Blogcritics Author: Brad Schader

Republican Truths for Fun and Profit

Brad Schader — Thu, 29 May 2008 20:01:33 EDT

Just when I thought it was safe to go back in the political water...
Oh, Scotty, I really thought we were done with you. I really felt your failure and dishonesty had shown through so thoroughly that you were going to spend the rest of your life hiding under a rock and begging G-d to forgive you for the lies you told to sell your master’s plan. I suppose that I should have known a weasel like you would...

The Political Junkie Makes a Nicotine-Free Return

Brad Schader — Wed, 21 May 2008 15:49:06 EDT

After quitting cigarettes and working out the rust, I return to politics and like nothing I can see.
Hello my fellow political junkies; it's been awhile. Quitting smoking and politics is not a very conducive match and therefore, in the interest of my own personal health, I took the year off politics. Well, now that I think that I have successfully beaten the beast, I feel it is time to return to my true love and see how different it looks...

Announcement: Short-content feeds

Phillip Winn — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT

Sunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding.

In Defense of the Loner

Brad Schader — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 05:28:27 EDT

The police have released information about the Virginia Tech shooter and the media has jumped all over every detail of this man's life in search of some clue as to why he did what he did. "He was a loner" is something we are now hearing over and over again about this guy. We are hearing he wrote "disturbing" things in his creative writing class. We are looking at these things as explanations for his actions. As a loner who writes "disturbing" fiction, I would like to say this guy does not represent the loner crowd. Just because a person is anti-social does not mean he hates society. Most of us who wear the "loner" moniker are actually shy or self-centered people. We do not really care enough about other people to want to kill them. If we like you, we like you. If we don't, we ignore you. It is that simple. Hostile opinions from others do not factor into our minds because we really do not care that much about what those people think. An asshole thinking I am an asshole means nothing because it is the opinion of an asshole.This guy who killed the people in Virginia yesterday was sick and disturbed, but it is wrong to look at each thing he was and did in order to help find the next one because all you will do is disenfranchise an entire group of people who are just trying to live in peace. Someone who really wants to do a bad act will do everything they can to fit in and not stand out. The terrorists who attacked us on September 11th did not have beards or wear turbans or act any way that told the world they were terrorists. A profile would not have stopped them, but it would have upset hundreds of innocent people. Profiling never punishes those it looks to stop, only those who fit the profile. The events of yesterday are tragic, but sadly unavoidable. Removing guns from society would not have stopped what happened. Profiling and starting files on every "loner" would not have stopped what happened. There are sick people out there who will always find a way to hurt people. The way to slow it down (since it will never stop) is to stop glamorizing these events when they happen. I have not read this kid's name nor will I learn it. I do not know the names of the Columbine kids, either. To do it would be to give them the fame they sought and that is all this is about. The best thing for us to do is learn the names of the victims and talk about who they were and ignore the prick that did it. We will learn nothing except new ways of dividing ourselves from looking at him, but we may come together by remembering those we lost.

I have been told by my friends that I am a politics junkie with a Ph.D. in Pop Culture, specializing in conspiracy and film. I have always felt that, much like we study old plays and poems, that the meaning of life can be found in movies and song lyrics. They are just the plays and poems of the day.

