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Month: June 2011

Saturday Night At The Movies — Bad teacher (not that one..)

Published by digby on June 26, 2011
Saturday Night At The Movies

Bad teacher
By Dennis Hartley












Mean girls, circa 1934: Cracks
While glancing over the film studio’s press kit synopsis of Jordan (daughter of Ridley) Scott’s directorial debut, Cracks, I have to say that I got my feathers ruffled over the fact that it trumpeted “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie meets Lord of the Flies.” Ahem, I thought to myself, that’s my job as the obsessive-compulsive film buff to come up with clever little “(blank) meets (blank)” references. Don’t dictate to me how to perceive the film before I even see it. How dare you usurp the mighty film critic, I continued raging, like the petulant man-child that I am…don’t do as I do…do as I say! So I defiantly dredged up my own comparisons: It’s Picnic at Hanging Rock meets The Children’s Hour! It’s Heavenly Creatures meets The Fallen Idol! Hah! You want esoteric? Try The Sailor Who Fell from Grace With the Sea meets Death in Venice …bee-YATCHes!!
I digress. As you may have gleaned from some of the references above, Scott’s film is the latest entry in a time-honored film genre: The Boarding School Drama. Set in the 1930s, with Irish filming locations standing in for an English coastal island, this particular institution is an elite girl’s school. As we’ve learned from watching such tales over the years, each school has its own caste system, with an exclusive ruling clique at the top of the pyramid. This one is led by a haughty young miss named Di (Juno Temple), who publicly admonishes her peeps for such high crimes and misdemeanors as insufficiently buttering her toast for her at breakfast; after which she magnanimously assuages the humiliated underling with a tough love caveat: “We must set the standard for the others.”
However, there is a cosmology from upon high to which Di defers for “the standard” and guidance, which is handed down by the Unconventional Yet Inspirational Teacher of the piece. She is the enigmatically named Miss G (Eva Green). Di and her hand-picked inner circle share a mutual admiration society with the free-spirited Miss G, who captivates her charges with affected worldly poise and romanticized tales of wanderlust. She has also chosen them for her exclusive “diving team”, appointing Di as the captain. In return, Miss G gets to bask in adulation and feed (in somewhat vampiric fashion) off of their youthful exuberance. “What is the most important thing in life?” she challenges them, firing them up for dive practice “Desire!” (Hmmm…‘desire’. More on that, in just a sec).
Everything goes swimmingly for Miss G. and her frolicking water nymphs until the arrival of a new girl throws a Spaniard in the works. Her name is Fiamma (Maria Valverde), and she hails from an aristocratic Spanish family. The headmistress puts the new girl under Miss G’s tutelage, instructing her to make Fiamma feel welcome, but with no special deference (implying expectation that she will play the spoiled little princess). Di wastes little time making Fiamma feel “welcome” by informing her in no uncertain terms (as she is unpacking) that she is “allowed” but five personal decorative objects on her nightstand. There is no tantrum, no tears (the kind of reaction that bullies really hate). In fact, Fiamma vibes a sophistication and maturity beyond the ken of the other girls; and when she recognizes one of Miss G’s “personal” anecdotes to be rote memorization from a published work, it is clear that the group dynamic is about to change. The divine Miss G, it would seem, has feet of clay-but don’t think that she will readily give up her stature.
The director co-adapted her screenplay with Ben Court and Caroline Ip from a novel by Shelia Kohler. I have not read the source book, but a perusal of the author’s website reveals that the prevalent theme in her stories is a quest to dissect “…the reasons for violence within intimate relationships, in particular, the abuse of power and privilege.” I can definitely see that in this film; particularly through the character of Miss G, who (especially as her darker nature comes to the fore) is the very embodiment of this theme. Sadly, this ultimate betrayal of trust by a parental/mentor/authority figure has become par for the course in the nightly news-so much so we hardly blink anymore when presented with the sordid details. Green is edgy and effective in the role, particularly in the way she keeps the Sapphic psychosexual undercurrents roiling just below the surface, poised to explode at any moment (Blanche Dubois as a life coach). This is a promising debut for Scott; if her direction falters, it’s in the film’s pacing, which could have used some tightening; this feels akin to a Masterpiece Theater presentation. Perhaps understandably, she hasn’t discovered her filmic voice yet. Still, I would recommend it for the fine performances and absorbing story…so you could say that I’m willing to grade on a curve.
Previous posts with related themes:

Charts ‘o the day: 15 charts that will blow your mind

Published by digby on June 25, 2011

Charts ‘o the day


by digby
Shhh. Don’t mention any of this in public or you will be accused of waging class warfare. But take a look at these charts.
Here are just a couple of examples:


Perhaps the most startling thing about this series of charts is that they are being featured at Business Insider:

The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. Cliché, sure, but it’s also more true than at any time since the Gilded Age.

