guess there is no reason to shoot locations if he had no reason to be there. for example, during the heist you never see what is taking place outside of the bank like you would with other bank robbery movies. police are involved and i’m sure it’s a madhouse out there, but zed is never out there so the audience never needs to see that. be warned that it is rated r for a reason. if you can stand other tarantino movies and the over the top violence and sometimes language, then you’ll have no problem watching this. it’s funny, entertaining, has a good pace, and is very well done. this was a really good recommendation and is worth buying. oh yeah, and one last thing. i don’t quite understand the title of the movie. it’s hard to believe that this is the best title that they could come up with. i guess it makes sense in some abstract way, but the average viewer is not going to really understand it.

on a side note, this movie made slightly over $30,000 at the u.s. box office. unbelievable. people were probably too focused on pulp fiction at the time.

burn baby burn 

ogden, utah 

the great debate

The Final Conflict (1981): aka the omen iii. i really got sucked into the story because so many events are happening and there are many sub-plots throughout, which all tie mysteriously together. damien does end up losing a lot of the power that he seemed to have from the first two movies, which i thought was pretty dumb. the only explanation for this is is that it's god's work against him. but it is never explained, which is disappointing. they leave a lot of questions unanswered about events that took place in the time between the second movie and this. they brought back the devil rottweilers, which is fine except for the fact that they were never seen in the second movie. another explanation goes unanswered. it's certainly not as scary as the first two, but more driven by the story which is fine. the ending is good, but the way damien dies is pretty lame. i'm not sure why or how they could make a fourth movie since he died, but they did. this movie ends basically with the appearance of jesus and his second coming, and the death of the antichrist. i'm sure the motivation for number 4 was mostly money and not to continue the story of the struggle between god, satan, and christ. i will be very surprised to see any of them in the final film. (someone needs to make a movie about the armageddon and the second coming and really show someone's interpretation about what might happen when christ returns and etc. i'm really into this subject lately. it's probably because i'm reading the stand.) i can tell number 4 will suck. the acting in this one kind of sucked at times, but sam neil does a good job. it really completes the trilogy and although it will be low on the list, it's worth buying. definitely see assuming you've seen the second and first one.

sometimes i wish that i could write reviews for a living, or even just on the side as a hobby and have them published. i'm not the greatest at it and the crap i write here is usually very watered down when it comes to the amount of detail i could write about each movie if i were to really break them down. i keep them short and sweet only because i know no one wants to read super long reviews that could be found in any newspaper. maybe in the future i’ll do it as a hobby for the carmel pine cone when i’ve retired there. i’ll never have any film school or journalism experience under my belt so that could hinder any hopes i have.

Wild At Heart (1990): a well done mysterious, dark, and comedic film. technically, it's amazing: good transitions, heavy soundtrack, interesting uses of flashbacks. the story is told in a very literary manner, in that the script and the way persons/places/things are described are just like they would be found if reading it out of a book. the acting is all very over dramatic, but done well. props to nick for his singing. both he and the jurassic park girl were great together. there is hardly a scene over two minutes long except for a really good one with the two principle actors talking in their car in the texas deserts. despite the quick shots and scenes, it was a little too slow i thought and unfortunately all the video store had was a vhs copy, so i had to deal with a grainy picture and flippin' full screen. it wouldn’t be just anyone’s cup of tea because it’s pretty off the wall. and by the way, stay away from tuna, texas. it’s very much a precursor to what we’d see in the 90s with tarantino. and even with nick’s career, specifically leaving las vegas. i enjoyed the ending very much. i’m still pretty confused about all the players and their role in the story, their relationships between one another, and the whole story about the fire that killed lula’s father. there was probably a lot edited out for time, so i’m sure some director’s cut out there does a little better in explaining everything. i can see how this would be good to watch on the herb. it won the palme d’or which is quite the honor, but strangely won no other awards. there should have been nominations all over the place for acting, cinematography, and director. oh well. people that love movies and all genres, see it. the rest will just think it’s too weird.