Unshakable Guilt

Brad Schader — Thu, 8 Mar 2007 03:45:53 EST

I giggled. I smirked. I thought of many jokes I had heard before and even created a few new ones. I am human, but so was the object of my laughter. He was homeless and shaggy. His hair was a matted, salt and pepper dread mange. His beard made him eligible for a ZZ Top fan club meeting, but I doubt he chose to have it. It, like his head, was colored salt and pepper only with a few other hues mixed in from who knows what.The only sign of him having a face was this dirty protrusion coming from the center of the mess of hair that could probably count for a nose. Other than that, it just looked much like a dirty, used cotton-swab sitting on a pair of shoulders walking in the Miami afternoon sun.His walk was more of a broken gate than an actual walk. His shorts allowed anyone watching to plainly see that arthritis had long since left him unable to straighten or bend his knees, leaving him hobbling along the sidewalk. They almost appeared not to be under his control as he passed by clutching an empty plastic 20-ounce water bottle, which appeared to be his sole possession.As this man walked by, I came out of my office to have a cigarette break because my life is so hard and stressful. I had to stare at first because I was not positive I was looking at a man. He seemed almost like a bear in a dirty windbreaker. He was shaking his head back and forth as he walked towards me. Well, not towards me, but toward my direction.I could hear muffled talking, which soon cleared up into a lively debate as he came closer. I looked around to see if I missed anyone else with him, but I didn't. He was one of those homeless people you hear about who are yelling at someone who isn't there. It was quite a heated debate, although I could not make out any English in his ramblings.I giggled. I smirked. I thought of many jokes I had heard before and even created a few new ones. I wondered who his carrier was and how his reception was. Mine is quite horrid there. I wondered about some other homeless guy somewhere having the other half of that conversation.I thought of many jokes in a fraction of a second, and then got smacked in the head by a ton of guilt. This was a human being I was mocking, possibly someone's father or husband and certainly someone's child. What separates him from me? Fate?I know my life and can tell you it is not choices that led him there entirely. I am a member of the "Lucky Sperm Club" and that is a fact. I have a good job because I was given a good job. Yes, I earned keeping it, but I still got my foot in the door because I was lucky. In ten years time, who knows where I will be? Who am I to laugh at some poor, homeless guy simply because he cracked under the strains of life? I doubt I would even last long enough to crack if I were in that situation. I also know I would get any job I had to and maybe that is what separates me from him. Here I am seven hours later still thinking about it. There is an image burned into my head, but I don't know if it is of him or of me refusing to look at him as he passed. Why did I avoid eye contact with this man? Did I fear his plight would leap from him onto me? Was it easier for me to go about my happy day if I did not see him? Is there anything I could have done for him if I had seen him or is this just what we tell ourselves? I will never know because I did nothing as he walked past me except to think of a few jokes I heard about homeless people talking to no one.If society acts like someone doesn't exist for a long enough period of time, can that person forget they exist? If so, did I just add to this man's delusion by not seeing him?

Another Open Letter to Bush

Brad Schader — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 18:03:07 EST

President Bush gave a speech yesterday in Mount Vernon, Va. at George Washington’s home in honor of his 275th birthday. He decided this was a great chance to compare himself to yet another great American President (a sort of Ying-Yang type thing I suppose) and try to justify his Iraq policies. This guy is getting beyond lame duck and into just sad.Mr. President, please read this. I hate to see you unknowingly create such great satire.“(W)e remember that the father of our country believed that the freedoms we secured in our revolution were not meant for Americans alone."I do not believe George Washington, or the first George W as you referred to him, intended this to mean what you think it to mean. This is not a statement intended to justify starting wars in other countries. It is a statement intended to defend your freedoms. It means that all people are free, not just Americans. It’s just that not all nations recognize those freedoms. That Sir is what makes us such a great country."On the field of battle, Washington's forces were facing a mighty empire, and the odds against them were overwhelming. The ragged Continental Army lost more battles than it won, suffered waves of desertions, and stood on the brink of disaster many times. Yet George Washington's calm hand and determination kept the cause of independence and the principles of our Declaration alive."Mr. President, I think you should refrain from using the Revolutionary War imagery to sell the Iraq war. In this case, it is we that are the mighty empire and the odds were with us. We are not the ragged army in Iraq and we have not suffered waves of desertions. The only brink of disaster is your handling of the war, Sir.General Washington and the Minutemen were insurgents Mr. President. They broke all the rules of war and used many of the same tactics those we are fighting in Iraq are using today. They went as far as to dress up as Indians (not wearing their uniforms when attacking) to board ships and toss tea into the harbor. If that is not terrorism, what is? Had they access to IED’s I guarantee you they would have used them as well. I think when one is defending their home against an invading army they tend to do whatever will work. They usually win as well because the invading army has to go home at sometime."After winning the war, Washington did what victorious leaders rarely did at the time. He voluntarily gave up power.”Mr. President, you are still in power in Iraq. In reality, you are sending more troops to Iraq and preparing our country for a completely new war in that nation. You declared victory in 2003 yet require more troops in 2007. Had you voluntarily given up power instead of constantly changing the goals we would not be where we are today. Finding weapons of mass destruction quickly became overthrowing Saddam. Not long after the statue fell, it became to help the Iraqis have an election; then another election; then write a constitution; then have another election. They do not believe you ever intend to leave."Over the centuries, America has succeeded because we have always tried to maintain the decency and the honor of our first president.”This was true Mr. President and it was true right up until you invaded Iraq. I wish to G-d that you would study the words you just spoke today and would study the history of the nation you proclaim to love. We are repeating history right now so we already know you did not learn it. We are repeating all the worst aspects of all the lost wars and I beg you to end it.Stop spinning this disaster and stop looking for a way to salvage your legacy. Go down in history as a leader who learned from his mistakes. That will make you stand out Sir because no leader has done that yet.

