Reform We Actually Need

I've seen a lot of my friends posting on Facebook over the last 24 hours or so in an outrage that the Senate blocked the passage of the gun control reform bill.  This bill, among other things, increased the scrutiny on background checks for prospective gun buyers.

Now before I go further, let me state that I am not a gun owner, nor do I plan to own a gun.  There's no reason for me to have one.  But, I do respect the rights of those who want to own a gun, whether it be for hunting purposes, hobby shooting, or for a greater sense of security.  I agree with the provision in the 2nd Amendment to Keep and Bear Arms.  I believe that an armed public is a great deterrent to a tyrannical government.

I think we can all agree that the Newtown, CT tragedy was the event that spurred this current gun debate.  I believe this tragedy was more a failure of our society to recognize and treat mental illness than it was a failure of gun control.  From all accounts, Adam Lanza's mother was a law abiding citizen that had every right to own a firearm.  I am not convinced that any stricter gun control laws would have prevented the Newtown tragedy.  Further, as the Boston marathon bombing proves, crazy people will find ways to murder and wound people without guns.

On Wednesday, Chuck Grassley (R - IA) and Ted Cruz (R - TX) introduced an alternative to the gun legislation.  You probably haven't heard about this, because it doesn't fit the liberal agenda talking point of restricting gun ownership.  Instead, this law makes it easier for law abiding citizens to get guns, while providing funding for stronger prosecution of criminals who attempt to buy a gun and fail the background check.  This bill also provides for more assistant U.S Attorneys and more ATF agents.  Most importantly, this bill provides funding for resources devoted to the mentally ill and funding for schools to spend on safety measures.

So, we have a bill that directly addresses what happened in Newtown, CT, and this bill will never see the light of day in the Senate because it doesn't include stricter gun control measures.  This is the most clear evidence that those pushing the failed Senate bill were never in this to address what happened in Newtown.  They simply used that event as the catalyst to push for something that has been on the liberal agenda for a long time, stricter gun control laws. 

We have an autistic child who occasionally has a violent outburst.  We have been fortunate to be able to get really good help for our son and he is doing great!  But I know what a struggle it is to have a child that has a mental illness.  I know the stigma that can come with this, such as the stares from other adults when your seemingly "normal" kid has an outburst in the grocery store.  To make it worse, some educators and other parents who don't believe in "special needs" feel compelled to tell you why you've failed as a parent, and that if you were just "stricter and more disciplined" your child would be "normal".

A real movement could have begun to start to get people with mental disorders the help they need!  Further, this could have removed the stigma that comes with a mental disorder by educating the public.  Instead, those elected to lead us chose to make this a political fight and ignored the real issues that continue to cause these tragic events in our society.  That is the secondary tragedy in all of this. 

Fabulous Fajitas!

I've been eating more Mexican food lately.  This started because my friend Nick and I went to El Perico, a local Mexican restaurant that is unbelievably good.  With this food in mind, I decided to try my hand at some beef fajitas.  For a first run at this, I think they turned out great! 

First I made a marinade.  I did this 2 nights ago.  I had only intended to let the steak marinate for 1 night, but it went 2 nights due to a change in our plans.  The marinade was based on this recipe.  I only made 1 minor adjustment.  I added cilantro.  Here's the marinade recipe:

Ingredients:
1/4 cup lime juice
1/3 cup water
4 cloves minced garlic
2 TBSP Olive Oil
2 tsp Soy Sauce
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp liquid smoke (hickory)
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp dried cilantro

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a plastic bag.  Place desired meat in the bag and refrigerate for 2 hours to overnight.

Okay, I used flank steak for the meat.  I had a 1.2 lb flank steak and it marinated for almost 2 days.  I'm sure 24 hours would have been plenty.  Here's what I did tonight to assemble the fajitas.

Ingredients:
1-1.5 lb Marinated Flank Steak (using marinade above)
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
1 yellow onion, sliced
2-3 TBSP Fajita Marinade
1 TBSP Olive Oil
1/4 tsp salt
Southwest seasoning to taste
10 - 6 inch flour tortillas

Directions:
1 - Remove the steak from the marinade, wiping off the excess.  Grill or Broil to a medium doneness.  Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
2 - While steak is resting, add reserved marinade and olive oil to a hot cast iron skillet.  Once the oil and marinade sizzling, add the vegetables and salt and stir fry for 10 minutes.  For additional spice, add southwest seasoning at this point.
3 - Slice the steak, across the grain, into 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick strips.  Add the strips to the skillet and stir fry for an additional 2 minutes.
4 - Place the tortillas on a microwave safe plate, cover them with a towel and microwave for 45 seconds. 
5 - Serve fajita beef and vegetable mixture with tortillas.  Add refried beans and cheddar cheese on the side if you want.

