Oh Boy It Never Ends: SPEED

Where were you when SPEED came out? It was summer of my freshman year in college. I had an off campus apartment that was a five minute walk to campus. That's why I rented it. And it was the 'bad side' of campus, which I didn't know when I rented it. There were supposedly murders there and all this crime. I say supposedly because I didn't have any problem. But I went to school full time and had two part time jobs on campus -- I was security for fours a day Monday through Friday which meant I wen through the lots writing tickets and booting cars and I worked in one of the campus libraries (we have five) from nine to midnight Monday through Thursday and then Friday from five in the evening until ten at night and then three hours either Sunday or Saturday. So it wasn't like I was hanging out at the apartment that much. When I'd get off after midnight, I'd walk home and everybody would freak out and tell me they'd give me a ride. But I'd walk. Or if I'd bike, I'd bike home. And I never had a problem. Nobody ever hassled me.

So I didn't have a lot of money. I went to college on a grant and paid whatever it didn't cover via working. And it was almost two hours exactly from where I grew up. My car made it that way which was a surprise because it was already falling apart. It was a Ford -- I'll cop to that, I like Fords and drive one today. But it was falling apart. I was always having to add oil and water. And then it died spring semester. No, there wasn't money for another car.

So I was very limited now to what was around campus. There was a bus but it confused me. I'm not joking. I couldn't figure out the schedules and all. So imagine campus as a square, I lived on the west side. On the south side, there was a big grocery stores -- where you sacked your own groceries. I'd walk there and get food. On the east side, you had nothing but apartments -- and that was the good side to live on. The north side had stores, bars and eateries. That whole street across from the end of the north side of campus.

You had Jack in the Box, Taco Bell, four bars, three eateries that weren't part of some chain or franchise. And you had Sound Warehouse -- CDs and videos. You had a little bookstore that had some good books, you had an off campus bookstore that just mainly had text books, you had my favorite place which was an independent CD store and that was it.

Five streets up, you had a three story building that was used books, used vinyl albums, used CDs, etc. And I loved that place but that was a five street walk from the north edge of campus. So I maybe went once a week. Remember, I'm on the west side, so I'd have to walk to campus and then walk across campus (which was huge) to get to the north side and then walk five more streets.

Beyond that, six streets, was a Kroger -- too far to go for groceries which is why I went to the one on the south side of campus -- again, edge of campus on a street and same street right across from the edge of campus. It was down by the football stadium.

Now the Kroger that was eleven streets from the north side of campus had a movie theater next to it. And it was summer and SPEED was coming out and people were making fun of it but I thought it looked like a good movie.

The weekend it came out, I couldn't see it Friday night because I worked until midnight. I worked Sunday so I was off that Saturday. It was June and it was hot. Friday was go into work at eight in the morning and do four hours walking through the lots doing tickets (calling in for a boot if I found a car with more than four past due tickets) and then going to a class and another class. I did two daytime classes M-F and three night time classes. So that Friday, I'd done eight to noon work, two classes and then five to ten work. And I was tired when I woke up Saturday but I just wanted to see the movie. And I was griping to myself as I walked across campus and then the eleven streets to Kroger and the movie place.

And on the way back, I started walking and . . . was home. I was still so wrapped up in the movie that the walk didn't even register. And it was a hot June day.

But SPEED was such a great movie. I don't watch it now. I've never watched it broadcast on TV. I saw it at the movies (twice) and I got the video cassette when it came out and watched it over and over. But after college, I didn't watch it again. That's not an insult, it's just I know the movie.

SPEED really is a great movie. And it was weird too because I was a college student and there was Keanu probably ten or fifteen years older (I'm guessing). Let me look in fact. Okay, he was 29 when it came out and I was 19 so he was ten years older.

That was a big change.

We had Harrison Ford who seemed over fifty and Stallone who seemed even older and all these guys older than our dads. And they were action heroes. So Keanue -- 29 -- being the lead in an action movie -- and not in a kid-type way -- was a big deal, different from the other action films.