Credit for Illegals: Is it Really as Dumb as it Sounds?

Brad Schader — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 04:01:04 EST

I have been avoiding politics lately for various reasons, but a story is in the news and has urged me to speak my mind. It is the typical multi-layered story that causes lots of press and outrage on the surface before anyone even bothers to think about it. Bank of America has decided to issue credit cards to illegal immigrants and this decision has caused waves of outrage and disgust from the average person, but should it? Is this really as dumb as it admittedly sounds?A credit card is a trust based form of currency. It is simply an instant loan from a bank to an individual to assist in purchasing and is also used as a form of identification. To many, illegal immigrants have shown they are not to be trusted because they already broke the law to get here and are breaking more laws staying and working here so it makes no sense to validate them by giving them credit cards. I think it makes perfect sense to give them credit cards personally and I think you will see why. The biggest problem facing those trying to enforce the immigration laws are that those breaking those laws remain under the radar. They cannot get Ids, they cannot get Social Security cards, and they cannot get credit cards. This forces them to remain underground and untraceable. Once they cross the boarder they vanish from all law enforcement and immigration agencies and they will not resurface again. This leaves stopping them at the boarder as the only option left to INS and they obviously need more because they are not stopping anyone.Our society is becoming more and more of a cashless society everyday. The amount of things a person cannot do if they have no credit is growing daily. These people have worked very hard to get here and are already criminals in the eyes of the law so it is not that far a stretch for them to break more laws to stay here- stealing identity for example. If they could get credit cards they would become part of the system. They could not vanish because every purchase could be traced. There is no way to trace cash. We would force the illegal immigrants to come above ground."But the government cannot get the records of credit card companies to do those checks."I believe they could without changing any laws or taking anyone's liberties away. The Constitution gives only the government the right to coin money. As we continue on our path to becoming a paperless society the credit card is becoming the currency of the nation. As I said before, you must have a credit card in America to do most things. This means that right now our currency is owned and controlled by private companies and not the government. I believe it is time for Bank of America and Citibank and all other credit companies to lose the privilege of printing money and it should return to the Feds. It is one of the few times I support returning power to the federal government. We already have our elections in the hands of companies instead of the people and look how wonderfully those have been going, but that is for another article another day. Today I am just saying that giving credit to those here illegally will force those who want to remain underground above ground and reduce (not end) the amount of identity theft committed by those who are otherwise law abiding illegal immigrants who want to become part of the country. Why create another barrier and force them to break more laws?

