Reflecting on George Lucas and Star Wars

Taking a break from politics-business events, but unfortunately no less maddening :)

The top 10 ways Lucas messed up Episodes 4-6 in his special edition ("special" clearly denoting mentally deficient in this case): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0fTuPyfvho

I have the unaltered SW Eps 4-6 in .avi format if anyone wants them (low-res only, sorry), since you can't buy the original films anymore. In this case, I am happy to bootleg and "steal" from Disney and Lucas - it's morally justified like Robin Hood. I can't believe how mad I still am at Lucas for what he did to these films, and it's been over a decade haha. Well, he keeps poking us in the eye with horrible Eps 1-3 and more recently selling out to Disney.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/02/george-lucas-donate-4-billion_n_2067145.html

This ticked me off too... Lucas is trying to "buy his way to the good side," even if the bulk of his "charity" will likely go to the education nonprofit that he runs. Well no matter how many of his superfluous billions he gives away, it doesn't change that fact that he made that loot by raping a cherished piece of Americana, sci-fi history, and cultural identity for millions. As a friend told me, Lucas is the "best and worst thing to happen to Star Wars". I know this is an unfair comparison, but if Vlad Putin uses his own money to build an orphanage, sure that is nice of him, but it doesn't absolve his other sins. I wonder if his cognitive dissonance and Death Star-sized ego permit him to realize how unhappy he has made the fans that he once filled with emotions and wonder. That betrayal will ultimately be his legacy.

We can respect Lucas for being a smart businessman/generous philanthropist, AND acknowledge that he is a total A-hole for ruining cherished Eps 4-6 and epic failing on Eps 1-3. If he was truly generous, he would have given the SW franchise to a nonprofit fan foundation, to make sure future content stays true to the mythos. His decision to sell to the likes of Disney nullified his giving ("blood money"). So it seems clear that Lucas has done nothing good for SW or humanity since 1983. He just helped himself and his investors at the expense of a major part of US film and cultural history.

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If you're desperate for a good version of the original, you should torrent this guy's despecialized version of Ep 4-6: http://originaltrilogy.com/forum/topic.cfm/Harmys-STAR-WARS-Despecialized-Edition-HD-V25-MKV-IS-OUT-NOW/topic/12713/

Basically, he started with the Hi-Def versions that were released later, deleted all the dumb George Lucas later additions, and cleaned up some things even George Lucas missed (such as light saber colors being wrong), and remastered the sound. 

For people that have seen it, it's basically the ultimate nerd version of Star Wars; high def but true to the original (Lando shoots first!).

For the disaster of Episodes 1-3, there is always the Phantom Edit (http://starwarsfans.wikia.com/wiki/The_Phantom_Edit) which cuts out much of the crap in Episode 1. (He also made versions for 2 and 3). There's also The Editor Strikes Back, which condenses Ep 1-3 into a very watchable 85 mins: http://www.slashfilm.com/topher-grace-edited-star-wars-prequels-85minute-movie/ (shows just how much fluff and useless shit Lucas included in the Prequels really)

Even the viewing order has been challenged by fans online: http://www.nomachetejuggling.com/2011/11/11/the-star-wars-saga-suggested-viewing-order/ - basically, this guy argues the best viewing order is IV - V - II - III - VI. Now that the Editor Strikes Back has been released, I think you could make a good argument for IV (despecialized) - V (despecialized) - Editor Strikes Back - VI (despecialized) as more or less how Star Wars was meant to be experienced in a perfect world.

I guess in this day and age of Internet collaboration, there's just no way that George Lucas can try to keep sole creative control over something that nerds the world over cherish - fans will route around his ham-handed attempts to "improve" the originals.

http://www.tested.com/art/movies/384046-star-wars-despecialized-edition-remastered/

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Thx! I know I can always count on a fellow true fan for empathy and resources. Sadly I don't torrent (ignorance rather than respect for IP, LOL), but I will look into it. I found a guy on eBay who is selling unofficial DVDs of the unaltered trilogy, so I got that as a post-Xmas gift for myself. :) But mostly it's "historical record" for my daughter, so when she gets older, she will be able to experience the real SW the way we did (before Lucas and Mickey destroy all the surviving copies of the original trilogy).

