Chris Estes

I saw Oliver Stone’s “W” tonight starring Josh Brolin as George W. Bush.  The movie takes a trip through one of the most controversial figures in Presidential History.  Weather you are “W” (pronounced “dub-ya”) fan or not you can not deny the role of the 42nd presidents role in history.

Oliver Stone’s movie more or less portrayed George Bush’s life history bringing out some of the dark and happy days in his life.  Through out the movie alternated between a flashbacks of recent times and younger days of George W. Bush’s life.

I went into the movie expecting fireworks and slight, neither of which was present.  The movie was intended for viewers to draw their own conclusions.  The film certainly had its fair share of comedy and humor.  But, something it didn’t have was a true point.  The movie bordered on being a documentary.  For those people like myself that were expecting a Michael Moore style Fahrenheit 9/11 you will be disappointed and those looking for entertainment will also be disappointed.  If you have been conscious at any point in the last 8 years already know the story.

Would I go see the movie again?  No.  Do I consider it disappointing?  Yes.  Is it worth the price of the movie ticket price?  No.

Ultimately the movie was virtually a waste of time.  I have seen George W. Bush documentaries online that are more worthy of being in the theater.  The only reason this movie ever saw the silver screen is because of Oliver Stone.  Clearly this is no JFK Movie.  This movie probably will not make it to cable TV and with little chance of being a success.

What would have made this movie a success?  Easy, take a side and set off fireworks.  Choose either to highlight George W. Bush’s success or failures.  Spark fires and don’t play to the center.  The movie premier date was great for fireworks and success.  Just like tabloid magazine, “trash sells”.

Check out the Trailer for the movie:

What do you think of the Movie?  Will you see it?  What do you think?

So who really knows what is going on with the Presidential debate on foreign policy?  Ralph Nadar has offered to stand in for John McCain for the presidential debate at Ole Miss. Apparently Bob Barr wants in on the action too.

Third Party candidates have been trying to get in the presidential debates forever.  If they were allowed to debate what else would they have to complain about?

If you have been following me you can tell that the campaigns are heating up.  I was cruising through a couple campaign sites and found some very interesting people using the internet to share their opinion.  What you thought I was the only one?

If found a great blogg about a local candidate in Michigan’s 9th District.  The Candidate they are discussing on their blog is Joe Knollenberg.  Go and check out the site, it is full of information about their opinion of what is going on in their district.  The name of their site is Vote No on Joe.

If you haven’t been paying attention to the congressional races through out the country this is one of thoose tuff ones.  Joe Knollenberg the 9 Term incumbent congressman is in the fight of his life against a popular contender Gary Peters for Congress.

So have you caught wind of Congress rolling back the ban on off-shore drilling?  Probably not with the current state of the Economy.  Well on Tuesday the House passed legislation, 236-189, to ease the ban on off-shore drilling.  I would like to point out that the legislative branch of government in the US is dominated by the Democratic Party.  To find out more about the legislative action read the NY Times Article. Write your Congressman and your Senators tell them what you think.

The main point of this is to talk about the atrocity in progress.

I happen to live in Alabama one of those Gulf States that already has off-shore drilling wells.  In fact as a kid, growing up in Central, Alabama, I remember playing baseball next to natural gas pumps.  So drilling and natural resource exploitation is nothing new to me.  In fact the oil and gas industry indirectly put the roof over my head and food in my belly.  Many of my friends, family, and neighbors do not agree with me and think I should be burned at the stake.  They don’t agree with me for the same reason why America’s wealthiest still think the economy isn’t in a state of turmoil.  It isn’t in their best interest!

Tonight on ABC News Nightline. The headline story was talking about Drilling for oil in the Gulf of Maine.  In short, and what I got out of the story, drilling shouldn’t apply to Maine and the cost of heating oil is going through the roof.

Look I get it, people are hurting for money, me too. I worked on Wall Street and not many days past the mortgage fall out.  But, is drilling really the answer?  I can tell you, NO it isn’t.  It’s only temporarily fixes the problem for somebody else to fix.  Exactly what the people before US said.  As a youngster that will be paying for the mistakes of the Ronald Reagan and Cold War Era… Lets Fix the problem! Don’t put a Band-Aid on it.

But again this isn’t my purpose of this post.

My purpose is to address the drilling location issue.  Why should we drill in the Southern Coast?  Because people in Maine Fish?  Lobster?  Why should we drill of the coast of Georgia?  (I really dont have anything).

I try to be objective about the issue.  But, it is hard to be when someone is trying to put an oil rig in your back yard.  When I see pictures of Maine I “aww” at the beauty.  When I hear the name Georgia I think sweet tea, hospitality, and golf.  My images of the south are just as beautiful as anything Maine has to offer!  Have you ever seen the fall leaves in the Southern Appalachians?  The sunset from Key West, FL?  Have you ever had Shrimp?

When the logging industry finally gets to clear cut the last few acres of natural forest to build the houses to pay for the people moving from Maine to the South for work… “There goes the fall leaves”.  What will thousands of tourist come to enjoy a romantic sunset on their honeymoon on the piers of Key West think when they find out that the green poof is from the Oil Refinery in Louisiana. Or, how about finishing off the demise of the shrimping industry with toxic waste from oil rigs raising our dependency on Vietnamese seafood?

My interpretation may be a bit extreme…  My point isn’t.  In fact it is simple. Who wants an oil rig in their back yard?

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The people of the south don’t really want the rigs any more than anyone else. The fact is we need them because you tell us we do and American Survival rest upon our shoulders.  People from the fishing grounds of Maine to California beaches people are counting on our sacrafice.