Satire: National Appeal for the Fictional

Brad Schader — Thu, 8 Feb 2007 09:02:21 EST

In today's celebrity obsessed world, we tend to forget the other side of the entertainment world: the fictional characters. Do we really do enough to take care of the created after the sequels are over with like we do for the creators? It is not like Batman really has any other job opportunities if they stop making the movies. Sure, the actor will get other jobs, but Batman can only be Batman. If they stop making movies, the character is unemployed and I seriously doubt there is a pension plan for fictional characters. I know what you are saying. Batman is also Bruce Wayne and Bruce is loaded. Bad example I admit, but the point is still there. Once the movies are over with, the characters that were brought to life are left to wander around and pray for a sequel someday. They have to eat. They have families to feed and bills to pay. With no source of income, naturally we are going to see a rise in fictional crime in the real world. You think I am joking right now, but read on dear skeptics, read on. In Hollywood California, just this week on February 3rd, we had a run-in between an unemployed character and some tourists. After three successful movies and numerous television appearances in the late 70s and early 80s, Chewbacca had grown accustomed to a certain lifestyle. With the serious lack of quality werewolf movies being produced, he found his options for acting were limited to Star Wars related affairs only. His royalties for the first three movies were almost gone due to an unfair contract his first manager made him sign when he needed desperately to work. Around 1993, the talk around town was that Lucas was preparing to make a new batch of Star Wars movies. Chewbacca felt his ship had finally come in. He was $3 million in the hole to the local Hutt, Guava, and really could use the work, but Lucas would not take his calls. Lucas was going the prequel route instead and had no use for the Wookie. A cameo was talked about, but cameos do not pay the bills. Chewie was forced back onto the streets to pose for photos - the shame of the fictional world. This was his downfall."Nobody tells this Wookiee what to do," was the battle cry from an unemployed Wookie as he slammed his massive furry head into the head of a Hollywood tour guide. The tour guide's crime? Protecting two Japanese tourists from the possible hunger-induced Wookie rage.The true shame and horror of this tragic turn of events in Chewbacca's life is that the entire crime was witnessed by Superman, who did nothing to stop it. Seems the man of steel is on strike when the cameras are not rolling, but can we really blame him? What other options do these characters have to earn a living? Would you hire a fictional character? Honestly?This is not the first time and it is not the last time we will see assaults come from the fictional. There are those who will want to pass harsher laws to punish the fictional instead of working to correct this growing employment and re-education problem. The Los Angeles Times is reporting that just two years ago, Mr. Incredible and the Scream killer were arrested for "aggressive begging." Locking them up is not the option because, while no one will hire a fictional character, no one would even consider an ex-con fictional character. We would only add to the rise in fictional crimes. Pray the new Tickle Me Elmo sold well because Elmo was picked up back then, too. Can you believe Elmo and Chewbacca have been reduced to begging? Please support your local sequel. It is the least you can do.