This was SOOOOO good.  I did add some southwest seasoning.  I liked the extra kick, but I think next time I'll leave it off so the marinade comes through even more.  The marinade is unbelievably good.  I loved this dish and can't wait to make it again!

Quick Tomato Soup

Tonight I made Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese.  It's cold and windy here, so that felt like a really good meal.  Rather than opening a can of Campbell's I decided to make my own soup.  I found a recipe on Allrecipes that gave me a good idea, but then I tweaked it and came up with a Tomato Soup that my wife said is the "best tomato soup she's ever had".  I've been doing a lot more recipe tweaking lately. :-)

Here's the recipe...sorry that I forgot pictures.

Ingredients:
1 - 28oz can crushed tomatoes
1 - 11.5 oz can V8 Tomato Juice
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup veggie stock
1 Parmesan rind (or probably 1/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese)
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup butter
2 tsp dried basil
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried parsley

Directions:
1.  Add crushed tomatoes, tomato juice, stock and Parmesan rind to a large pot.  Bring to a boil and let simmer for 20 minutes.
2.  Remove any remaining Parmesan rind.
3.  Remove from the heat and add basil, garlic powder and dried parsley and blend gently with an immersion blender.
4.  Add heavy cream, butter and sugar.  Return to the heat until butter is melted.  Serve immediately.

This is a rich soup with lots of great tomato flavor.  We ate it with grilled cheese and oyster crackers.  I can't wait to make this one again!

More Movie Reviews

It's been a while since I've reviewed any movies.  I have quite a few (for me) to get through.  If this were Nuke, this would be a short movie review since he only reviews movies about twice a year.  I've been watching a lot of animated DC movies on Netflix Instant Watch, and not too many discs lately.  So, here are my reviews.  A lot of 3 and 4 star movies that I'll rate in the order that I think you might care about them.

"The Bourne Legacy":  The latest installment in the Bourne series doesn't feature Jason Bourne at all.  This movie starts a new story line with Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner).  Cross is the next step in the Bourne Evolution.  He has been physically and mentally enhanced, so he's stronger, faster, able to heal quicker and smarter than your average Bourne.  While on a training mission in Alaska, the CIA attempts to kill Cross, to eliminate the threat of program exposure.  Of course they fail, because it wouldn't be much of a movie if they succeeded.  Now, with the risk of losing his abilities, Cross must find the only doctor (Rachel Weisz) who can help him while evading his CIA pursuers.

The movie gets a 4 star rating because I absolutely love the Bourne movies.  Honestly, 45 minutes in, I was quite worried.  "The Bourne Legacy" starts off very slow, but picks up in the 2nd half of the movie.  Jeremy Renner is good as Aaron Cross, but not great.  I really like Rachel Weisz in this role, and Edward Norton is good as always. 

So, overall, a pretty solid follow-up to the Bourne Trilogy.

"Pirates of the Caribbean: Stranger Tides":  Finally, a "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie that comes close to capturing the genius of the original.  While not as great, this movie is so much better than the last two that it's not even fair to compare them.

Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) is back again, this time playing a dangerous game with the English, the Spanish and the evil Capt. Blackbeard (Ian McShane) over the location of the Fountain of Youth.  We also meet Angelica (Penelope Cruz), apparently a love interest from  Jack's pass.  Honestly, there are so many plot turns that I can't do it justice by trying to talk about the plot, but let's just say it's mostly fun. 

Missing from the cast were Orlando Bloom and Kiera Knightley, and that was ok.  Geoffrey Rush was back and Capt. Barbosa, which I thought was a good move.  There is kind of a dumb plot line about a mermaid and a missionary, but other than that, I really liked "Pirates of the Caribbean: Stranger Tides".  I'll give this one 4 stars as well.

"Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter":  This was a movie that I was going to see in the theater, but after really poor reviews, I decided to skip it.  It was a good decision not to spend theater bucks on "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter", but as a popcorn eating flick for a Tuesday night, it suffices as a 3 star movie.

The plot is fairly simple.  After watching his mother get murdered by a vampire, a young Abraham Lincoln dedicates himself to revenge against the vampire that killed her.  After a near fatal encounter, Lincoln meets a man who can teach him the skills he needs to kill a Vampire.  Once trained, Lincoln becomes a one man Vampire wrecking machine, until realizing that his battle is a futile one unless he gains political power.  Hence Lincoln embarks on a political career that ends with the Presidency and the Civil War, which is really a battle between the Vampire free north, and the Vampire lead south.

