OK, so it’s not Shakespeare.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the bard, and I think Kenneth Brannagh has a true gift for those works…

What this movie IS:

• A lot of fun.
• Pure, 100% escapism.
• Great example of the state of the art in GCI animation, and the blurring of the line between live action and animation.

Whether he knew it or not, Micheal Bay has released this film at almost the perfect time. 

From the Seattle Times:

Washington, DC - Congressman Dave Reichert (WA-08) released the following statement today after the U.S. House passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act:

“Energy independence and our national security are critical issues for America. These issues transcend politics. The future of this country is on the line and we can spare no effort when it comes to  leading on these issues at a global level.

“This bill is not perfect, but it is a vital step toward energy independence. America cannot maintain global leadership without innovation and new ideas, and we cannot lead if we increasingly depend
on foreign nations to heat our homes and move people and goods. The price of inaction is too great; America cannot stand on the sidelines while our competitors embrace new energy efficient technologies. It’s also important that we engage in a bipartisan discussion as we move forward - this bill has many other hoops to jump through before it becomes law and I will continue to work with my colleagues across the aisle and in the Senate to gain more tax relief for middle-income families.

From Michelle Malkin, we get the link to the final talley, showing Congressman Dave Reichert voting AYE, to PASS the Cap and Trade Economy Killer Bill.

As Michelle asks;

There are 7 GOP turncoats with recorded YEA votes.

What were their payoffs???

I hope Dave Reichert’s payoff was worth it, because he has now thrown his lot in with the job killers in the Democrat party.

I held my nose and voted for Reichert in 2008, because he is a squishy Republican at best.  There was never any thought that he was a conservative.  But the alternative was Darcy Burner.

At least Burner would not have stabbed her Liberal supporters in the back, like Reichert has with conservatives, Republicans, and working people.

Even if this Bill gets stopped in the Senate, Reichert has given the fanatics on the left some degree of cover, by supporting this monstrosity of a bill.

Michelle Malkin and the Americana for Prosperity are reporting that Dave Reichert (R - Wa. Dist is leaning towards a YES vote on the Cap and Trade Economy Killer bill, currently being ramrodded through the House of Representatives, despite the Republicans being locked out of the process, and Cong. Waman doing a midnight drop of a 300+ page amendment to the bill.

I cannot encourage people strongly enough to contact Cong. Reichert’s office, and let them know where you stand on this issue!

Washington DC office phone: (202) 225-7761

Mercer Island office phone:  (206) 275-3438 or (877) 920-9208

If you are a constituent, you can email his office here.

Over at Northwest Digest, I wrote about the non-starter of a tax plan that President Obama wants to foist on American firms doing business in foreign countries.

At a time when the economy is still failing, the President’s desire to increase taxes on corporations is something that’s sure to kill jobs. One hears a lot from “progressive” activists about the need to make “big business” pay it’s “fair share.” What these activists either don’t know, or don’t care to know, is that the U.S. already has the second-highest corporate tax rate in the world.

I could go on and on about the new global marketplace, and how the President’s tax plan is non-sensical. But as you’ll see in the article from NWDIGEST.COM, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer does a pretty good job of it as is.

Ralph Peters has a most excellent piece today, courtesy of the NY Post:

An ugly pattern’s emerging in our president’s beliefs:

He’s infallible. This is rich, given all the criticism of the Bush administration’s unwillingness to admit mistakes. We now have a president with Jimmy Carter’s naivete, Richard Nixon’s distaste for laws, Lyndon Johnson’s commitment to the wrong war, and Bill Clinton’s moral fecklessness.

Democracy isn’t important. Our president seems infected by yesteryear’s Third-World-leftist view that dictatorships are essential to post-colonial development — especially for Muslims.

Look where Obama has gone and who he supports: the pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, his groveling speech in Egypt, his embrace of Hamas, his hands-off approach to the gory regime in Sudan — and now his dismay at the protests in Iran.

Gateway Pundit has a wonderful piece comparing and contrasting the stands of G. W. Bush and B .H. Obama, regarding the struggle for freedom and democracy in the world today:

“All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know: the United States will not ignore your oppression, or excuse your oppressors. When you stand for your liberty, we will stand with you.”

President George W. Bush
Second Inaugural Speech
January 20, 2005

President Bush’s made this pledge to political dissidents and freedom activists in 2005, “We will stand with you.” And, the oppressed took him at his word. There was an Orange Revolution in Ukraine, a Tulip Revolution in Kyrgyzstan, and a Cedar Revolution in Lebanon that spring. There were democratic elections in Afghanistan where women were not only allowed to vote but took seats in parliament. There were democratic elections for the first time in the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia released political dissidents. There were Arab democracy conferences in Qatar and women were allowed to vote in Kuwait. Egyptian judges stood up against a regime. Another regime in Libya opened up to the West. And who could forget the Iraqis who walked for miles, braving terrorist death threats, to vote in free democratic elections for the very first time.

I have stayed away from this for a week, but feel compelled to comment at this point.

Courtesy of JoNova:

Michael Kundu, Board President of Marysville (Washington State, USA) District #25 has written to colleagues to urge them to trash a free science resource that discusses logic, reason and evidence, and the core of science. The Skeptics Handbook has arrived at school board presidents’ desks around the US.

“I would encourage all of you to stuff that junk mail directly into the recycle basket.”

In a spot of unwitting self-parody he states:

“…we need to have the ability to tell fact from fiction.  This last mailing is an excellent example of ‘fiction’.”

Thus Michael Kundu, whale photographer, pronounces the data from NASA, Hadley, UAH, CSSP, IPPC, as fiction.

There is a great deal more background at the link, including an interesting exchange between a Marysville resident, and Mr. Kunda, in the Comments.

Thanks to Kyle Drennen at Newsbusters:

Newsweek editor Evan Thomas brought adulation over President Obama’s Cairo speech to a whole new level on Friday, declaring on MSNBC: “I mean in a way Obama’s standing above the country, above – above the world, he’s sort of God.”

…”Reagan was all about America, and you talked about it. Obama is ‘we are above that now.’ We’re not just parochial, we’re not just chauvinistic, we’re not just provincial.”

Thomas elaborated on Obama as God, patronizingly explaining: “He’s going to bring all different sides together…Obama is trying to sort of tamper everything down. He doesn’t even use the word error. He uses extremism. He’s all about let us reason together…He’s the teacher. He is going to say, ‘now, children, stop fighting and quarreling with each other.’ And he has a kind of a moral authority that he – he can – he can do that.”