I Have Been to the Mountain Top

These quotes were taken from a NY Times by Adam Nossiter story. He talked to voters in rural Tennessee about the choices for President. Here's a sample of the quotes about Barack Obama:

“Anyone but Obama-Osama,” he said, chuckling at a designation that met with mirthful approval at the table.

"...where some were quick to say that Mr. Obama’s race was not prohibitive for them personally but could well be for others."

"Mention of Mr. Obama merely provoked discomfort.
“Statements I’ve heard, Obama, they’re seriously afraid of him, I’ve talked to some yellow-dog Democrats; they won’t vote for Obama.”

"Some white voters voiced outright alarm over Mr. Obama, and though he is a Christian, allusions to his supposed Muslim ties were frequent..."

Now explain to me again how race isn't a major factor in this race. As much as 25% of the US population would never vote for a black person for dog catcher, much less President. To those who are in this group, they view Obama's message of unity as an offense to everything that they believe in. This is a large part of the uphill battle he faces and the battle that America still faces. For all the progress that has been made, there is still a long way to go. It is exciting to see someone with such a dynamic personality and uplifting message compete for the highest office in the land, but I doubt very much whether America is ready to take such a giant leap forward. Here's a quote from Spike Lee's "Malcolm X" in which Malcolm X is debating whether there has been any progress in race relations:

"Well, I have this to say. Do you know what a Negro with a B.A., an M.A. and a Ph.D. is called -- by the white man? I'll tell you. He's called a nigger."

While that feeling may not be pervasive anymore, there is still a segment of the population that even today holds on to that view. They are more than willing to devalue another human being based on race, gender, religious views and whether they break open their hard boilded eggs from the big end or small end. For some Democrats their vote may come down to which concept offends them the least, A black man or white woman as President. For many of those Democrats they will simply answer neither and vote for John McCain.

Tea for Two

John Edwards and Rudy Guliani will both end their bids for their parties nomination for President today. Guliani will immediately throw his support behind McCain, but Edwards currently has no plans to endorse another candidate.

McCain's victory last night coupled with Guliani's support all but assures that he will be the Republican candidate for president in the fall. The race is now his to lose. Only a major misstep would allow Mitt Romney back into the picture. Next Tuesday (which is the official beginning of primary season) will see an end to the candidacy of Mitt Romney. He can go on, given his seemingly limitless personal funds, but there would be no practical reason to continue. He will campaign in the Super Tuesday states, but there is little chance that he can stop the McCain bandwagon. Along with the Guliani endorsement, and the continued campaign of Mike Huckabee (who continues to battle Romney for votes among evangelicals and extreme right wing of the party), Romney is at an extreme disadvantage. Most pundits are somewhat reluctant to say that the race is over, but trust me, it's over.

John Edwards ran a populist campaign in stark contrast to the more moderate positions he took in the '04 race. He ran against big business and special interests and scored a stunning second place showing in Iowa. His campaign ran out of steam after that as he became a footnote (as far as the public and press were concerned) in the historic race between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. The big question is what happens to his voters now. Edwards was polling anywhere between 11-16%, so we'll give him 15% (it makes the math easier). There is a portion of his vote that is simply an anyone but the woman or the black guy vote. I would say that accounts for about 1/2 of his support nationally. Obama and Clinton will probably each get an immediate 5% bump (which include the portions of the "anyone but" group and the other Edwards supporters that are inclined to vote one way or the other. The remaining 5% will probably remain uncommitted until they get to the polls). That puts Hillary anywhere from 44-50% depending upon which poll you believe. That means that even if the majority of remaining Edwards supporters switch to Obama he still comes up short nationally.

Obama was definitely the beneficiary of Edwards remaining in the race. It allowed him to compete among white male voters with Hillary Clinton (She wins white females with a solid majority). With Edwards out of the race, his numbers will go up among white voters, but Hillary's gains are almost certain to outpace his. He was running fairly equally among white males with Hillary Clinton, with Edwards gaining a plurality of that demographic. With Edwards out of the race, the question becomes who will the white males vote for? It is at this point the million dollar question for the Obama campaign. Also Edwards' populist message may have also won him some votes among Hispanics. Clinton enjoys a huge advantage there and while Obama would have still lost that group (especially in California) by a wide margin, Edwards may have been able to blunt that advantage to a small degree.