my last letter of recommendation is going out to cu tomorrow hopefully. after that i just start with the waiting game, again.

recent dvds added to the collection: Code 46, Annie Hall, Six Feet Under: Season 2

i strongly believe in god and jesus christ. i strongly believe in the evolution of the human species. i strongly believe that homosexuals should be given the same rights as the next person. i strongly have an unconditional love for my wife. i strongly believe that i could watch a movie (and their special features) once a day forever and never get tired of doing it. in case you're wondering. now on with the show.

some people can't seem to have a lively debate without letting emotions take over.(apparently i'm an ass and an arrogant, self-righteous jerk. or so i'm told) i believe that homosexuals do not have a choice in the matter about their sexual orientation. as far as why these people are gay, the most reasonable explanation is that they are born that way, and either biology (genes) makes them who they are or it is something in their soul/spirit that says they are gay. would god purposely put these people on this earth knowing that they will be living in sin forever? maybe. why not? maybe there are just some things in life that he simply allows nature to take its course. maybe certain things just happen during the reproductive process and that's just something we have to accept. maybe god did it on purpose. i'd love to hear opinions on all of this. especially from christians willing to actually talk about it. the majority of gays don't choose to be and aren't socialized into it. they just are. i think the lds church is wrong to urge its members to contact their members of congress to show their support of the marriage amendment. if that means the church is wrong, which means the prophet is wrong, which means god is wrong, then so be it. this may be the last sentence i ever type because lighting should be striking in about five seconds, but i think god is wrong to deny these rights to gay couples. whew, still here. i did what i believed was right and contacted my senators to urge them to vote against the amendment this week. the senate will not pass the proposed marriage amendment though. everyone knows it. idiots like orrin hatch are wasting valuable time to push constitutional amendments just so he can leave a legacy. so much of it comes down to the reason people are gay in the first place. i hope so badly that one day all that debate will end and we will find solid evidence to show why some peeps are gay and others straight. i'm sure it won't be that easy though.

and if you've actually read this far into this post, congratulations grasshopper. thou shalt surely be rewarded. i've applied to the master of science in telecommunications program at the university of colorado. i so badly want to be a buff again. thank you and good night.

go me 

the debate: part vi

tom was kind enough to ruin my day a couple days ago with his lame plans to move to castle rock in six months. thanks tom. we finally, finally have a chance to move back, and what does he do? luckily though, reruns of lost season 2 started up last night so life hasn't been all that bad. kim and i are totally stoked because for once we won't have to wait for the dvd release to actually watch a season of our shows.

Damien - Omen II (1978): this wasn’t as scary as the first. it felt a lot like today’s scary movie sequels, where the whole point is to try and think up new gruesome ways a person can die. it lacked the great acting and cinematography that the first had. except for the kid who played damien. He played his part to perfection. i can see how this might never end unless there is some intervention by god or jesus. it seems that mortal man is really not of a match for damien, so i’m going to be disappointed if in the third or fourth movie he randomly gets killed by some random guy. in this movie alone he had a dozen people killed that were getting in his way, and he’s only like 13 years old! the ending of this movie really was a surprise so i’ll give them props there. i liked the whole crow/raven motif that would appear every time someone was about to die. all in all, not bad for a sequel. worth seeing (possibly buying if the quadrilogy turns out really good as a whole) and looking forward to the next one.

been having wicked and vivid dreams of late. a few nights ago kim was dead (do i mention that i was the killer?), the next night i died in space because i couldn't get my space helmet on in time (see tim robbins in mission to mars), and last night ryan was riding jeramie like a bull in a swimming pool. good times.

it's hot here. i was bored out of my mind today.

