Sunday Night Movie Club IV

Punk movie classic "Repo Man" is currently viewable on Youtube, although I doubt that it will remain there for long. The 1984 sci-fi punk masterpiece, written and directed by Alan Cox, holds up remarkably well over 25 years later.

I haven't seen the low-rated 2009 reboot "Repo Chick" by Cox but, much like I forced myself to watch the similarly poorly reviewed ripoff sequel to "Donnie Darko" entitled "S. Darko" (and yeah, it basically sucked), I'll probably watch the newer Repo flick. If just to hope I see some flashes of the genius contained in the original.

But for now, you should watch and enjoy this intense low-budget 80s punk cult classic, starring Emilio Estevez and Harry Dean Stanton.

...because, the life of a repo man is always intense!

Milford mayoral candidates debate

Last Tuesday the three candidates for Milford mayor faced off in a debate sponsored by the Plymouth Men's Club. Ben Blake (Democrat), Bob Joy (Republican) and Rocco Frank (Independent) spoke from prepared statements and answered questions.

The video is in two parts, and the entire debate is over 102 minutes long. Maybe next time they can eliminate some of the rebuttal opportunities to speed the thing up. They each answered the question and then they each answered it again.

If they really needed to rebut something someone said, they probably could've used a few moments out of their next question to say it. I don't mean to complain or anything, but it was getting a little difficult to stay awake towards the end. Coffee would have helped. I bet the church would have made a killing by selling coffee at a buck a cup! Let's see if we can get rid of that endlessly redundant rebuttal stuff, please.

Linda McMahon redux

Has it been two years since she previously announced? Predictable, yet nauseating.

World wrestling billionaire Linda McMahon has thrown her hat into the political ring once again, in what it likely to be another well-funded attempt to become the junior senator from Connecticut.

There are, however, several positives to this silly development. First, she'll spend another $50-75 million dollars in her doomed adventure, which will hopefully stimulate our local economy; assuming she hires local businesses for her campaign...(or even independent contractors, like out-of-work political bloggers and videographers. Hey, don't you all look at me like that; I need a goddamned job!)

Next, we already have a wealth of material to draw upon from her previous foray into the political arena. I mean, just look at this video:



It's already too easy to criticize this person for the way she made her money. But I'm sure there are plenty of other reasons we'll discuss in the future why she'll make a horrendous senator if somehow she manages to get nominated.

In the meantime, here's a video I made last year of her "triumphant" Milford rally which, after our Republican Mayor had all the trees on the City Hall lawn pruned to within an inch of their lives so as not to block anyone's view of Ms. McMahon, was attended by a scant 200 or so people (not counting the hundred or so invited guests on the steps who were associated with Linda's campaign):



It was an embarrassingly small turnout for a hugely publicized rally held on a perfect Saturday afternoon. But, I guess all her money can't buy her credibility with the voters.

And visit our next senator's website to find out more about Congressman Chris Murphy!

Another death penalty trial starts today

Reporters were lining up outside the New Haven Superior Courthouse before dawn today to cover the launch of the Joshua Komisarjevsky trial. JK (as I'll call him, because typing "Komisarjevsky" is even harder than pronouncing it) is to be tried for the deadly 2007 Cheshire home invasion.

I don't have any doubt that JK is as guilty as hell, but I do believe in the necessity of the judicial process, and we'll also be treated to weeks (or months) of intense media coverage. That's how it goes.

But the thing I want to discuss today is the death penalty itself. As I previously disclosed here, I was involved in a documentary project about the politics of the death penalty. During that process I learned that judgments proscribing the death penalty are almost entirely subjective, with the majority of people sentenced to death not merely because of the nature of their crimes, but also by not having had the resources (money) to mount a reasonable defense. There are endless examples of wealthier defendants receiving a sentence of life (or even less) for the exact same crime with the exact circumstances as someone who was economically disadvantaged and received a death sentence.

Not to mention the cases where innocent people were sentenced to death. As one man who was falsely convicted and later released (after spending almost 18 years on death row) said: "You can't get pardoned after the death penalty."

Which brings me to the point of this article. There is almost zero possibility that JK, even if found guilty and sentenced to death, will ever actually BE put to death. Just like Stephen Hayes, his alleged accomplice who received the death sentence, will likely serve out his years in prison rather than meet his end in the death chamber.