Real Horror: It's What You Don't See

Brad Schader — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 09:20:11 EST

The Hitcher was by no means a classic of horror. It was well made and well acted and original for the most part, but it never grabbed the following of a Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Friday the 13th, which is a shame to be honest. It was one of my favorite horror movies of all time mainly because it is one of the few that actually got to me. It scared me; it kept me literally on the edge of my seat with no clue as to what will happen next. That is rare for me and movies.The Hitcher stars C. Thomas Howell as a guy whose name is unimportant to me. He had a name, I guarantee, but I cannot remember it for the life of me and am too lazy to IMDb it. Anyway, he plays a guy who is being paid to drive a car across country. It is a long and boring drive and he was told not to take riders, but it is a long and boring drive and he notices a hitchhiker (Rutger Hauer) out in the rain. He should have listened to his boss. The hitcher quickly reveals himself to be a psycho who has thus far murdered everyone who has picked him up and plans the same for poor C. Tommy, but C. Tommy has a will to live, kicks Rutger out of a moving car, and the chase is on.While the plot of the movie is by no means deep, it does serve as the vehicle we are strapped into for the rest of the ride. This is not a movie made for the story, it was made for those moments that make up the story. What this movie does so well is take us back to an era where special effects were special and not constant. Never does a killing take place on screen, and that is where this movie gets its power. We never know exactly just how insane Rutger is until the famous truck scene near the end. The rest is told to us through the actors' faces and not on-screen gore.I have not seen the new one and am basing every word of this on reviews of the remake. I have read numerous accounts of the “police station” scene and I can tell you that the original is done with much more style.C. Thomas Howell is suspected of the murders that the hitcher has committed due to the latter’s very clever frame up. C. Tommy gets arrested and falls asleep in his jail cell. The scene is reassuring because the hitcher cannot get to Tommy while in police custody, right? Tommy wakes up and his cell door is open. He slowly leaves his cell and wanders through a police station filled with dead cops, but we do not see the cops. We see Tommy seeing the cops. We see blood on the walls and desks and phones, but no cops. The scene is amazing in its strength because somehow this psycho killed an entire station and C. Tommy is supposed to beat that.The 2007 remake has this exact same scene, only done with that Michael Bay flair. The scene is shown from the hitcher’s perspective instead, set to the music of Nine Inch Nails, and every detail is shown. It apparently is shot like a music video and made to thrill the audience. This sort of changes the entire story and draw because now the audience is thrilled to see the hitcher instead of the fear they are supposed to feel. The makers missed the point of this movie. We are supposed to sympathize and side with C. Tommy and not Rutger.Okay, to give them some slack, there are horror movies that are about the thrill of watching someone die. I will give them that. The Friday the 13th movies and Nightmare on Elm Street movies are all about the killer and the kills, but not all horror movies are about that. Some try to place you in the victim’s shoes instead and want the audience to feel horror when the killer is shown and not get excited because something cool is about to happen. What made Texas Chainsaw a masterpiece is that 99% of the gore is not shown. The bad things happen behind closed doors and the filmmakers force you to come up with what happens. It is really more effective that way because we will each come up with something different that scares us instead of the filmmaker showing us what scares them.I understand this move towards showing gore in movies today and it actually has everything to do with the war in Iraq, to be honest. If one looks at the history of horror movies one cannot help but notice that it always reflects the political atmosphere. The '50s gave us stories of people being controlled by evil aliens at the same time we were afraid of people secretly being communists and invasions from outer space while we feared another global war. Movies like Invasion of the Body Snatchers and The Blob played perfectly on those fears. The '60s saw a rise in the gore and torture films such as Bloodfeast just as Vietnam was getting more and more unpopular. In fact, the gore and torture only increased as the decade wore on. The '70s saw us no longer having faith in our government so naturally the Devil became a major villain with religion no longer being able to protect us in such classics as The Exorcist and The Omen and the '80s saw the birth of the personable killer because the '80s were all about style over substance. It really is no surprise to me that in the days of Abu Ghraib we are seeing a return to the torture/gore movies. I just wish they would do original stories like Hostel and Saw and leave our classics alone -- no matter how non-classic they may be.

My Right Gemini Twin on Bush's Speech

Brad Schader — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 03:10:51 EST

Could it be our little Dubya is growing up? He is not a mature adult yet, but he has taken a massive step and I am quite proud of our little guy. I mean he is still deep in denial about how we got to where we are today in Iraq, but he is recognizing the depth of our failures thus far and his responsibility for those failures. Little steps forward are better than giant leaps backwards I believe. Tonight’s speech has given me a tiny ray of hope in an otherwise dim outlook.Al Qaeda terrorists and Sunni insurgents recognized the mortal danger that Iraq’s elections posed for their cause. And they responded with outrageous acts of murder aimed at innocent Iraqis.Al Qaeda has very little to do with the trouble in Iraq today. The Sunni/ Shiite war has a very long history that goes back much further than our overthrow of Saddam. It is a conflict that even predates the war between Sunni ran Iraq and Shiite ran Iran in the '80s. It is a religious war of ideology much like the Catholic/Protestant war that wreaked havoc in England for so long. It saddens me that Bush still insists that Iraq has anything to do with the war on terror, but like I said, at least he is getting better.The situation in Iraq is unacceptable to the American people – and it is unacceptable to me… where mistakes have been made, the responsibility rests with me. It has taken President Bush six long years to admit error, but he finally has and that does count for something with me. It is a long way from his mocking the hunt for WMDs and his insistence that we were winning in Iraq. The speech tonight could possibly signal the birth of a new George Bush; one that is humbled before the American people. It is possible that he really did get the message sent to him in November. His past history does not fill me with much hope, but the speech tonight does. In keeping with the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group, we will increase the embedding of American advisers in Iraqi Army units – and partner a Coalition brigade with every Iraqi Army division. We will help the Iraqis build a larger and better-equipped Army – and we will accelerate the training of Iraqi forces... We will give our commanders and civilians greater flexibility to spend funds for economic assistance. We will double the number of Provincial Reconstruction Teams.This is a very different plan than the one we have failed under for the past three years. It almost seems like President Bush has recognized it was his desire to run the war that caused most of the problems and has finally decided to let those who understand war run it. Most of the items he is covering in this new plan are actually things requested of him and denied long ago. This is not so much his plan as his acknowledging his plan sucked in the first place, but nothing was going to change until he realized his failures.The plan is far from perfect and, to be honest, I still wish we had never gone in the first place, but wishes are for wells. The reality is that we are there. We have two choices before us and those are leave or stay. I would prefer we leave, but that is not going to happen so at least those with experience are going to be running it now. There is hope for success now whatever that means. I am trying to be optimistic right now. I did not watch the speech, but read the text online. I may be giving the words written for him more credit than his reading them deserved. I may wake up tomorrow pissed off at the entire plan, but then I will read this and say “I am an idiot” and not know if I mean when I wrote this or when I read it.

