The Burlingames

I finally saw Watchmen again this evening after having seen it originally in the theater during its initial release. I enjoyed the movie just as much as, if not more than, the first time I saw it. It was fun to know the story and watch for subtle details I missed the first time round.

TANGENT ALERT: Forgive me if you prefer the word ‘film’ to ‘movie,’ but I have an aversion to using the former as it sounds a little too snobbish for my liking. ‘Film,’ in its current, common use, seems to imply superiority over the other. I liken it to the jargon thrown around in various industries. My own educational experiences yielded many similar examples, most glaring of which is the design industry’s preference for the term ‘typeface’ over ‘font.’ People using the latter were often corrected and occasionally perceived as amateurs. ‘Film’ conjures up similar feelings of elitism. These terms seem to be used in a way that attempts to legitimize taking the time to discuss them. </TANGENT>

I enjoyed the way the movie explored the darker side of heroes and humanity. Oddly enough, I found a similar theme in another movie the other night: The Incredibles. The heroes in that story were also shut down by the government and forced into hiding, living mundane lives as seemingly ordinary people. However, being a Disney flick, their return to glory had a bit happier ending.

A friend asked me after originally seeing Watchmen what I thought of it as a person who had not read the graphic novel [the ill-informed might have called it a comic book; perhaps I should have]. I told him that I liked the great detail that was given to each character and, because it was well done, didn’t mind the length of the show (a long 162 minutes). It would have been very easy to cut the movie down to a more common length by eliminating much of the detail and sticking to a linear plot line, but it wouldn’t have had the same impact.

I didn’t set out writing this post with any great purpose other than to say I liked Watchmen. That said, I would highly recommend this movie.

Eli had a rough Friday. Megan had a rough Saturday night and Sunday. I’ve had a rough Monday (starting right away at about 1am). Eli appears to be better, though he threw up on the way home from the retreat this weekend. Megan is much better today, but took the day off to finish recovering as she’s still very tired. I also took the day off after feeling like I was going to die during the night. I’m feeling better this afternoon after sleeping until 11am. I haven’t eaten much today, but my appetite appears to be coming back. I hate sharing sickness.

There were some others at the retreat that were sick toward the end as well. It’s hard to say if they were related, but it seems like more than just coincidence. Who knows.

While the headline may sound inflammatory, I’m starting to believe it’s true. Earlier tonight I saw a commercial for Matt Entenza, one of the DFL candidates for Minnesota’s gubernatorial race. One of his main statements in the ad was that it’s time for us to “invest in our schools.” Perhaps Mr. Entenza should take a look at the 2010-11 General Fund Projected Spending graph.

We (and I mean you and me; the state doesn’t have any money–it’s ours) are projected to spend 14.46 billion dollars on education (that’s K-12 and higher ed) in the current budget. That amount represents 46.5% of the state’s budget. We can logically infer from Mr. Entenza’s statement that 46.5% is not enough. This is where I start to lose faith in the logic, if not the intelligence, of DFLers and any person who is ever-so-eager to jump on the “we’re not spending enough on the children” bandwagon. How much is enough?

Of course, asking this question begs the response that I must hate children and my priorities are horribly misplaced. To those who might rush to such a statement, let’s get a little bit more perspective courtesy of the budget pie chart. Public Safety (people love to complain about not having enough police) is slated to receive only 5.8% of the budget. Transportation (people love to complain about the poor conditions of the roads) is scheduled to receive a paltry 0.6% this biennium. Economic Development (all we need to say here is ‘recession’) is looking at 0.9%. Even the State Government (which I believe is bloated and rife with waste) is only allotted 2.1%. I do not hate children. I have one with another on the way. I want them to be well educated. However, standing up in front of the taxpayers and repeating the tired slogan that we’re not spending enough on education defies logic and the reality of the economic situation we are currently in.

The answer is that there is no such thing as enough. We could spend 100% of our budget on education and DFLers would still campaign on the platform that we need to invest in our schools, and the additional revenue should come from the wealthy, because people who make money are evil and must have gained it in some shady fashion. Ok, perhaps the end of that last statement was a cheap shot (though it seems to be a recurring theme among liberals in my experience).

That’s why raising taxes doesn’t make any sense; there is no such thing as enough (for anything). Trim the fat before you even think about coming to me for more. Even if we left the sacred cow of education alone, there is plenty of trimming to be done. The second-largest budget expenditure (Health & Human Services, aka entitlement programs) will receive 29% of the general fund. Of course, you’d be hard pressed to find a DFLer who would be willing to risk cuts to entitlement programs, thereby cutting into their voter base.

My original assertion (see the above title) stems from my frustration with the inability of DFLers to grasp the situation at hand. They are all too eager to spend other people’s money on their utopian visions with no thought for the practicality of such ventures or the unintended consequences of doing so. What logical person can say with a straight face that, while facing a large budget short-fall, spending nearly half the budget on a single item is not enough? I only hope the public has woken up enough to realize these types of claims are folly. I would hate to see our great state end up in a similar situation as that of California.