July 14, 2005
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Two things of interest in the news today:
One, the Texas legislature is Taking Steps to insure the SCOTUS's lamebrained ruling on eminent domain doesn't have quite
the deleterious effect it might otherwise have, by putting in place
restrictions on its use. As an aside, it's still a bit baffling
to me that it's the Republicans - normally viewed as the champions of
Big Business - who are howling with outrage against the expanded power
of eminent domain, while the Democrats - normally viewed as the Friend
of the Little Old Ladies - are the ones willing to have said LOL be
forcibly removed from their homes as a regrettable, but necessary,
"unintended consequence" of progress. It seemed backward to me
that it was the liberal contingent of the SCOTUS that voted in favor of
expanded eminent domain, but doggone if it isn't holding true in the
Texas Senate as well.Two, when composing the Top Ten All-Time Great Movie Car Chases, the
number one spot went to the classic chase scene in "Bullitt".Haven't seen that show in donkeys' years, and really ought to rent it. That IS a darn good chase scene.
It's fascinating, isn't it, how some older films managed to, without
the use of special effects, provide some of the most intense scenes
ever to grace a celluloid strip? The best car chase scene is
found in a 37 year old movie. The best, as in "most fraught with
tension", murder scene is surely still the shower episode in
"Psycho". Apparently it's still taught in film classes.
Scares the beejeebies outta you without ever the knife visibly touching
flesh, instead allowing the viewer to fill in the blanks.
Comments (5)
I have a cousin who has always been jumpy. About the time "Psycho" came out her husband pulled a nylon over his head and jabbed a banana at the shower curtain while she was showering. Liked to have scared her to death, and to this day, I've been told, she won't shower.
I love old movies.
That was just mean! =8^o
I don't like to think about "Psycho" while taking a shower, that's for sure.
The scariest movie in the world, IMO, is "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" and it doesn't "show" anything at all. Just the concept, and the way things were shown, wigged me out big time. No graphics were needed: My imagination did just fine, filling in those strategically placed blanks. I'm going to have to rent that one; see if Abbie is affected the same way I was.
It's not the tiniest bit baffling.
Republicans have traditionally been in favor of property rights. That's why they're pro-business -- because a lot of the things that restrict business are restricting their rights to dispose of their property as they choose. And that's why they're anti-Kelo -- because it's absolute flushing of property rights.
Democrats have traditionally been in favor of government power. Kelo is the ultimate example of goverment power -- now the government gets to decide who gets to keep their property and who gets to have it taken away and given to somebody else, just because the somebody else is a favored person.
Just like Ahab.
Ah. Okay, I get it. Thanks!
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