The "Secret" In The Secret Life Of Pets

Like my prior review of the rebooted Ghostbusters, this is another commentary in which I share my thoughts on a movie I have not seen. Again I must say that this film looks like it might not be good. I say this because the "secret" is obviously (easy to discern from the trailers) that the pets lives are anthropomorphized. Anthropomorphism being "the attribution of human traits, emotions, and intentions to non-human entities".

That the pets are mini-humans with fur is SO predictable. In that it's been done many many times before. And, with a documentary-sounding title like The Secret Life of Pets, I was thinking that MAYBE the filmmakers were going to try something else.

Which isn't to say that that I'm writing this movie off already. I am willing to give it a chance, despite it following the same old formula of animals being anthropomorphized in cartoons. Or in live action movies where the main characters are animals (I'm thinking the Incredible Journey remake in which the animals were given voices, whereas in the original film they did not speak).

I definitely plan on picking up the film soundtrack CD, however, given that it is by one of my favorite composers, Alexandre Desplat.

I didn't mention the Theodore Shapiro score for Ghostbusters in my prior commentary because I'm not sure I'm going to buy it. I'll wait until I see the movie, and then I might pick it up used later. Also, I heard that Elmer Bernstein's Ghostbusters Theme is NOT featured.

DSB #48

On The Ghostbusters All Female Cast Reboot

My issue with the movie is not that the cast is all female, it's that the movie is a reboot. Given the fact that a few of the original cast members have cameos - and they are playing different characters - says to me the filmmakers went out of their way to shit on fans of the original movie.

With original cast members playing different characters - the filmmakers are saying definitively that the original movies never happened. A better course of action, IMO, would have been to write a new story and somehow link it to the original movies. One of the new Ghostbusters could have been the daughter, niece, whatever of one of the original Ghostbusters.

I'm sure they could have found a way to do the new movie and not say the original ones never happened - if they had wanted to. On the other hand (I suspect) that this reboot steals a lot from the original movie. And, therefore, if the reboot had been linked to the original movies (this movie existed in the same universe)... well, that would have been a lot of "history repeating itself".

Guess the writers weren't smart enough to come up with a new story. I should note, however, that I haven't seen the movie... yet. I am willing to give it a chance. Which isn't to say that I'm going to PAY to see it. Hypothetically speaking, that is... I actually haven't been to a movie theater in quite a long time. I'm saying that IF I paid to see movies in the theater I'd wait for some reviews first.

I'm thinking that this movie could turn out to be a huge dud. I mean, if all this reboot has to offer is that it rewrites the original (and does a mediocre to bad job of it) then it might not do so well at the box office.

DSB #47

Hillary Clinton On Budgetary & Defense Policy Has The Republican Position

"On budgetary policy and defense policy she actually has the Republican position" Larry Pressler said on msnbc live, 6/15/2016. The position that pushed Pressler to endorse Clinton is gun control. The slaughters convincing him that something has to be done.

So, that HRC is quite hawkish is well known (SWTD #323), but she has the Republican position on budgetary issues? Perhaps I just haven't been paying attention, but if you read the Conservative and Libertarian blogs (OST #110) the impression you get is that HRC was in a contest with Bernie Sanders to see who could offer the most "free stuff" (AKA investing in America and providing for the needs of its citizens).

I was going to say that this is yet another sign of how terrible Trump is, but it seems that Pressler endorsed Barack Obama for President in 2008 and 2012. So, why is this guy being identified as a Republican, I wonder. On the other hand, I think what this means is that both BHO and HRC are centrist Democrats, and NOT Liberals or "Progressives who get things done".

"Does the Democratic Party want to be a party of getting things done that don't make a real crack in the 30-year explosion of income funneling to the wealthy or be the party that stops settling for compromises that continue the status quo?" Jordan Chariton writes in a 4/17/2016 Mediaite article titled Debunking the Progressive "Who Gets Things Done" Myth.

Given that HRC is the status quo candidate, this is my fear. That we're going to continue funneling the wealth of our nation upward, what with wealth inequality in the United States continuing to increase under Republicans and Democrats. Bernie Sanders had REAL proposals to deal with this problem AND a strong and consistent message and record that showed he is serious about wealth inequality and not a pandering flip-flopper or Republican-lite candidate with budgetary and defense policies that are actually the Republican positions.