I know a lot of people were upset about the portrayal of Lincoln in the movie and about the fact that the Civil War in this movie was essentially a war between Lincoln and Vampires, and not about freeing slaves.  To those people I say, it's fiction!  Lighten up!

"Lemonade Mouth":  This is a Disney movie that we considered watching as a family back when it came out in 2011.  For whatever reason we didn't see it, and we missed out.  "Lemonade Mouth" is a really fun, clean, family movie with some pretty good music.  Also, surprisingly, it doesn't follow the typical Disney feel good ending, though you end feeling pretty good anyway.

"Lemonade Mouth" is the story of 5 high schoolers who are sort of outcasts, but band together in detention to form a music group that turns life in the high school on it's head.  Led by Stella Yamada (Hayley Kiyoko), Lemonade Mouth becomes a symbol for all the kids who don't fit the mold of the perfect high schooler.  But, can they pull it together and win the rock band competition, or will life conspire against them?

We really liked this movie.  I'd give it 4 stars.  It's not as cheesy as "High School Musical", but also not as unique.  The cast of Bridgit Mendler, Naomi Scott, Adam Hicks, Blake Michael and Kiyoko really seem to like each other and works well.  Christopher McDonald plays the school principal and basically brings "Happy Gilmore's" Shooter McGavin to the role of high school principal.  A very fun movie that's good family viewing.

Now on to quick reviews of the animated DC movies that I watched.  No pictures for these.

"Justice League:  Doom":  What happens when all Batman's secret plans for controlling rogue justice league members fall into evil hands?  Bad things man...bad things.

I really enjoyed this movie.  The correct vocal casting (Kevin Conroy) is used for Batman, which is critical.  Tim Daly also appears as Superman, again critical.  This is a 4 star movie.  

"Batman: Year One":  In this movie, we follow the first year of a 25 year old Bruce Wayne as Batman, as well as the future Commissioner Gordon's first year as a cop in Gotham.  The two must band together to save Gotham from corrupt cops and the mafia.

I'm a sucker for Batman movies...4 stars.

"Superman vs. the Elite":  In the 21st century, the ideal of Superman has become old fashioned and his methods have become tired.  When a new band of anti-heroes show up and take steps Superman will not, the public embraces them.  But, when they go too far, will Superman have enough to save the day.

I'll give this one 3.5 stars.

"All Star Superman":  After being tricked by Lex Luthor into overexposure to the sun's rays, Superman has weeks to live.  But with new powers from the sun's rays, Superman performs some of his greatest feats.

This is 2.5 stars.  Kinda sappy and not real action packed.

President Obama's To Do List

I have recently come to possess a copy of an essay written by a young Barack Obama .  I thought I'd share it here.  It's written in the form of a problem statement, followed by his solution:

What I would do if I were President, by Barry Obama:

Problem:  The First Amendment.  It reads:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

Solution:  Destroy religious freedom by passing a health care law that forces Christians to go against their very core beliefs.  To discourage religion, belittle those who openly practice religion.  Use the term "bitter clingers" to describe these folks. 

Problem:  The Second Amendment.  It reads:

"A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

Solution:  Take advantage of a national tragedy to force gun control legislation and executive orders down the throats of law abiding Americans, while ignoring any other possible reasons for the tragedy. 

...

Ok, you get the idea.  It goes on and on to talk about growing the powers of the Executive Branch through the appointment of Czars and the unprecedented use of Executive Orders.  It talks about gaining control of the courts by appointing liberal, idealist judges that are willing to ignore the law and just make it up as they go along.  There's a particularly long and boring part of taxing the crap out of "the rich" to ensure "fairness".  He also talks about borrowing unprecedented sums of money to fund programs that will make "his subjects totally dependent on his regime" (his words, not mine).

His teacher gave him an F and recommended he see the school counselor to address his "issues".  I wonder if he ever talked to that school counselor???

Fiscal Cliff - This is Absurd!

I haven't taken to this blog for politics in quite a while, but I decided it's time to do so today, as we edge closer to the so called "fiscal cliff".  If the Congress can't reach a deal today, mandatory tax increases and spending cuts will go into effect tomorrow, affecting every American.  I've followed the debate and have come to the conclusion that this entire thing is just absurd.

First off, the only reason we've reached this point is because our Congress couldn't agree on a deficit reduction deal after the Simpson-Bowles committee made their recommendations.  So, they kicked the can down the road, and here we are.  The fact that our elected leaders can't ever compromise and figure anything out is completely absurd!  This is why we need term limits.  Our leaders are so concerned about protecting their power and getting re-elected that they are paralyzed when it comes to taking action.  Seriously, give me a team of 5 people and we could fix this...it would be painful, but we could fix it.  It's just a math problem, there's always a solution.