Brak: well let me start on the last point you made which is my favorite, bushes approval ratings. It simple, his approval ratings are so low because so many in this country simply don't get it!!!! Popular ideas spread like wildfire and few people stop to take a second thought of them. I'm not suggesting Bush is perfect. To me he has done a lot of huge things that I agree with him are exactly what the country needs. I know others disagree and that is fine. However, that only covers so much. Lets look at gas prices right now, I think it illustrates the point better than anything else. The last poll I saw showed most Americans blaming Bush for the high gas prices. Are you SERIOUS!!! How in the world?? First they say Iraq is all about oil and now the opposite. I don't blame Clinton for the high prices of gas but if you were to blame a president he would have to be the one, not because of his policies (although I could argue vetoing ANWR didn't help) but becuase the effects of gas prices come from things that happen decades ago. If Clinton had forseen the huge problem (which I don't blame him for not), then he could have pushed alternative fuels, reduced emissions or whatever else the Democrats think would help. I personally think that the Democrats ideas for energy are solutions, whether they are the best solutions are a different story but had he done this then we would have the benefits today. Bush has the same responsibility to save the gas prices of the future how he feels best and whether he is doing that is another debate, but to blame him for high gas prices today is absolutely ridiculous. OPEC is to blame. They are the ones limiting supply. Gas-hungry Americans are to blame (myself included). They are the ones buying SUVs and using way more oil than the rest of the world. And maybe, although I doubt, the Oil companies are to blame. They just might be withholding supply of oil that in turn raises price, but I doubt it becuase the price is already high due to low supply from OPEC. As to price gouging, take a lesson in Economics and people would know that when there are gas shortages then the price is not high enough, that is why they ran out, not too high. I agree an investigation should be done just in case however the real problem is the first two mentioned. My proposal is a compromise. First, I agree that we need alternative fuel. The economy itself is already moving toward that with everyone trying to make the cheapest hybrid. The government can help, as it has, by increasing funding for research. Bush has done this and I wouldn't object if he did it more. The democrats are also right to want an increase in emission restrictions. Not for the enviroment but becuase that puts more pressure on the markets to come up with an alternative. The people don't understand, they want a cleaner enviroment and alt. fuels but they hate that gas prices are high. The high gas prices will deliver that hope faster than anything else. It would hurt initially to raise the restrictions. In the seventies cars could have whatever emissions they wanted, when govt restricted, it didn't come to a halt, technology got better because it had to and the same would happen again. Bush is not doing this and I doubt he will but I think it would help. I think democrats say they want this but would hate to do it if they could becuase the effect would be a huge amount of people pissed off that prices are higher. Thirdly, we need to increase drilling by cutting the red tape of washington. we will always need oil regardless of how much. I would much rather supply our own. The only reason ANWR is an issue is becuase it is a icon for the enviromentalists. It has nothing to do with carabou. Drill oil. I have thought about government control on oil companies and anything other than a base on supply would help, price caps, windfall tax, or anything else would only hurt things worse. So I've just gone off on gas prices but it proves my point that people react and hate Bush for things they just don't understand. I would not assasinate all the bad leaders in the world becuase evil is not that easy to erase. I do fear that we will wait too long to act with Iran but I agree the time is not right to invade. However if we wait too long, the alliances built by Iran could only get worse. I understand the cost of war, I still believe this war is worth the cost and we are definately not telling the Iraqis how to run their country. We are allowing them to run it as Saddam never did. Look at Hamas for an example of us not running things even though we don't like the results of democracy. Anyway I've gotta run a turn something in. Let's just agree that our opinions of the Iraq war a opposites, (Mine of course being right). Respond to the gas price issue or something else and we'll discuss. talk to ya later.

i obviously don't agree with some of the stuff he is saying (i.e. his take on polling, comparing hamas to the iraqi gov.), but at the moment, i just don't care enough to respond. we've met up since he wrote this and talked more about oil stuff, so i'll spare you. i'll let him have the last word and leave it at that. too much bracken for one blog to handle.