Barack Obama & Sexy Jesus

I decided after my watch incident to try and cheer myself up by going and seeing a movie. Based on the commercials and the credentials of one of the writers, I chose 'Hamlet 2'. After all, who could not want to see a movie with Jesus and a young Hispanic man exchanging cell phone numbers?

But I will get to that in a minute. I realized I had missed the early showing, so I would have to wait till 10:20. To fill the time I decided that I would listen to Senator Barack Obama's acceptance speech on CNN.

Let me clarify a few things. First off, I subscribe to no party. I like the democratic ideas of social freedoms and the republican ideas of small government (well, they old republican idea, at least). I am not even a member of the Libertarian party either, since I am not really in favor of open borders (not because I am racist or a xenophobe, but because I don't believe we have the infrastructure to allow everyone in the world in).

After a long, but well produced biography of Sen. Obama, he came out to a two or three minute long round of applause. Once that died down, he delivered an awesome speech. However I am not one to be swayed by speeches.

I really wanted to vote for the senator. I really did. I have met him a couple of times when I worked in Springfield. It was of course during his senate campaign in 2004. I will be honest with you, based on my interactions with him, I believe him to be just as nice of a guy in real life as he is on TV. I will also give him credit for not just saying what people want to hear, but for the most part actually believing in what he preaches. I think everything he's doing and saying is what he feels is best for the people of this country.

However, I just won't be able to vote for him. Now for those of you who will stop reading now and say 'I KNEW HE WOULDN'T VOTE FOR A BLACK MAN!' I say 'fuck you.' I do not believe in Sen. Obama's economic policies and desire for wealth redistribution.

If taking money from the oil companies and giving it to people in the form of a 'refund' is not wealth redistribution, then I don't know what is. Besides, if people actually use that money to buy gas with, isn't it going right back to the oil companies? No one will use it to buy gas anyway. $1000 can buy a very nice TV.

As well, he mentioned the second amendment. He said, and I am partially quoting because I do not remember it word for word, 'We can still preserve the second amendment while keeping AK-47s out of the hands of criminals.' Last time I checked, it was already illegal for criminals to own firearms. I assume this alludes to a desire on reinstating the assault weapons ban. (has crime with assault weapons gone up since the bad expired/was repealed?)

Sen. Obama called the privatization of Social Security a 'gamble with peoples money.' Is our current system any less of a gamble? If you didn't know, SS money is not in a lock box and only used to pay out to those on SS. As well, you are not paying into SS via FICA for your retirement, you're paying for those on SS now.

Senator Obama did say things I agree with as well. I agree with eliminating corporate welfare AND I would personally agree with extra tax burden on businesses who choose to employ people overseas, rather than Americans. (An American can do tech support just as well as 'Sam' from India.) I approve ending the war in Iraq as well as gay marriage (albeit Obama did not specifically say 'marriage' in his speech). I also welcome a change from the Bush presidency - PATRIOT ACT, domestic spying and bankruptcy 'reform' are among my three biggest gripes.

This part especially worries me...

In Washington, they call this the Ownership Society, but what it really means is that you're on your own. Out of work? Tough luck. You're on your own. No health care? The market will fix it. You're on your own. Born into poverty? Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps -- even if you don't have boots. You are on your own.

Now what kind of person could possibly be against helping people when they are most in need of help, you might be asking me.

I am not against safety nets. That's why we have unemployment. That's why we have welfare. That's why we have Medicare and Medicaid. But this is nothing but a sugary way of saying 'we need the government to take care of us.' We do not need a society dependent on the government. We need a government dependent on US. We need more personal responsibility and less government responsibility.

Senator Obama said it himself. In no other country could a poor black kid potentially become president. And as he said himself, he didn't do this because of the government, he did it because of himself.

Anyway, Sen. Obama delivered the speech with passion and gusto, and I enjoyed listening to him. Despite the fact that I will not be voting for him (yeah I know, I'm going to flip Oklahoma from blue to red now), I wish him the best.

And no, I have no intention of moving to Canada if he wins.

So, what about Sexy Jesus?

Well after the speech I headed over to my local 20plex and forked over $8.50 for a ticket and another 8 bucks for popcorn and a soda. (You talk about big oil... we need a windfall profit tax on big theater.) Sat down and watched the previews and then Hamlet 2.

I left disappointed.

It was a good movie and it made me laugh, but quite frankly for as funny as it seemed like it was going to be, it dropped the ball. The movie is basically this. A out of work actor works as a drama teacher at a Tuson high school. Well, he's a bad actor and the plays (based on movies) his drama class of two keep doing plays that suck.

Well one day he comes in to find a bunch of new kids in his class. Latino kids - it's like Dangerous Minds, only not. Some other crap happens and he decided to write his own play. A sequel to Hamlet called, get ready, Hamlet 2.

Anyway, the kids are reluctant, but he finally gets them into it. Hamlet 2 is disturbing and offensive so everyone including the principal wants it shut down. Well, the Latino kids use their... connections... to continue the play off campus. When they do the play, police, news, fire and the ACLU get involved and it turns out to be a success.

Anyway, to make a long story short, the best part is the actual parts of the play its self that they show. I'd actually like to see the whole play because I think I would have enjoyed it way more than I did the making of, which is essentially what this movie was.

Like I said, I still liked the movie, but had I actually had a time machine or sexy Jesus (a character in Hamlet 2) would have warned me, I probably would have just waited for it to end up in my Netflix queue.

On a positive note, several of the movies in the previews seemed very funny and despite the fact I cannot remember the name of even one of them, I think I would like to see them. I also learned, thanks to a big ass window, instead of the normal tiny one, that movie theaters still use film. I could have sworn by now it would just be digital.

In the end, I await with baited breath to hear who Sen. McCain's VP is going to be (probably Romney) and hear the senator's speech. Perhaps it will sway me to his side, but right now I think I may end up just sitting at home and not voting, something I have chastised other for in the past.