Secondly, make no mistake the entire debate going on right now is about nothing more than raising taxes on those making over $250,000 (or maybe it's $450,000 depending on the day) per year.  Sure, our so-called leaders are paying lip service to spending cuts and unemployment benefits, but this all comes down to tax cuts.  President Obama and the Democrats are willing to drive us over the fiscal cliff to get their precious tax increases on the "wealthy".  Obama and the Dems are confident they can go down this path because they know the left-wing media will paint the Republicans as villains for wanting to protect tax rates for "the rich", while sacrificing the middle and lower incomes.  And, sadly, Obama and the Dems are right, this is exactly what the media will do.

Now, the Republicans are far from perfect, and I think they are being stupid right now.  Even though I'm completely against tax increases without meaningful spending reforms, the Republicans have to give in on this one.  Obama is going to get his tax increases one way or the other.  That's the key point in all of this...Obama gets what he wants whether or not Congress comes to an agreement here.  No matter what happens today, Obama will get the higher taxes on the rich he campaigned on!  To me, that's the biggest story here.  For someone who claims he cares about the middle class, Obama seems more than willing to play chicken with middle class taxes to get his coveted tax increases. 

This is the ugly truth about this President and his left-wing cronies that no one in the main stream media will say.  At the end of the day, President Obama cares more about advancing his Socialist agenda than he does about protecting the "middle class".  The "agenda" is more important than the people this agenda will hurt. 

The Republicans are not blameless in this.  They should have realized this by now and acted.  With the fawning left-wing media, there's no way the Republicans come out of this looking good, but they should have the guts to act and do what is right for most Americans.  We do not need a tax increase in this economy...not unless it's accompanied by meaningful spending reform, which it most certainly will not be at this point.  But the Republicans can't win here.

Frankly, the Republicans shouldn't even be afraid to take this loss.  If you believe in the conservative economic theories, any tax increase at this point, even if it's just on "the rich", will result in some type of economic down turn.  So, if the Republicans just get out of the way and let this go through, then Obama and the Democrats have to own the consequences of this action, which I believe will be another recession.  Make no mistake, the next recession will be Obama's recession.  And that should lead the way to a Conservative revolution in 2014 and 2016.  The Republicans have to think long term here, because in the short term, they are going to lose.

The Biggest Movie Truths

I am a big time movie fan, as anybody who has read this blog knows.  As such, I have realized certain truths about the movie universe and the movie watching experience that I want to share with you, my faithful readers (I'm not giving away all my movie truths here, just the most important ones from my first 100 movie truths):

Movie truth #1 - Low expectations are the key to a good movie watching experience.

Movie truth #7 - Ryan Reynolds and Brendan Fraser automatically suck the life out of a movie.  My recommendation is to avoid movies with these actors.

Movie truth #12 - Denzel Washington always make good movies, except when Movie truth #7 is in place.

Movie truth #17 - All Keanu Reeves movies that don't require him to act will be passable to good (see "Bill & Ted" or "The Matrix" for examples).

Movie truth #24 - Once an actor or director has won a multiple Oscars, they believe the hype about themselves and make movies that are "Critically Acclaimed."  For examples, see Tom Hanks or Steven Spielberg and note that Clint Eastwood seems to be the exception to this rule.

Movie truth #25 - "Critically Acclaimed" is code for "93.64% of the population won't actually like this movie."

Movie truth #37 - Kristen Stewart is on her way to being the female equivalent of Ryan Reynolds and/or Brendan Fraser.

Movie truth #39 - Pixar movies are almost always better than Dreamworks.  The exception to this rule seems to be "Kung Fu Panda".

Movie truth #40 - Jack Black's best character is a talking panda.

Movie truth #49 - Everything J.J. Abrams or Christopher Nolan touch is gold...pure gold!  If they ever team up on a project, my head may explode.

Movie truth #57 - Frodo was annoying in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

Movie truth #61 - There is a place in this world for Cheesy Feel Good Disney Movies, and we all secretly like them, though we pretend that we don't.

Movie truth #73 - James Cameron is overrated...like highly overrated.  Personally, I wouldn't want him directing my son's middle school play.

Movie truth #80 - Green screens are over used in movies today.

Movie truth #84 - If Will Smith is in the movie, it will do a huge box office, but will probably be slightly disappointing.

Movie truth #91 - When in doubt, watch a movie about super heroes.

Movie truth #100 - If the masses voted for the Oscars, Bruce Willis would win Best Actor every other year, and nobody would know who Daniel Day Lewis is.