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More ludicrous changes in the recent Blu-Ray release: http://blog.zap2it.com/pop2it/2011/08/ewoks-now-blink-in-blu-ray-release-of-return-of-the-jedi.html

Yes, it was eating me up inside that the Ewoks in Return of the Jedi didn't have blinking eyes. That really detracted from the realism of a battle where a galactic imperial army was soundly defeated by talking care bears. Sure, the Ewoks were by far the worst part of Eps 4-6 (an early attempt at commercialization and youth targeting), but changing them now is even dumber.

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Supposedly Lucas (who is more of a merchandiser and effects wizard than a pure storyteller and filmmaker) was not happy with the state of the art in 1977, but had to keep Ep 4 on schedule, so the film released without all the cool effects that he wanted. The industry just wasn't ready for his vision. Fair enough, but since when has any work we've had to deliver under time pressure satisfied us 100%? I know Hollywood directors are infamous perfectionists, but at some point you just go with the best you have ready, and leave it at that. No "do overs" later (or leave it to the DVD bonus features at least, don't alter the original work!).

Say all that is true, and the special edition is Lucas' "true vision" for how he wanted the trilogy to look and feel. So he really believed that CG mini-Jabba, a rock in front of R2-D2, and Han shooting 2nd made the movie complete? If he "did it right" the first time in 1977, then SW would have become an even bigger hit? I call BS. He just used the special edition as an excuse to invest in more tech, showcase ILM effects, and sell more DVDs. Seriously, the changes are as if Lucas asked his 12-year-old child for advice. First off, you don't need to change what is fine, or in fact nearly perfect. Second, if you do decide to change what is already fine, then your change should at least be an IMPROVEMENT and not a distraction/detraction/joke. Like adding color to later releases of Hitchcock movies is more defensible (but still controversial to many). The feel of Eps 4-6 is of a raw, gritty, lived-in universe (apart from the sterile, polished, but oppressive imperial settings). The sharp and artificial CG fillers add no value and really hurt the mood of some scenes (like the stupid alien band in Return of the Jedi playing a kiddie song while the green slave girl was eaten). The low-IQ response to innovation/improvement is "let's just add more stuff." A shot with so much irrelevant and unimportant noise going on doesn't benefit the film, and is too much for the typical viewer to process/appreciate anyway (example from Ep 2). It's sad that so many artists had to work long hours to deliver such garbage that no one will remember. Whereas Sir Alec Guinness probably just needed a couple takes to deliver a 10-second line that became film immortality: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hFWz145aJc.

Much worse are the "continuity changes", where the Eps 1-3 are clearly to blame. Vader has to yell "Nooooo!" the same way in 2 movies (even though it is not authentic and ruins both scenes). Hayden Christiansen has to have a cameo in a film that was made before he was born. Why? To give Eps 1-3 more legitimacy at the expense of the far better Eps 4-6? If Lucas thinks his audience is so dumb that they need to hear the same line or see the same face to make the mental connection across 2 movies, well that shows his respect for the audience.