The poor are getting poorer, wages are falling behind inflation, and social mobility is at an all-time low.

If you’re in that top 1%, life is grand.

That sounds suspiciously like class treason to me.

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Blast from the past

Published by digby on June 25, 2011

Blast from the past

by digby

Looks like Romney’s going the full Thatcher:

If it gets results, do it again. And if it means a change of government, definitely do it again.

Mitt Romney has adapted a poster and slogan used by former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to boost his Republican presidential bid.

Mr Romney is likening President Obama’s America to the economic blight that dogged late 1970s Britain.

The ad for Mrs Thatcher came out in 1979 when she was leader of the Conservative Party.


‘Poster of the century’: Romney’s poster above the old British Conservative Party’s version.

1979 was a very good year for conservatives. It’s clever of Romney to ape Thatcher instead of Reagan. It makes him look fresher than the rest.

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Not so sweet after all

Published by digby on June 25, 2011

Not so sweet after all


by digby

Whoa:

You know that romantically making out couple at the Vancouver protests the other week? Wasn’t so sweet after all. Wasn’t staged, either, unfortunately. New video shows the couple just before the photo was shot, and that lovely kiss was in fact a visibly upset Alexandra Thomas being comforted by Scott Jones, after riot cops beat and kicked her while she lay supine on the ground

Not quite as “romantic” as we thought, was it?

They really need to pass one of those laws that are being enacted in the United States to protect the police from this kind of intrusion on their privacy.
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Getting old and poor in a gilded age

Published by digby on June 25, 2011
Getting Old And Poor In A Gilded Age

by digby

The latest bright idea for chipping away at elder security is to change the benefits formula via the “chained CPI” (consumer price index.) It’s one of those wonky things that they probably figure is easy to sell to the public because it sounds like a simple formality. But this is the effect:

Cutting the Social Security COLA by Changing the Way Inflation is Calculated Would Especially Hurt Women shows that women will be hit hardest by changing the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment from the CPI-W to the “chained CPI”. This proposed change delivers a triple whammy to women. Since women live longer than men, they face deeper cuts in their Social Security benefits under the chained CPI because the cuts get larger each year. Women rely more on income from Social Security than do men, so these cuts would represent a greater share of their total retirement income. And since older women are already more economically vulnerable than older men, these cuts will leave more of them unable to meet basic needs…

The cuts from switching to the chained CPI may look small to some policy makers and editorial writers, but they would seriously affect the ability of many elderly beneficiaries to make ends meet. For example, the average monthly cost of food for a single elderly individual is $231 per month ($53 per week in 2010 dollars), based on national data from the Elder Economic Security Standard Index developed by Wider Opportunities for Women and the University of Massachusetts, Boston. Thus a benefit cut of $56 per month, or $672 per year-the cut at age 80 from the reduced COLA for an individual with an initial monthly benefit of $1,100-is equivalent to over a week’s worth of food each month or 13 weeks of food that year.” (Pg. 3)

The older you get the less money you receive. But hey, I anticipate a lot of job openings for 85 year old women, so they shouldn’t have any problem supplementing their income. (On the other hand, catfood is pretty cheap at Trader Joes, so it’s not like they’ll starve or anything.)

I ran into this elderly lady at the Vets the other day who was weeping and broken-hearted because she had to choose between medication for herself and her beloved cat. Perhaps that sounds like “tough shit” to a lot of people — the old lady should be grateful to be able to pay for her own medication. (My vet worked something out with her, I gathered, but it’s got to be a constant problem.) But eing old, alone and poor, perhaps with only a pet for companionship, is something that could happen to any of us. You don’t know what kind of curve balls you’ll be thrown in this life. All citizens of this vastly wealthy country should be able to live out the last years of their lives in dignity regardless of whether they were “winners” in their working years.

Here’s the truly perverse thing about all this: SS benefits should not be cut, that’s obvious. But the truth is that they are inadequate and actually need to rise. This piece by Tom Geoghegan makes the case:

As a labor lawyer I cringe when Democrats talk of “saving” Social Security. We should not “save” it but raise it. Right now Social Security pays out 39 percent of the average worker’s preretirement earnings. While jaws may drop inside the Beltway, we could raise that to 50 percent. We’d still be near the bottom of the league of the world’s richest countries — but at least it would be a basement with some food and air. We have elderly people living on less than $10,000 a year. Is that what Democrats want to “save”?