SWTD Tags: 2016 Election, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, MSNBC.

DSB #46

Thoughts On Trump For President Voters & Supporters

H/T to the Stephanie Miller Show listener who sent Stephanie this clip (see below), which she then played (6/9/2016).

I don't recall what episode of The Simpsons this clip is excerpted from, but surely this is an example of the writers speaking through Homer. Given the fact that Homer himself is an idiot and more likely to be a rube himself. As opposed to someone smarter than a rube. (Interestingly Homer's middle initial is "J", the same as Trump's. Although Trump's middle name is "John", while Homer's is "Jay").

In any case, this absolutely describes how I feel about MANY Trump supporters. Those who participate in Donald's call and response re his wall.

"We're going to build a wall. And who's going to pay for it?" And the crowd yelled, "Mexico!" and then they lost their minds. Now, we all know exactly why this is stupid. (Trump Rally No Joking Matter by keenekarl. Daily Kos 3/11/2016).

Donald Trump is clearly just telling the rubes what they want to hear (SWTD #330). That would be the ONE upside to seeing Trump in the White House. How would he excuse breaking all his promises? The ones that caused the rubes to vote for him? And how would they react? Would Trump be the most unpopular one term president ever? Would the disaster which would surely be a Trump presidency destroy the Republican Party (as Zachary Taylor's presidency destroyed the Whig Party)? Hopefully we will never know.

Video: Rubes So Many Rubes. Uploaded to YouTube 1/31/2016 (0:11).

SWTD Tags: 2016 Election, Donald Trump.

DSB #45

What Rightwingers & Libertarians Mean When They Use The Words "Freedom" & "Liberty" (Thom Hartmann Rant #9)

The following is an excerpt from the 5/19/2016 airing of the Thom Hartmann Radio Program (edited for brevity and clarity by me). Thom briefly shares his thoughts on the abuse and misappropriation of words in the English language (prompted by a remark from a caller... which I have excised).

Thom: The words that I think are most abused are "freedom" and "liberty". These are words that have been appropriated by the Far Right to mean, basically, the freedom and liberty of the billionaire class... to do whatever they damn well please. [While] the rest of us are free to die like dogs in the gutter. If lose our jobs, if we lose our health insurance [there should be no social safety net programs there to help us]. I'm aghast at how these words have been appropriated by the [Right and by] Libertarians.

Taxing rich people to pay for government programs that benefit us all represents a "morally untenable position". Yes, people in the middle class (as well as those who qualify as the working poor) pay taxes, but much of the burden falls on the wealthy. Boo-hoo for them. That they make a majority of the money and therefore pay the majority of the taxes is so sad. They (rich folks) need the freedom to do with "their money" as they please.

Large corporations also need the freedom and liberty to pay low wages or export jobs to low wage countries (and import goods manufactured in these countries sans tariffs). Which is why the Koch brothers founded the Cato Institute (originally the Charles Koch Foundation) and consider themselves to be Libertarian (OST #61).

But the truth is that, if you "pull up libertarianism's floorboards, look beneath the surface... you'll start to get a sense of its purpose". Which is to serve the interests of the billionaire class. (The True History of Libertarianism in America: A Phony Ideology to Promote a Corporate Agenda).

This is something that Libertarianism and the modern Republican party have in common... freedom and liberty for the rich man... and serfdom for the poor man ("right to contract" in Conservative doublespeak).

SWTD Tags: Libertarianism, Thom Hartmann.

DSB #44

Not Able To Comment On The RNUSA Blog

This commentary concerns the blog Rational Nation USA. The screenshot (below) should given you an idea of a technical issue I'm encountering on this website that is preventing me from accessing the comment box. (Click image to enlarge).

As you can see from the image, the RNUSA website is appearing as a jumbled mess. Text that is supposed to be contained within the blog's lefthand sidebar is spilling over into the main panel. And (I'm guessing), that when I hover over the comment box, I'm actually hovering over the lefthand sidebar. Thus it is impossible for me to get into the comment box and type anything.

Meaning, that unless this problem resolves itself, I'm effectively banned from commenting. BTW, I did try 2 different browsers (Chrome and Firefox) with the same result. I also tried using my tablet, but the problem persists. It's possible the problem has something to do with the fact that my internet connection is currently being throttled because I've exceeded my monthly data cap (which I'll be able to determine when my monthly data allowance is refreshed Monday night), but I'm thinking this is a Blogger issue.