Plainly put, the death penalty doesn't work. It can't work as written, and because of the amount of time it takes to exhaust all the possible appeals and legal maneuverings, most people convicted will likely die of old age before finally getting executed.

Mike Lawlor, former state senator and current Under Secretary for Criminal Justice Policy and Planning, has said simply, "As the law currently stands in Connecticut, it is very unlikely that anyone who doesn't want to die will ever be executed."

The law needs to be changed from a mythical death penalty to a solid life in prison without any possibility of parole to make it impossible for anyone convicted of a crime like the Cheshire home invasion to ever see the light of day again.

Because a civilized society shouldn't be in the business of murder.

Good advice

We had the wrap party for our movie "Isn't It Delicious?" last night, and while there we also celebrated the 80th birthday of the inimitable Malachy McCourt (who plays "Father Bob" in the movie).

L-R: Keir Dullea (foreground), Director Michael Kelly, Malachy McCourt, Producer/Actor Suzanne Hayes Kelly

Malachy led the crowd in a rousing Irish sing-a-long, then gave what is probably the best advice I'd ever heard:

"Live each day as if you think it will be your last, because one day you'll be right!"

So now I will shortly get back to political blogging; because after all, who of us knows when they'll finally be right?

We made it through the storm

Here's my boat, post-storm. Other than some water in the bilge, it rode out the storm nicely. And we got some tree debris in our yard, but no damage to our house or cars. Our thoughts are with those who suffered damage in the storm.

My dad and CT Joyce's mom still don't have power. Inconvenient, but not a major problem. All things considered, we're pretty lucky.

Irene

I hate Irene.

I really do.

It's very inconvenient.



Irene sucks.

Remember Hurricane Gloria?

I do. And it looks like we'll see more of the same in a couple days. Be smart and be safe.

Too busy to sail...or blog

The only time I've been able to get on the water this month was on the chase boat to help film our friends' yacht "Shameles" for the movie. I'm going through an intense case of sailing withdrawal. When this film wraps on the 31st, I'm leaving for a week of sailing with Joyce.

Bachmann rachets up the crazy

God bless Michele Bachmann.

No, really. I mean it.

She is God's true gift to the Democrats.

Just when I was beginning to get worried that the Republicans might come up with a frontrunner who is just far enough center to sway moderate voters, up pops Michele with her special brand of wingnut crazy to win the Iowa straw poll.

Thank you God!

Some quotes from Michele can give you a clue about her:

''[Pelosi] is committed to her global warming fanaticism to the point where she has said she has even said she is trying to save the planet. We all know that someone did that 2,000 years ago.''
—Rep. Michele Bachmann, Oct. 2008

''What I want them to know is just like, John Wayne was from Waterloo, Iowa. That's the kind of spirit that I have, too.''
—Rep. Michele Bachmann, getting her John Waynes mixed up during an interview after launching her presidential campaign in Waterloo, Iowa, where she grew up. The beloved movie star John Wayne was born in Winterset, Iowa, three hours away. The John Wayne that Waterloo was home to is John Wayne Gacy, a notorious serial killer. (June 27, 2011)

''The President of the United States will be taking a trip over to India that is expected to cost the taxpayers $200 million a day.''
—Rep. Michele Bachmann, grossly exaggerating the expense of Obama's trip, which cost a fraction of that ($200 million is more than the entire war in Afghanistan costs per day), Nov. 3, 2010

''Unfortunately she is now suffering from breast cancer, so keep her in your prayers. This may be an opportunity for her now to be open to some spiritual things, now that she is suffering with that physical disease. She is a lesbian.''
—Rep. Michele Bachmann, suggesting that gay singer Melissa Etheridge should repent after getting cancer, Nov. 2004

''I wish the American media would take a great look at the views of the people in Congress and find out: Are they pro-America or anti-America?''
—Rep. Michelle Bachmann, calling for a new McCarthyism, Oct. 2008

''I just take the Bible for what it is, I guess, and recognize that I am not a scientist, not trained to be a scientist. I'm not a deep thinker on all of this. I wish I was. I wish I was more knowledgeable, but I'm not a scientist.''
—Michele Bachmann, September 2003

Thanks so much for Michele, God. I honestly wish I believed in you, 'cause you're the bestest god there is!

Amen.

(P.S. I find it hilarious how often the word "batshit" comes up in a Google search of the phrase "Bachmann" and "crazy"!)