10.07.2004

everyone a critic
I hearted I [heart] Huckabees. I think I was the only one in the audience. Despite the laughs and the couple of bursts of applause during the movie, every comment I heard as I left the theater was negative. "Well that sucked." "There was nothing funny about that but the bits of slapstick humor." "It was kinda like The Big Labowski but without the depth." "Maybe I'm just an old woman, but when it started out with that long slew of curse words, I was turned off immediately." Me? I'd see it again. Sure, the plot had some gaps, and I didn't really get Naomi Watts' character, overall though, your humble movie critic gives her approval. But maybe that's just because I love Dustin Hoffman's voice and Jude Law's face.

the zinger
If I were composing the questions for tomorrow night's debate, there is one that I would definitely not leave off the list. Invoking the question Reagan posed to the American public in 1980, I would ask our two presidential candidates:

Is America safer than it was four years ago? Is the world safer than it was four years ago?

One's initial reaction might be, "But hey! Four years ago was pre-Sept. 11." Sure, but Sept. 11 was very much in the works. Enough news outlets have agreed that America's "approval rating" soaring immediately after 9-11 but has sunk lower than a shit-filled sink hole since our nation - our president - led this preemptive war against Iraq. Disapproval leads to contempt, which leads to outrage, which leads to violence and further insurgency and further wars. We have angered countries who were once our allies and have ignored other areas of the world that are breeding grounds for nuclear weapons and terrorism (ahem North Korea and Iran).

If this question were posed to Kerry and Bush tomorrow, it would be a lose-lose situation for our president. If he were to answer "no," he would have to admit that his actions and policies have not made our country a safer place to live than it was in 2000. If he were to answer "yes," he would in essence negate his entire campaign of fear.

I pose the question to you, dear readers. Is America safer? You have thirty seconds.

side note
Ally comes tomorrow to spend her fall break in our new house, which she has yet to see.

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