“But we can’t afford it!” Oh, come on: We have a federal tax rate equal to nearly 15 percent of our G.D.P. — far below the take in most wealthy countries. Let’s wake up: the biggest crisis we face is that most of us have nothing meaningful saved for retirement. I know. I started my career wanting to be a pension lawyer. In the 1970s, lawyers like me expected there to be big pots of private pensions for hourly workers. By the 1980s, as factories closed, I was filing hopeless lawsuits to claw back bits and pieces of benefits. Now there are even fewer bits and pieces to get.

A recent Harris poll found that 34 percent of Americans have nothing saved for retirement — not even a hundred bucks. In this lost decade, that percentage is sure to go up. At retirement the lucky few with a 401(k) typically have $98,000. As an annuity that’s about $600 a month — not exactly an upper-middle-class lifestyle. It’s too late for Congress to come up with some new savings plan — a new I.R.A. that grows hair, or something. There’s no time. We have to improve the one public pension program in place.

Read on. It’s not impossible or economically onerous to do it at all except for the fact that our political system is so broken that the only debate that’s even allowed in the public sphere is the level of pain that must be born by the young, sick and elderly.

Alternet is promoting something interesting along this line that I think is an excellent idea — they are trying to raise the boomer consciousness about this. I realize that this generation is considered the problem by many, but I think that considering the stakes for them and their kids, they could be a huge part of the solution. Here’s the email I got today:

Dear friends (Boomers and otherwise),

Here is a big question for you: Will Baby Boomers—some ofthe 77 million Americans born between 1946 and 1964—become a powerful force by reconnecting to the ideals of our youth? Could Boomers, desperate for moral and political vision, join forces in our society and say: “We are going to be a positive force for change as we age”? Of course, if you are reading this, you are probably already engaged, making positive contributions to change. But it will require banding together to leverage our power. Wouldn’t it be inspiring if Boomers came full circle? If we used the strength of our enormous numbers, and our idealism? If we embraced the economic, environmental and social justice issues that will unite generations and help to create the better world that we so desperately need? It Is Possible. It Is Necessary.As a Boomer, I think it is possible. And given the direction in which our country is headed, it is a necessity! We can see it as a generational responsibility for Boomers to play a strong, positive role in society, for our younger friends, colleagues and families, for our children and grandchildren, for everyone. It is vital that we develop a broader awareness, that we celebrate our roots and our history. In fact, I think it is so important that we aspire to positive Boomer-consciousness that we at AlterNet are planning to establish a special Boomer Web site of thinkers, writers and participants—like you—to explore the exciting potential of a more liberated Baby Boomer generation, to jumpstart some creative Boomer thinking and discussions. No one is really doing this. We can be ahead of the curve. But we need to do it together. I need you to participate, and I need your help. More about that in a moment. An Antidote to Generational Conflict It is easy to get the feeling that in some circles, like corporate media pundits, there is a conspiracy to blame Baby Boomers for economic fears about the future. Boomers are being scapegoated for being greedy and wanting more than our fair share at the expense of future generations. As the blogger Karoli writes, “I am a Baby Boomer and lately that means I’m viewed as a piggy citizen who wants more than my fair share at the expense of…gasp!…my children. And my future grandchildren, of course.” That doesn’t make too much sense, and in fact, it is a pack of lies.But this is why Boomers have to be politically awake. The scapegoating pundits are the same forces that are spreading lies about Social Security and Medicare—and those are direct attacks on Boomers. But the generations that follow us will also suffer. That is why we need to stick together. A Familiar Name: The Koch Brothers and a Pack of LiesOur friends at Brave New Films recently documented how the right-wing echo chamber, funded lavishly by the Koch brothers, is at work to scapegoat Boomers with fear-mongering. Lies are generated and repeated countless times, often featuring the relentless repetition of two words: collapse and bankrupt. The first lie is: “We must raise the retirement age, or the economy will collapse.“The second lie is: “Social security is bankrupt.” These two statements have been repeated thousands of times in and on American media. Yet there is not one scintilla of evidence that either one is accurate. AlterNetters Are of All GenerationsOf course, AlterNet readers are all ages, from teenagers to septuagenarians. And many of AlterNet’s staff members are young people. It is our common AlterNet experience that we want to make the world a better place by being well-informed and taking action, and enjoying life fully, while doing the right thing. This set of values crosses all generations. But a lot of AlterNet readers are Boomers. And I bet you have thought about this question: “How will I contribute as I get older?”It is time to step up. That’s why we are creating a “Boomer fund.” It will help generate stories, ideas, cover inspirational examples, create discussions and debates, and generally raise the consciousness of America’s huge Boomer cohort. It will help fight the battles to protect Medicare, Social Security and pensions, and come up with even better ideas for the future.
This Is a Startup We are starting from scratch. This is something altogether new. All the money raised from this and future appeals will be used to work toward the goal of a progressive Boomer generation playing a positive role in the future of our society. Will you help? We are confident that we can raise enough startup money: $25,000 is a modest goal that will get us rolling. Then we will launch in September, after the summer, when we will all need to hit the ground running for the next stage to ensure a better future.So please, think about this idea. If it makes sense to you, join us at the beginning. Break new ground with us and make a contribution.And start thinking about what you want to share. In fact, if you don’t want to wait, write us at Boomers@alternet.org and tell us what you think.