But overall, I think it is totally OK that a film has certain aesthetic limitations and flaws, as long as the WRITING, ACTING, and PLOT are great (stuff that Lucas totally took for granted in Eps 1-3, or is just inept). You know, film school 101 stuff. But that is the problem when the creative process is dominated by a past-his-prime icon who is mentally lazy, unqualified, and doesn't encourage collaboration. I won't go into all the ways Eps 1-3 were horrible, and as some YT reviewers have said, they aren't even really SW films. Just because they have lightsabers, space ships, and a hero named Skywalker doesn't make them SW if they lack the signature dialogue, captivating characters, and imaginative adventure of the predecessors.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJM5Citn3rY

But going back to Eps 4-6... you don't love your partner because they're perfect or in spite of their flaws, you love that their flaws make them who they are. Most fans never lamented about a certain SW mistake, or wished a new effect was included in the films (partly because the existing effects were already so dazzling). It's fine that the stormtrooper hits his head on the door, or that the Death Star has a totally illogical vulnerability. They are barely relevant to the larger story arc, feelings, and themes, which is what stays with you years after you've seen the film. I wish modern Hollywood would stop fixating on getting everything so perfectly stunning visually, and instead invest that much effort on the truly critical parts of a good film (the mental-emotional parts!). Otherwise we will keep getting more Eps 1-3. Lucas was lucky that he leveraged the SW brand to make those crap films into huge financial successes, but not everyone can be so fortunate. Disney of all studios should know this, after John Carter and Lone Ranger. Also, what happened to "know the customer"? Aren't filmmakers in the business of pleasing audiences? It seems that too many egomaniac directors and producers just hijack films/franchises and warp them into their selfish, narrow vision. If they have a good vision, then maybe it's fine. But so many of them don't. Some films are too important to society/history to let one rich and powerful A-hole mess them up for future generations. In that sense, it's ironic that Lucas has really become the dark side emperor of the Star Wars franchise.   

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Agreed, it's inspirational. Totally funny that the poor, underground fans acting as the true custodians of the SW material are like the Rebels, and GL and his mighty LucasFilm are the empire. Life imitates art. It's even more impressive that many of them were born after the original trilogy, yet still came to love it (shows how timeless the movies are, and they live on because of the human elements, not the effects which are clearly dated by now). And as you said, their heroic efforts would be totally unnecessary if Lucas and his henchmen acted with a shred of heart. As we all know, if Lucas had full control on Eps 4-6, they would have been pretty terrible (Han with green skin, Luke and Leia as midgets, etc.). I give GL credit for the creative spark and taking chances, but he is terrible at execution (apart from some effects). 

The guy is just an out of touch, egocentric douche, so this is what we get. If you watch behind the scenes clips of him directing Eps 1-3, it's really like a senile person or child at work (or worse, a smug prick who just doesn't give a shit), but all the yes-men around him just go along with it. And can you imagine - the BTS shots that they released are the GOOD moments of his direction - I wonder how bad the bad moments were! Lucas must really hire hacks at ILM as you said. In their defense, maybe those workers are just uber fanboys who are so desperate to work on any new SW material (like a crack addict), so they will go along with any of GL's horrible ideas. In their gut they know it's wrong and bad for the franchise, but I guess they'd rather toil on a shitty project than no project at all. This is the problem when GL finances the movies himself too, there's no one else to hold him to account. At least the suits at Fox probably shot down all of GL's zany ideas during the first trilogy.

I just can't believe anyone at ILM didn't have the sack to speak out about all the superfluous scenes, shit dialogue, Jar-Jar, Noooooo!, etc. I know they must have felt it in their guts, but self-censored. You'd think some cocky kid would have spoken out, and then got canned by a miffed GL. Then he tells all to the media about how bad it is to work at ILM and how stupid GL is. But I haven't heard anything like that, have you? Or at least Portman, Neeson, or MacGregor have the clout to speak out (or are they in denial too, wanting to believe that they worked on something of value?). Maybe ILM has a strict NDA or Lucas will sue the shit out of you?