Thursday's Democratic debate will allow Obama a chance to reach out to his largest audience yet. Most voters don't pay close attention to the candidates until they have to make a choice and given that 22 states will vote next Tuesday, it is probably safe to assume that there will be a larger audience for this debate than the previous ones. His problem is that debating one on one is not his strong suit. He is at his best with a large crowd, where his electric oratory skills and uplifting message are on full display. His ability to inspire a crowd is second to none among the candidates. However debates are much more about the details, in this Hillary Clinton is much more at home. I don't anticipate the debate providing him with much of a bump.

His best chance to win comes from the Clinton camp. If Bill Clinton makes another mistake, the press will harp on it. If the Clinton camp is seen as being too negative, it may swing some more voters to Obama. The Clinton campaign should have no reason to get involved in that kind of campaigning at this point. Her pollsters must be telling her that the race is hers to lose. Her campaign strategists should now begin to turn their attention to John McCain and George Bush. She should start trying to link those two in the minds of the voters as much as possible. Bill Clinton should remain in the background, limit his time with the press and begin to play the role of supportive spouse as opposed to de facto running mate (that transition seems to have begun already considering the fact that he was nowhere to be seen last night as Hillary claimed her victory in Florida). She will bring a less combative and more presidential demeanor to the debate on Thursday. As with McCain, the race is hers to lose.

The delegates are awarded proportionally in the Democratic primaries. They are also awarded by individual Congressional districts. This means that if you can keep your opponent below 60% and manage to get 30% of the votes the delegates are split equally (if there are an equal number of delegates, if there are an odd number, the winner of the district will get the extra delegate). Obama will be competitive enough in most of the districts to keep Hillary from building up a commanding lead in the delegate count. However as the race goes on (perhaps for another month) it will become more and more obvious that he cannot win. The question becomes whether Hillary will be able to accumulate enough delegates to secure the nomination before the convention. It may be close, but I believe that she will. At some point, Obama is going to have make a decision about whether he wants to go forward and perhaps cause a real fracture in the party or whether he will give in to the inevitable. Hillary started this campaign as the inevitable nominee and I believe that she is in that very same spot today.

Give Me A Hand

So much for unity in the Democratic Party. I don't think it's a particularly positive image for Barack Obama to turn his back on Hillary Clinton after last night's State of the Union address by the President. He is running a campaign built on bringing people together and bridging the gaps that exist in this country. He really should start by practicing what he preaches. I understand that the campaign has been contentious at times, but shaking hands with your rival is a clear signal that you understand the line that "The Godfather" made famous, "it's not personal, it's just business".

The Clintons have made it clear that they are ready to fight for this nomination and that they are willing to run an "ends justify the means" type of campaign. This may engender some bitter feelings, but if the Democrats have any hope of winning in the fall, then the loser of this campaign must throw their support wholeheartedly behind the winner. Turning your back on an opponent sends the wrong signal to your supports. It appears to be petty and will allow your supporters to act the same way. Obama's supporters, in particular, may be less inclined to vote for Clinton if she ends up with the nomination and he needs to make sure that he sends the right signals to them during the nomination battle. He needs to let them know that while this contest for the nomination may be hard fought, that at the end of the day, the Democratic party is united in it's efforts to recapture the White House.

This really was a mistake on his part. I know that his explanation will be something like, "Oh, I didn't even realize that she was there", or some such nonsense. He knew very well she was there (they were only four seats apart) and he clearly wanted to make a point, but it was the wrong place and time for that kind of grandstanding. It was strictly playground politics. It was childish and he should be above that kind of thing. Obama will be back out on the trail today with Ted Kennedy in tow and I'm sure he will continue selling his message of change and togetherness. Last night he lost a golden opportunity to show that he indeed does practice what he preaches.

Super Duper

Super Tuesday is fast approaching and the candidates are in full court press mode. The candidates are bringing out all their big guns and hoping to stake a claim as the front runner after next Tuesday. It is still a muddled campaign on the Republican side with the four major remaining candidates all looking to score points against their opponents.