The sidebar on most blogs is on the right, whereas with RNUSA it is on the left. If the sidebar is on the right (where is should be) text cannot spill over onto the main panel. Because text, always being left-aligned, can't flow in that direction (can't flow over the main panel from the sidebar when the sidebar is located on the righthand of the screen).

I mention this in case the problem is not on my end, but some sort of Blogger technical issue. The blog host might want to move his sidebar from the left to the right of the screen. If this is a problem that other people are encountering and it isn't just me that can't comment on his blog (I'm saying).

On the other hand (if nobody else is encountering this problem), I guess I'll just have to wait and see if it resolves itself (after my allowance resets, or if the Blogger technical glitch is fixed). Whatever is causing the problem, for now I cannot comment.

For the record, I did notice this issue a couple of times in the past. However, after the page finished loading, everything that was supposed to be contained within the lefthand side bar was stuffed back into it. Currently that isn't the case... the page remains a jumbled mess even after it finishes loading.

DSB #43

If gop Preznit Nominee Trump Promises To Appoint Ted Cruz To SCOTUS #NeverTrump Wingnut Author Tells Glenn Beck Then He'll Vote 4 Him

The following via the Cruz-supporting Glenn Beck website.

Ted Cruz's defeat on Tuesday may have pulled the plug for some in the #NeverTrump movement, but not for Brad Thor. The New York Times best-selling author joined The Glenn Beck Program on Wednesday [5/4/2016 to discuss the] "only one way that I will move out of the #NeverTrump camp... and that would be to put Ted Cruz into Scalia's seat at the Supreme Court". (This One Thing Could Convince Author Brad Thor to Abandon #NeverTrump by Jonathan. GlennBeck.com 5/4/2016).

"Glenn pointed out many people are arguing a vote against Trump is a vote for Hillary" and Brad Thor replied "Right — and no to Hitler was yes to Stalin"... so Trump is Hitler and Hillary is Stalin? And yet Thor would vote for Adolf Trump, if only Donald J. Hitler promises to appoint Ted Cruz to the Supreme Court?

Nevermind that this appointment is, constitutionally speaking, Obama's to make. Thor adds, "We've now seen who really stands with liberty, who is a constitutionalist and who is in this just for their own". Ha ha, he made a joke. But actually, no. That was no joke.

Anyway, who the heck is "Jonathan" (dude the article is credited to)? Damned if I know and damned if I care. Someone who works with Glenn, I'm guessing. Brad Thor (for the record) is "is an American thriller novelist [and] a member of The Heritage Foundation [who] has spoken at their national headquarters on the need for robust missile defense". Also, "Thor has said in interviews that he shadowed a Black ops team in Afghanistan in 2008 to conduct research for his thriller The Apostle [and, additionally] because of the content of Thor's thriller The Last Patriot, Glenn Beck predicted incorrectly that he might be assassinated by Muslim extremists".

Interesting, because (regarding assassinations) Thor said (during the Beck interview) "I think we will see unprecedented assassination attempts on Donald Trump"... which I doubt. Because (1st of all) he's very likely going to lose spectacularly to Hillary Clinton.

Secondly, the assassinating-types (extremist militia groups who want/wanted Obama dead) are Rightwing. I'm not saying that nobody will want Trump dead, but "unprecedented assassination attempts" against a White Conservative is stretching it bigley IMO. Keep in mind that under our first African American POTUS "the rate of threats against the president has increased 400% from the 3k a year or so under President gwb" (Source).

But back to Thor... he sez "far be it from me as an author to lay out the meaning of words, but perhaps the hashtag should be #NeverEverTrump... I mean, it can't be more clear than that. Never - you know, this is coming from the left. I thought no meant no to the left. Does never not mean never?".

Obviously (given the FACT that he laid out a scenario under which he WOULD vote for Trump) never must NOT mean never (to him). Hashtag should be #NeverTrumpUnlessCruzSCOTUS.

Audio: Snippet of Glenn Beck and #NeverTrump advocate Brad Thor conversation from 5/4/2016.

SWTD Tags: 2016 Election, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, Glenn Beck, Hillary Clinton, SCOTUS, Ted Cruz.

DSB #42