When I was younger, I longed for more SW movies too. Now with more years under my belt, I appreciate the first 3 movies even more. And I think the franchise deserved to rest in peace. No remastering, no alterations... it's not like degraded Chaplin reels from the old days. It is REALLY hard to make a blockbuster series and sustain quality throughout (look at Star Trek after #4, or Bond after Connery). Eps 4-6 were a phenomenal accomplishment - why can't they just quit while they're ahead? Same with LOTR and Hobbit. The fact that the Hobbit films are clearly worse than LOTR (and just reusing LOTR material), and Jackson chose to deviate from the spirit of the book so much, reflects the same problem as GL. Eps 1-3 did not need to be made, and in fact shouldn't have. I agree with that Sam kid on YT that it really doesn't matter how the Republic became the Empire, and how Anakin became Vader. That is the setup to Eps 4-6, nothing more. The back story is that way for a reason, it's not as interesting as the main story! That's why I think we've never really seen a superior prequel or origin story in Hollywood (maybe Batman Begins, but that was a different approach and team altogether). Actually I think it's better for all to have made Eps 7-9 instead, because then the team has free reign to craft a new storyline. I really hope the original characters don't show up at all. No one wants to see old Han. They accomplished their purpose in the story already - it doesn't matter what they do later. Unless it's like Mask of Zorro where they just pass the torch and train the next gen (minor roles only). What do you think?

The legacy of George W. Bush: too little, too late

I am sick and tired of the Bush Administration and the greater government in Washington giving weak apologies, lame excuses, and patronizing explanations after the fact for scandals, lapses, gaffes, and failures that they should have worked harder to prevent in the first place. My father used to say, “The more you love someone, the less you should have to say sorry,” implying that people who really care will do it right the first time so they don’t ever have to worry about apology or regret later. Take care of small problems before they become big ones. We waged pre-emptive war against Iraq when the threat from Saddam was poorly characterized at best, but where was the pre-emptive action for the obviously inadequate New Orleans levees or VA hospitals? I think it’s also very telling of a leader in the manner that they address their people and atone for mistakes. It says a lot about respect, integrity, and responsibility. So a good leader must take the steps necessary to prevent problems beforehand, and if they still occur under their watch – apologize and take responsibility properly. Anything less is “too little, too late.” I know no one is perfect and random mishaps must occur, both large and small. But when the pattern of “random negative outcomes” originating from the White House is longer than a Tolstoy novel, maybe it’s time to raise some serious questions concerning accountability.

The major cases in question:

(If you like, you can read rants on each issue at the bottom of the email)

September 11

Pre-war Iraq WMD intelligence

Foreign policy/Global War on Terror

Katrina

Veteran’s care

General Republican misbehavior

This is a very limited list, and who knows what gaffes the public isn’t privy to? For each instance of failure, we can attribute it to three main possibilities: (1) Bush and other leaders didn’t care enough to address the problem, (2) Bush and other leaders were not competent enough to solve the problem, or (3) Bush and other leaders spoke the truth and actually didn’t know about/were powerless to fix/weren’t responsible to deal with the problem at all. And yes, there’s always the last possibility that (4) shit happens. How many screw-ups have to occur to convince us to stop believing that our leaders were totally blameless and it was all by happenstance? Will the same traffic cop believe you five or ten times when you plead that you weren’t speeding?

Some people worried that the new Democratic Congress would devote too much time and effort in a political witch-hunt investigating the Bushies for past actions, rather than crafting new and needed legislation. But maybe it’s not such a bad idea, considering how many times they’ve emerged relatively Scott-free after such grand screw-ups. I am tired of hearing shameful news from the country I love, and pathetic excuses/forced contrition from our elected leaders. I’d rather they are honest and say they don’t care about helping poor people, bringing wayward Republicans to justice, healing wounded veterans, or protecting the civil rights of Muslims, instead of shoveling the BS down our throats which only increases my ire. Foreigners realize this and therefore don’t trust a word from Bush. But we are in a moral quandary because we are Americans and want to believe that our leaders/system are good, and they are very good at times. However when they’re not, we need to hold people accountable and make examples of the guilty as deterrent. Actually, to be honest it shocks me to think about how many major disasters/scandals have taken place under the current administration’s watch. Watergate or Iran-Contra seem paltry in comparison, but in those days we had a more independent press, a Congress that actually believed in oversight, and tenacious prosecutors who wouldn’t let violations in justice go unpunished. Well I shouldn’t badmouth the system completely; after all we did get to the bottom of the Lewinsky scandal, didn’t we? Too little, too late.