Rudy Gulliani faces his Waterloo tomorrow night in Florida. He is counting on a comeback for the ages and the early voters in the state to provide him with a seemingly impossible victory. If Rudy loses (and all signals point to that fact), his campaign will be for all intents and purposes at an end. NY Republicans will start to abandon him faster than rats off a sinking ship. His departure from the race will leave a more defined race, but not necessarily a race that's any closer to being wrapped up. I can't say that I'll be sorry to see Rudy go. As someone who was in NY city on 9/11, I find Rudy's constant reference to that date extremely tiring and apparently so have the voters. It was quite something to see him try and mention 9/11 in every speech he game. Even when asked questions that had nothing to do with terrorism, he somehow would manage to shoehorn some reference to the fact to his leadership after the worst terrorist attack in US history. I always thought that Rudy would fall apart during the campaign. It seems that the more people see of him, the less they like him. His numbers in every state bear that out. He spent money in New Hampshire on TV ads and his numbers went down. He has spent almost 2 months in Florida and his numbers have decreased from over 40% to under 15%.

John McCain and Mitt Romney are engaged in a war of words. They are in a pitched battle for the top spot in Florida which is a winner take all state. A close second place gets you no delegates, so the the gloves are off in their race. McCain is trying to keep the focus on the War on Terrorism, while Romney is trying to make the economy the focus of the debate. I really can't read the Florida race. McCain's endorsement by the Governor will probably add to his vote totals, but I'm not sure that it will be enough to overcome the TV money of Romney. I find myself going back and forth on this one, but if I were a betting man, I'd probably have to put my money on Romney for the main reason that he almost has to win here. If McCain were to win, he would probably be unstoppable. He would steamroll through most of the super Tuesday states and build up an unassailable lead in delegates. While Romney will certainly have the money to continue, it would probably be a futile effort. Romney has to draw a line in the sand in the beaches of Florida.

The Democratic race is just as unsettled as their opponents across the aisle. Barack Obama scored a huge victory in South Carolina over the weekend and has backed that up with endorsements from Ted and Caroline Kennedy. The Clinton campaign has had to spend time defending statements from Bill Clinton and refuting claims that they are playing racial politics. While the win on Saturday and the endorsements are a boon to the Obama campaign, this may very well be the high point of his run for the nomination. He trails by large margins in many of the big states in play on Super Tuesday. He trails in NY, California, Massachusetts and New Jersey by double digits in the latest polls and there simply isn't enough time to make up the gap. His strategy at this point to try and compete on an individual district basis in order to split the delegates with Hillary. Basically, if he can manage to get 30% of the vote in most districts, he will end up splitting the delegates with Hillary. He might win in about 5 of the states (Illinois, Georgia, Alabama, Colorado and Minnesota being among the most likely, with a chance that he might be very competitive in New Jersy and Missouri) and be competitive in the delegate count, but Hillary will certainly come out of the night with a huge advantage in the number of states won.

In a race where perception is reality, Hillary will come out of the day as the front runner. Obama will then have to fight an uphill battle from there on out with very few primaries that he would enter as the favorite. John Edwards has said that he's in this for the long run and that will help Obama, because he hurts Hillary more than I believe he does Obama. The question is whether after Super Tuesday, Edwards will have the money to compete going forward. If he loses badly across the board, his support and coverage will dwindle. Edwards' best hope seems to be a major mis-step by the Clinton campaign where he then becomes the most viable alternative to those who are not inclined to vote for Obama.

The prospect of a brokered convention is exciting to a lot of political pundits, but it's a longshot that it would happen. I believe that Clinton express will start to roll after next Tuesday and it will take them all the way to the nomination. I think that Hillary Clinton is a very good candidate for President, but she also the most divisive figure (with the exception of George Bush) in politics today. Her negatives which have remained consistently in the 40-45 % range make her an easier target for the Republicans in the fall. They won't have to work very hard to stir up their base of support with tales of the Clinton White House years. There is nothing that will fuel the fire of conservative Republicans more than the possibility of two Clintons occupying the White House for the next four years.

How the Race can be Lost

The Democrats are riding high these days with record turnouts in the primaries and with the economy heading the wrong direction and an unpopular Republican President in office, it seems that the White House is theirs for the taking. Of course it would only seem so. Here are the things that might happen to change that seemingly inevitable outcome:

1. Hillary Clinton wins the Democratic nomination

- Hillary has the highest negatives of any politician with the exception of George Bush Jr. While she will attract new voters to the polls, she will also attract voters to show up to vote against her.