Lesson to the Future Warlords

Brad Schader — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 18:07:18 EST

Iraq is something that can be turned into a positive, but it is up to every world leader who will follow to bring out the positive there, and only time will tell if the positive is learned. The positive is not what you might think it is however. The positive has nothing to do with any of the stated or implied goals we entered into that country under. The positive has everything to do with the historical lesson in pride used as a basis for policy and how the path to Hell is paved with the best of intentions.There is no doubt that those who planned the war in Iraq really did believe everything they claimed going into it. I really believe they thought we would be greeted as liberators and not occupiers. I really believe they thought the war would pay for itself. They really thought that the Iraqis were so angry with Saddam’s rule that they would welcome anyone who liberated them from his reign. There is also no doubt that these people were so convinced they were correct that they did not even bother with a plan “B”. What was learned upon taking Iraq was a slap in the face of every Neocon ideal. The Iraqis turned out to be a very nationalist people who were weary of any outsider. We learned the Iraqis are a splintered group of people who had only paused in their civil war because Saddam gave them something they hated more. We learned that the enemy of my enemy is probably my enemy as well. We learned that good intentions are not the basis of policy, and that wars should always be the last resort and not the primary option. We learned the dangers of unbridled pride run amuck. We learned that doing the right thing at the wrong time is always the wrong thing. I think the perfect analogy for the Middle East is to view it as a sweater. Follow me with this. The Middle East is a sweater, and each country is a different thread of wool. There was a frayed end on one of the threads, let’s call that thread Iraq. The frayed end was annoying us and posed the risk or ruining the entire sweater, so naturally we pulled on that thread. What we missed was the fact that the thread was holding many other threads in place and now, with that thread removed, the sweater we tried so hard to protect is destroyed by our act of salvation. I never said G-d is opposed to irony. I think it is His greatest of joys personally. This is the main reason I am such an isolationist. It is not that I do not care for other people or their plight, but that my helping may cause more damage than doing nothing. If they ask for help I am the first one there. I let them know I am there if they need anything, but I never take it upon myself to help someone if not asked. I probably do not know the entire situation. I would be working on assumptions and that never leads to good things. Look at Iraq.Back to the subject at hand. Iraq in the proper light is a noble and valiant lesson in the value of restraint. If Bush had taken as long to decide about invading as he has about what to do next the lack of weapons of mass destruction would have been common knowledge, and we would have more than 20,000 troops in Afghanistan. More pride can be found in the thought that 20,000 troops can do what the Soviet Union failed to do in 10 years. Afghanistan broke the U.S.S.R. as much as Reagan and rock music did and now it is going to break us. The Taliban are even regaining lost turf as we play in the sandbox known as Iraq. Of all man’s sins, pride is by far my favorite one- Al Pacino in “The Devil’s Advocate”Soldiers die so that other might live in a better world. If the deaths in Iraq prevent the next rushed war then the deaths will not have been in vain. If every nation learns that war is a beast unto itself and does not care about your intentions then they can rest in peace. If we continue on our proud path then we murdered our children to feed our egos. We cannot undo the death. We can only learn from our folly. I hope we learn.