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September 11. The defining moment of Bush’s first term, and maybe American history in the 21^st Century. Bush and company were so sorry for those who had to suffer at the hands of terrorist killers, and vowed to hunt the guilty parties down, smoke them out, bring them to justice dead or alive, or whatever until we were satisfied. Over 5 years later, Osama, Zawahiri, and others are still at large, no trial over 9/11 was ever brought to American courts, and we took our misguided revenge out on many innocent Afghans, Iraqis, and anyone else we could render to secret CIA prisons. In the meantime, Condi Rice had the nerve to testify on the Hill that the national security memo titled “Bin Laden Determined to Attack America” was too vague to put the nation on high alert prior to 9/11. Bush-Cheney were lightly questioned behind closed doors and without swearing oaths, and preferred to blame Clinton for all mishaps. Despite the 9/11 commission concluding that the attacks weren’t preventable (and yes Clinton could have done more), the Bushies can’t even start to claim that they did all they could to protect the nation from threats during their first year in office. I do think it’s commendable that we haven’t been attacked domestically since 2001, but that won’t bring the victims much comfort. Too little, too late.

Pre-war Iraq WMD intelligence. It’s always dangerous when you try to fit your data to the hypothesis, instead of the other way around. The neocons and Bushies exaggerated the importance of shoddy rumors, relied heavily on ulterior-motive-driven defectors, resurrected obsolete intel generally dismissed by the CIA, played games with the Washington press, and more and more evidence is emerging to suggest it was deliberate deception, or at the very least manipulation of the American public on the path to war. If the cause is so vital and just, why the need for so many parlor tricks to convince us? Well, with all the bombs falling and corpses piling up, all they can say now is that they were following the general consensus within the intelligence community at the time (even though many in the CIA and State were hesitant to agree), and Saddam was a real threat. Even the British thought that Saddam had WMD, so it must have been justified, right? Then of course the story got distorted once the WMD search was called off and the insurgency took root: we invaded Iraq to liberate the poor people of a tyrant, prevent Al Qaeda from infiltrating, and promote democracy in that region of the world. I wonder if the 50,000 plus innocent civilians killed in Iraq feel very liberated. But not even an apology to Iraq from the White House, and Bush will probably never claim to regret that he took us on this path to war. For the life of me, I can’t find it on the net anymore, but over the holidays there was a Yahoo! News/AP article with an interview questioning Bush if he’d like to apologize to Iraqis for the botched war effort and all the casualties. He totally refused, and stated that actually the Iraqis should be tremendously grateful to us for giving them freedom! Too little, too late.

Foreign policy/Global War on Terror. Not enough equipment for the troops, exhausting the troops with extra/extended tours of duty, rushing to war without adequate strategy/preparation, no plan to win the peace or rebuild, corrupt defense contracts, much delayed reconstruction, not sending enough invasion troops, underestimating the insurgency, letting the Taleban regain traction, threatening North Korea and Iran which accelerated their pursuit of nukes, disregarding the rule of law on our allies’ soil to conduct extreme rendition abroad, standing idly by as Israel blew up Lebanon, subverting the Hamas government that pushed Palestine into civil war, PATRIOT Act warrant-less snooping and other challenges to civil liberties, scandals at Gitmo, Abu Ghraib, Haditha, etc. The list goes on and on, and it’s really tragic. Any honest apologies? Maybe a passing comment at a press conference or State of the Union side note. Ex-Secretary Rumsfeld dared to look a disgruntled soldier in the face and exonerate himself for the lack of Humvee plating and body armor with, “You go to war with the army you have.” What a noble display of leadership, and it must have really boosted morale. Bush was outraged when he heard the news of “a few bad apples” making trouble at Abu Ghraib, but of course didn’t concern himself with finding out who suggested that MPs and interrogators “soften up” detainees by creative means (Rumsfeld). He claimed that he didn’t know (an excuse that didn’t fly for the Nazis and shouldn’t fly for any leaders presiding over war brutality), no direct orders to “torture” came from the White House, and most soldiers perform their duties nobly. Maybe so, but then why would Bush resist McCain’s anti-torture legislation so doggedly until public opinion was overwhelmingly against him? Too little, too late.