2. Black voters stay home because they feel disillusioned

- We have already seen this race become polarized along racial boundaries. The Clinton campaign has succeeded in sharpening racial lines in the campaign. And while they can claim to have pulled back from those kinds of attacks, you can't undo what has already been done. In the south, Blacks will vote for Obama in a 80/20 split and whites will vote for Hillary along the lines of 70/30. This means of course that she will win, but the cost may be very high for her. When the general election rolls around, African-American turnout may not be what is needed.

3. John McCain wins the Republican nomination

- John McCain is seen as a maverick and someone who is a straight talker. He definitely has an appeal to independent voters who for all intents and purposes will decide a close election. He is practically the only Republican candidate who can honestly say that he hasn't changed his position on anything. Everyone knows what he stands for and while people may disagree with him, they respect him for that.

4. There is a terrorist attack on U. S. soil

- If there happens to be a terrorist attack before the general election that will push people toward the candidate that they feel would be best equipped to handle that kind of situation and clearly that would be John McCain. Given his record of military service and his stance on the war in Iraq, he would be positioned to benefit if that were to happen.

5. Barack Obama accepts a VP slot

- Hillary's negative numbers are out in the open. I would dare say that Obama's are for the present, in the closet, so to speak. It has been said that people don't vote for the second person on a ticket (which must be true because somehow Dan Quayle was VP for four years), but there a lot of people in this country who would come out and vote against Obama if he were on the ticket. America likes to think of itself as the land of opportunity, but that is an ideal, not necessarily a fact. Hillary's vocal objectors combined with Obama's more silent objectors could lead to the biggest negative vote in U.S. history.

6. The economy doesn't actually head into a recession

- All signs now point toward a recession, but if that doesn't happen, it can only benefit the Republican candidate. George Bush has just proposed a tax rebate for millions of Americans and the now Democratic controlled Congress has to very careful about how they approach this. They cannot be seen as trying to deny that money to the middle class. They might be a backlash against them if they try to stop the rebate. If they go along with it, then the Republican president can claim that his party is trying to help the middle and lower class, regardless of how they have been labeled.

7. Bill Clinton becomes the focus of the campaign

- For the most part Bill Clinton has been a huge plus for the Hillary Clinton campaign, but there is the chance that he may also help energize and mobilize the opposition. I don't think that there has been a more hated Democrat by Republicans in my lifetime than Bill Clinton. I'm not sure why that is exactly, but to a certain segment of the Republican base he is akin to the devil. His role in a Hillary Clinton administration can be used to try and get out the vote against Hillary.

I have no idea how many of these will happen, but it wouldn't take all of them for the Democrats to actually lose the general election next fall. If it does happen, just remember where you heard it first.

Rosebud, indeed

The AFI had their updated list of the 100 greatest American movies on TV tonight. Once again Citizen Kane held the #1 spot. I understand the significance of the movie and the fact that every shot is set up for a specific effect. In fact I find that slightly annoying. It's almost like someone showing off a huge diamond ring. It's always impressive, but it's also gaudy and totally uneccesary. That's Citizen Kane.

For my money the two greatest American movies are The Godfather and Lawrence of Arabia. The Godfather is perhaps the best screenplay that's ever been put on film. Lawrence of Arabia presents an epic story in an epic fashion. Perhaps no other film better demonstrates the possiblilites of film making. I've changed my opinion as to which is actually the best, but either would be a great choice.

Sleeps with the Fishes

The Sopranos ended last night after 8 years and 6 seasons. I was shocked by the lack of resolution to the Sopranos saga. David Chase had 8 years to think of how he was going to end this thing and the best he could come up with was a final diner scene and an abrupt cut to black? People will talk about "artistic vision" and that the ending was ambiguous so that the viewer could make up his own mind about what happened to the characters. I have to respond by saying that good stories do not leave you guessing at the end, they leave you thinking at the end. A thought provoking ending is different than a non-conclusive ending that leaves your audience confounded. Clearly most series or movies aren't going to end like "Six Feet Under", where they literally took each of the main characters to the end of their life (brilliant and totally satisfying, by the way), but there is usually some resolution to the story.

