Big news of the day was Ferguson and the failure to indict, which many suspected was coming after a bunch of small leaks, which were apparently intended to try and head off the fireworks. It didn’t work. They finally released the decision in the dark of the night, and it turned out to be another stupid decision by Ferguson authorities and the prosecutor’s office. Ferguson exploded again. This battle is far from over and soon all the real experts are going to be weighing in on the evidence, which could reignite it all over again in Ferguson and other places.
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The President canned Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, reinforcing the belief among many that Obama and his national security team really are running around in circles uncertain about what to do abroad. The problem is that there is a war party out there in the military, in Congress, among both Democrats and Republicans, and in a whole group of corporations who seem to want us to attack somebody. Eisenhower’s warning to us in the 1950s about the military/ industrial complex is probably more true today than when he said it. Now we’re outsourcing war to independent contractors and the president seems to have difficulty articulating where we are and where he wants to go.
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The bipartisan Congressional Joint Intelligence Committee, made up of senators and congress members from both parties, rendered its decision on the controversy surrounding Benghazi. As many of us suspected, the entire fracas about that tragedy, the accusations of conspiracies and cover-ups, was pretty much partisan baloney. I thought it was gutsy of the committee to be quite clear about it. The problem is that Benghazi taught the Democrats an expensive lesson: it’s not reality that counts, but how people perceive that reality, whether it’s right or wrong. By the time reality catches up to the perception, people have already voted and moved on and there are new issues to deal with. So, the rule becomes “attack, attack, attack” and don’t worry too much about the facts because the entire electorate suffers from a bad case of attention deficit disorder. I know that’s pretty cynical, but I think that you’re going to see our politics turn even nastier, if that’s possible.
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Karen and I just came back from a road trip upstate to Monterey and Santa Cruz, visiting children and grandchildren, and experienced some absolutely gorgeous days and some very dark nights. If you happen to be 25 years old, athletic and light on your feet, I guess the dark sky initiative is wonderful, and seeing the stars is wonderful. But if you happen to be over 50, and much of California is headed that way, you could break your neck if you’re walking around in the dark without any decent street lights. Either we have to get some lights, issue a miner’s cap to everyone over 50, or orthopedists are going to see a boom in business.
As you drive along the state you do notice changes. Many of the fields growing crops are now covered in plastic and I suspect also using drip irrigation. California farmland, which is among the most fertile in the country, has long thrived on cheap, government-subsidized water, but that’s changing rapidly.
The coast appears to have weathered the recession and looks very prosperous now, but the Central Valley still looks like it’s in a recession. We drove through a sequence of small, tired towns that didn’t look like they had much hope left.
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If you’re a movie buff and haven’t joined the Malibu Film Society you’re missing a golden opportunity, particularly this year. In a normal year, after the film festivals, there are always a group of films that emerge as the leading contenders. This year, the industry consensus is much more divided so almost anyone could take home an Oscar, which has started a virtual feeding frenzy among some of the studios. The last few years we showed a few major films that won Oscars for both films and individuals. The word is out in the industry and we’re getting all sorts of offers to show the films. Not only are we getting the films, but the major players are also showing up to talk about their work. This past weekend producer/actor Kevin Costner and writer/director/producer Mike Binder came to talk about their new film, “Black or White” in a Q & A. See Jimy Tallal’s story in this week’s issue. The Malibu Film Society can be found online at MalibuFilmSociety.org.