Speaking of Abu Ghraib, a crazy thing I saw from HBO's "Ghosts of Abu Ghraib". A Soldier named Darby was the one who saw Graner's photos of the tortures and reported the abuse to his superiors. Darby was supposed to be a confidential, anonymous whistleblower protected by applicable laws. But then in Abu Ghraib hearings before Congress, Rumsfeld "thanked" Darby (on the record and by name) for coming forward, in a room full of cameras, reporters, and microphones. So I guess Scooter and Karl weren't the only ones who outed government secrets and put people in danger. Some believe that Rummy did that as "revenge" for Darby "betraying" the code of silence among military comrades. No charges would have come out of Abu Ghraib if it wasn't for those photos, so I guess the guilty parties would rather blame Darby than take responsibility themselves. Afterwards, Darby had to go into hiding and his family received death threats. Some gratitude indeed.

Katrina. A black eye on America’s history and conscience that should “live in infamy” much more than Pearl Harbor or 9/11 in my opinion. No president can stop a hurricane, but the greater tragedy was the botched government response, as chronicled in the mainstream press and more recently in Spike Lee’s documentary “When the Levees Broke”. Bush and others claimed that they didn’t know Katrina would cause so much damage or make the levees breach, even though there is a mountain of evidence from meteorologists and engineers warning of that very likely possibility. There’s even video of Bush being briefed about the levees situation before the levees actually gave out. So again, “I didn’t know” won’t fly.

Let’s forget for now the government’s terrible, depressing lapses during the actual tragedy, but instead focus on the molasses-slow recovery effort. Bush claimed that he pushed the federal government to allocate billions of dollars for Katrina rebuilding. That is true, but is that end of story? Throw money at a problem and it’s a guaranteed fix, huh? Bush can’t get away with blaming the local authorities (who are also at fault) for poorly distributing the money. The buck stops where? It’s the South – government doesn’t run like clockwork down there! If Bush really cared, he would kick some butts, reorganize the bureaucracy, and appoint qualified experts (a.k.a. not Brownie) to make sure progress was being made and deadlines were met. If he truly believed what he told the country during his famous Jackson Square speech, he would be hands-on in the process, making speeches constantly to rally awareness and encourage action (like he does with the War on Terror). He would give full zeal to Katrina rebuilding, like he does on the campaign trail stumping for other GOP members. I would dare to say that Bush has spent more time clearing brush in Crawford than thinking about how to fix the Gulf Coast, and that makes me crazy with rage (as if I wasn’t crazy enough before Katrina).

Thousands of residents are still waiting for their aid checks and insurance claims while their properties are declared blighted and seized by the government! They want to come back, but can’t because there’s nothing to return to and no infrastructure to support them! Crime and murder are rampant, and livable housing is scarce. The federal government can freeze gas prices in an emergency, bust monopolies/riots/strikes, and mobilize an entire division of soldiers to anywhere in the globe in under a week. So why can’t they cut through red tape and fast-track insurance claims/aid distribution/reconstruction now, and then resolve bureaucratic matters later after people have a roof over their heads, stable jobs, and good schools/hospitals for their loved ones? I know one person can’t fix something as vast as Katrina, but an honorable president, with all that power at his disposal, would do more than Bush is currently doing. I’m damn sure of that. It’s all empty promises and faux optimism with him, but positive thinking won’t fix a house or prevent crime. The New Orleans resident whom Bush promised to rebuild her home on national TV? It made for great PR, but she’s still waiting a year later. At least she got a seat at the 2007 State of the Union Address (the address where he didn’t even devote one iota of attention to Katrina). Of course his White House handlers scheduled a visit to the Gulf Coast soon afterwards, but too little, too late.