David Chase chose not to give the story any resolution. He's a rich man at this point and I guess he can do whatever he wants, but it's unfair to his audience, who has invested so much of it's time and made David Chase a multi-millionaire, to just leave them hanging. Art house endings should remain in the art house. This was not some obscure Swedish existential movie. This was one of the most popular series in American TV history. Can you imagine if MASH just ended while Hawkeye was in surgery? I think this ending just shows Chase's contempt for his audience. It was just him saying that I'm going to end this they way I want to and I don't give a rat's ass what you people think. Chase wasn't even in the country for the finale. Apparently he went to Europe to escape all the controversy.

Ambiguity is fine, but not at the end of a series. The audience deserves more. I personally think that David Chase took the easy way out.

Is it Hot Down There?

Jerry Falwell died last week which just made me think that not all deaths are a reason for mourning. Here are couple of his statements about homosexuals,

“AIDS is not just God's punishment for homosexuals, it is God's punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals.”

And the equally wonderful,

"this vile and satanic system will one day be utterly annihilated and there'll be a celebration in heaven."

His thoughts on secular education,

"I hope I live to see the day when, as in the early days of our country, we won't have any public schools. The churches will have taken them over again and Christians will be running them."

Falwell was a staunch segregationist during the days of Martin Luther King and he even opposed the sanctions against South Africa during the days of Apartheid. He also claimed that the Antichrist would "of course be Jewish". It always strikes me as odd when someone who is supposed to be teaching the word of God, instead teaches hatred against everyone who doesn't agree with his views. I suppose I should be more forgiving, but I learned everything I know about how to treat people from Jerry Falwell.

Goodbye and good riddance, Jerry.

Sing a Song

For some reason I thought that I'd mention that the best line I've ever heard in a song was one written and performed by Terrence Trent D'arby. The line is, "Frankie and Johnny were lovers alright, and the tempered scale of experience could not forever indict, two hearts looking to belong in the heat of the sun as opposed to night". Simply brilliant.

The Sad Clown

How in the hell did Dane Cook become famous? I never would have thought of this particular topic, but I saw an ad on TV for the DVD release of his "big" summer movie last night. I think it made about $5. I think he's supposed to be a comedian, but he doesn't tell any jokes. He hosted SNL last year before I knew who he was, so I had no preconceived notions about him, but it may have been the single worst opening monologue that I have ever seen. Even bad comedians have punch lines or a place where you're supposed to laugh. Dane Cook doesn't even have that. It's really bizarre, but apparently he's the biggest comedian in America at this point. I for the life of me, can't understand why. I guess it's just me. Perhaps I've lost the ability to recognize humor.

All I can say is, more power to you Dane. If you can convince millions of people that you're funny, then you are clearly some kind of genius. Perhaps you should sell your secret to the President. He could use your powers of persuasion about now.

Thanks, George

George Bush thinks that more troops are the answer in Iraq. I find that amazing because according to him, we won the war three years ago. Why then would we need to send in more troops? Although also according to him, Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, Iraq was an imminent threat to US security, Iraq had ties to the 9-11 bombers, Iraq had tried to secure material to make a nuclear bomb, US troops would be welcomed as liberators, and removing Saddam Hussein would help stabilize the region.

He has gone from mission accomplished, to we're winning the war, to we're not losing the war, to we're not winning the war. He still refuses to admit that we're actually losing. Since I wasn't around for the Vietnam war, I often wondered how the US could get bogged down in such a quagmire when it is pretty clear in hindsight that the war was un-winnable. I guess I should thank George Bush for the showing me in real time exactly how such a mistake is made.

2008 can't get here soon enough.

All the News...

I was flipping through the channels this morning and caught a few minutes of the Fox News broadcast. They were openly rooting for the Republican candidates in a couple of close Senatorial races. The hosts were clearly disappointed by the election results and made no attempt to hide that fact. Should that be allowed? Aren't they supposed to at least pretend to be impartial? Clearly there are lots of opinion shows on the network, but when they are supposed to be reporting the news it should be devoid of that kind of partisanship. At least it ought to be.

The Power of Prayer

During last nights Mets-Cardinals games, I noticed more than a few fans appeared to be praying. Now if you believe in God, and believe that he created the earth and the universe and everything in it, why would you think that he would care about the outcome of a sporting event? Wouldn't God be busy with other stuff? I don't know like, creating another planet or universe or and another life form or something? No, no, you're right, he/she (I don't want to be politically incorrect when it comes to God. He/she might be reading this) clearly would take time to listen to your prayer about a baseball game.