Sounds like something worth thinking about.

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Judicial temperament

Published by digby on June 25, 2011

Judicial temperament

by digby

Gosh re-electing this creep was certainly a good idea, wasn’t it?

Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser allegedly grabbed fellow Justice Ann Walsh Bradley around the neck in an argument in her chambers last week, according to at least three knowledgeable sources.
Details of the incident, investigated jointly by Wisconsin Public Radio and the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, remain sketchy. The sources spoke on the condition that they not be named, citing a need to preserve professional relationships.

They say an argument that occurred before the court’s release of a decision upholding a bill to curtail the collective bargaining rights of public employees culminated in a physical altercation in the presence of other justices. Bradley purportedly asked Prosser to leave her office, whereupon Prosser grabbed Bradley by the neck with both hands.

Justice Prosser, contacted Friday afternoon by the Center, declined comment: “I have nothing to say about it.” He repeated this statement after the particulars of the story — including the allegation that there was physical contact between him and Bradley — were described. He did not confirm or deny any part of the reconstructed account.

This same fine fellow had previously called this justice a “bitch” but the people re-elected him anyway.Waddayagonnado?

I don’t know what it takes to get thrown off the bench thesedays. According to this article in the American Spectator, liberals are unfairly smearing conservatives all over the place for nothing but crude partisan purposes, so I’m not sure that when a conservative justice assaults a liberal justice of a State Supreme Court that we can fairly assume that it wasn’t a provocation born of liberal insolence.

And anyway, if liberals do pursue ethics charges against conservative justices, this post at the Voloch Conspiracy tells us what will happen:

Just as the personal attacks on Republican judicial nominees discourage many qualified persons from accepting nominations and have resulted in a downward spiral of tit-for-tat personal attacks on Democratic nominees, this sustained “ethics” attack on conservative justices will eventually lead to similar attacks on the liberals. No one is so virtuous as to be above false attacks.

Don’t say they didn’t warn us.

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Published by digby on June 25, 2011

Finally, Marriage In New York

by tristero

OK, California, no more excuses.

Petty police harassment on parade

Published by digby on June 24, 2011
Petty Police Harassment

by digby

Apparently police really do believe it’s an intrusion on their privacy if the public videotapes them in their public duties. In fact, they are so adamant that they will use their power to take petty revenge on anyone who challenges them:

The video below is from a Rochester, New York, neighborhood meeting in support of Emily Good, the woman arrested for videotaping a traffic stop from her front yard. So Rochester police sent four squad cars to ticket the cars of meeting attendees who parked more than 12 inches from the curb. Yes, they even brought a ruler.That’s some staggering vindictiveness, officers.By the way, due to a $50 million budget shortfall, the city of Rochester is considering cutting 27 full-time police positions. If the the cops in Rochester have time to carry out petty grudges against citizens who dare to show support for a woman who was illegally arrested, maybe the city ought to consider cutting 40 or 50 positions instead. They could start with the cops in this video.

No kidding.

Here’s the video:
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ShockNawe

Published by digby on June 24, 2011

Shocknawe

by digby

Looks like the GOP Big Money circus is starting to soften up their target. Here’s the first ad of the cycle from Karl Rove’s anonymous rhetorical assassination slush fund:

It doesn’t show him with red demon eyes or feature a gangster rap and a stripper so I guess it’s not too bad.

Update: Apparently, they have a lot of money so they have to start the bombing early to avoid running afoul of the IRS. That’s a very nice problem for an assasination squad to have.

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