Veteran’s care. This news is fairly recent, so I won’t rehash the details. But inadequate veteran’s care is nothing new, and Bush should know this (all his predecessors too). Maybe you could make the excuse after Vietnam that America wanted to forget their losing war and therefore veteran’s needs fell through the cracks. It still doesn’t make it right, but might be a plausible explanation. Care for Vietnam vets was horrible and maybe we haven’t learned much since then. In today’s modern warfare, we all know that battlefield fatalities are down while serious injuries are way up. Fortunately we can save more wounded soldiers from death than ever before, but those soldiers will need a ton of care, assistance, and counseling for the rest of their lives. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that we might need to re-evaluate our VA capabilities prior to launching a protracted counter-insurgency war. Small arms fire, mortars, vehicle crashes, and IEDs cause shrapnel wounds, amputations, and brain injury, not to mention PTSD. So prepare your facilities to handle a ton of those cases, duuuh!

The politicians claim to support the troops, but when is enough lying enough? Insufficient armor, stop-loss scams, shady recruiting practices, backlog of claims and paychecks, intimidation of complainers, and now rats crawling across the hospital floor? Too little, too late for any apologies or explanations. Bush claims to want to get to the bottom of this and make sure that not one veteran hero goes without the support and care they need and deserve. It’s easy for him to say this now, after the Washington Post broke the scandal and people are pissed. But where was his care and concern over the last four years of the Global War on Terror? It’s not like the first casualty of the Iraq War was wheeled into Walter Reed yesterday! The truth is that wounded veterans, although bona fide patriots, are useless to the military-political establishment in their current crippled form. They’re noble heroes who sacrificed for us, but now they’re just burdens on Washington. So the government drags its feet in bureaucracy and offer substandard care at times. It is an old systemic problem, but a president can raise enough hell to get the wheels in motion to fix things. It just shows that Bush doesn’t really care (or assumes everything is peachy, which is stupid), or rushed to war in Iraq without adequate preparation. Some VA facilities and staff are excellent, but many are not because the Pentagon offers crap budgets and salaries. It’s not a high priority for them, regardless of what people claim. The Pentagon would rather spend billions on space technology, upgraded nuclear warheads, and CIA endeavors rather than shell out the measly sum to properly attend to our veterans. Now at least some heads are beginning to roll and maybe some reforms will occur. But where is the “bold, decisive leadership” and accountability of our Commander in Chief through all this? So what if he’s shocked? Actually its scary how barely in-the-know our president is on critical matters, and why does the press have to be the only ones keeping the government honest?

General Republican misbehavior. Tom DeLay, pork, Mark Foley, those guys from Ohio I can’t remember, more pork, Abramoff’s contacts, even more pork, Duke Cunningham, and most recently Scooter Libby (not to mention all the pseudo-guilty people who will never get indicted like Rumsfeld, Cheney, Rove, and Wolfowitz). Again, Bush and company were dismayed when they found out the news, but didn’t do anything to prevent the malfeasance at the time. They didn’t do the right thing and come forward on their colleagues, as Darby did over Abu Ghraib. But is the GOP angry that their people behaved badly and/or broke the law, or angry that they got caught, the news got out, and it ended up helping the Democrats recapture Congress? If politics trump justice, we all lose out. Once the shroud of incredulity and distrust cover our leaders and government, it is very hard to patch things up and restore faith/optimism. The American public was very cynical after Vietnam/Watergate, and only in the 1980’s under Reagan did we start to believe in America once again (and all the while Reagan’s gang was cooking up new scandals to shock the nation). Too little, too late.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7750388