If God had any kind of a sense of humor, he would listen to all the prayers and then make sure that the team with the most prayers lost. That would be kind of funny. Don't you think? Is anyone out there? Anyone, anyone? God?

Bush Wacker

Did anybody see the news conference that the President had last Friday? First of all, I love that fact that the news conference takes place in the middle of the day on friday. Who is supposed to be able to watch this thing. The last time I checked most people actually have to go to work on Friday. Clearly the decision was made that if the President was actually going to have to speak off the cuff that it would be best scheduled for a time when most people wouldn't be able to watch it.

Also, I don't think I've ever seen a President actually be that rude to reporters. He cut them off when they tried to ask follow up questions, he never actually answered any difficult questions and he generally looked like he either had to go to the bathroom or was about to cry. He tone after his inital statement was one of pleading. It was a terrible performance. He just looks to me like someone who is in way over his head. Whenever he was faced with a question he didn't like, he looked hurt, angry and confused. It's a hard combination to pull off, but he did it to perfection. When faced with a question concerning Iraq he simply repeated some standard boilerplate language that I'm sure his aides had drilled into him. The fact is that the CIA told him over a year ago that there was no link between the 9/11 attack and Iraq and yet he continued to point to a link as recently as last month. I'm beginning to question whether he understands the difference between fact and fiction.

And of course at the end of the conference he asked everyone to pray for him and Barbara. If I were a praying man (and I'm not), I would pray every night. He is in charge of the most powerful nation in the history of mankind and the more I see him, the more I think he's an absolute idiot. If I were to pray, it would be for the world to survive the next two years of his administration.

Isn't it Ironic

The Crocodile Hunter was killed recently by a Stingray. Now it seems to me that if you go fucking around with dangerous animals that eventually one of them is going to seriously hurt you if not kill you one day. The ironic part is that the Stingray is a fairly docile creature. It's not like he got killed by a shark or a killer whale or a water snake. I don't mean to be insensitive, but this situation really is kind of the definition of irony.

Sa Da Teh

Cover of Fear of a Black HatI know that my movie taste is probably going to be questioned after this but I really think that "Fear of a Black Hat" and "Pootie Tang" are two of the funniest movies I have ever seen. I'd put them right up there with the funniest movies ever made. Of course, no one ever accused me of having good taste.
Cover of Pootie Tang

Nero Fiddled

On the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina there have been a number of documentaries about the storm and subsequent tradgedy in New Orleans. Every time I see one of these it just brings to mind the thoughts that went through my head at the time. How come it took five days for the federal government to get aid to people in New Orleans when we managed to get aid half way around to the world to aid the victims of the tidal wave in two days? I don't know, but when the President flies over a scene of devastation like the one in New Orleans and can only remark about how much he used to party there during his younger days, I can't help but think that something is horrendously wrong.

Make it so

Red Alert! Red Alert! (think of me saying that in my best Captain Picard voice) Apparently a plot to blow up airplanes traveling from London to the US was discovered. Currently you cannot carry any liquid or gel onto a plane in your carry on luggage. Baby formula and medicine are still allowed. That got me thinking (well of course it did, or else I wouldn't be posting a random thought), would it possible to get on board a plane with a combustible liquid inside an implant? Breast, Butt, Cheek, Chin, Penis, whatever. I'm just curious because it seems to me that we are heading toward a day when you won't be able to get on a plane without a complete body x-ray and scan. It's going to take at least 24 hours to go anywhere because the scanning process is going to take so long. Of course if they would just hurry up and invent the Star Trek transporter none of this would be necessary. Beam me to Cancun, Scotty!

Please, Please, Please

Hillary Clinton can't possibly end up as the Democratic nominee for President, can she? Never has anyone with negatives as high as she has been elected to national office. It would would the Republicans wet dream to have her as an opponent for the next election. Right wing fundamentalists would literally come out of the woodworks to vote against her. Hopefully the Democratic party is smart enough to realize this. Of course, I am talking about the Democrats, so maybe not.

Pain and Profit

Do we really need to see more movies about 9/11? I can't speak for everyone, but I know that I don't. I was in NY on that day and still live here. Everytime I look at the skyline and don't see the WTC is reminder enough. Using one of the worst days in this nations history to try and turn a profit, just seems wrong to me. I don't know, maybe it's just me, but hopefully the two movies that come out this year are the last ones ever made.