And there was Sandra Bullock who was just so great and this was her first real big role. She was funny from the moment she gets on the bus. And when the bus ride goes sour, she got to show so much more. And she and Keanu had such great chemistry.

Dennis Hopper was a great villain and it was one of his great roles from that time period.

It was just a great film and it's one of my all time favorite action films to this day.

I thought about all of that when I read this at DEADLINE:

Although the 1994 blockbuster Speed was filled with meticulously planned stunts, one scene felt a little too real for its stars.

Marking the Jan de Bont action flick’s 30th anniversary, Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock reunited with the director on Tuesday at Beyond Fest, where the actors recalled being “a little under-informed” about where the bus was steering.

“Don’t you remember that day on the bus, though?” Reeves asked, according to IndieWire. “When we were crashing through all the cars on the street? I remember we were a little under-informed. We were all on the bus and then we were driving down by San Diego or something. We were set by the ocean, and all of a sudden, we’re actually hitting cars. Boom! Boom! Everyone on their bus lost their mind. People were screaming.”

Although she noted that she “did get my Santa Monica bus driver’s license,” Bullock noted that she “never, never” actually drove in the movie. “It’s not an easy vehicle to maneuver,” she added.

The actress said, “The fun part was that I was at the helm of the bus, but in the back, there was someone driving along the roof. Someone was driving, and I was being careened into whatever [director] Jan [de Bont] felt I needed to smash into.”

In Speed, Reeves plays LAPD officer Jack Traven, who has to prevent a city bus from exploding with the help of passenger Annie Porter (Bullock), as a bomb on board will detonate if the vehicle drops below 50 mph. The movie also stars Dennis Hopper, Jeff Daniels, Alan Ruck, Joe Morton and Beth Grant.

30 years. I can't believe it. Wow.

Going out with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

Thursday, October 10, 2024. Oh look, MOTHER JONES has found a new pet rock or mood ring, COMMON DREAMS might need to read the comments on their articles, and much more.

It's amazing to watch this election cycle. Robert Kennedy Jr. thinking he can deny attempted rape accusations -- as though William Kennedy Smith never happened? Thinking he can be accused of assaulting the baby sitter and still go around to the press and get away with insisting he never said he was a choirboy? Maybe even more amazing would be that media outlets would speak to him after that or his denial of the known affair with the reporter -- the one that got her fired but he can go on TV and just insists he never speaks about his personal life.

It's really something to see.

There's freak show Jill Stein. Let's zoom in on the Green Party v.p. slot. No, not Butch Ware, but the v.p. she wanted to start with: Abdullah Hammoud. She had to move back from that choice and she finally selected Butch Ware.

But for awhile she wanted Abdullah Hammoud. And he was a rising star for some unknown reason. The right-wing doesn't really like him. Some elements of the left have promoted him. And, golly gosh, MOTHER JONES is now.

And the real reason is why?

He's anti-genocide?

So am I. So are most people. There's not really a big pro genocide group in the US. That's why so many refuse to apply the term genocide to what's taking place in Gaza. But that is genocide. And the genocide has flared and increased as it does every now and then -- but even in what passes for 'peace' has been a genocide against the Palestinian people.

The problem with Abdullah for Jill was first off that he was too young to be her running mate -- had she won (I know, I know, stop laughing, we're just making a point) and been sworn in January 20th then died in her sleep the night of, Abdullah would have been too young to be president. He's the Mayor of Dearborn but he's too young to be the president of the United States.

So that was the main problem but what finally had Jill relinquish her fantasy were two Green Party big wigs who pointed out to her that Abdullah was the Mayor of Dearborn.

And if you've read the fawning coverage over him, you might just be nodding blankly like Jill did.

But what Green Party thinkers understood -- and finally got through Jill's thick head -- was that the Green Party could not build a future with Abdullah because he is Mayor of Dearborn.

Dearborn is where many Muslims joined the hate brigade with the fright wing. It is very anti-LGBTQ+ at this time. That coincides with Abdullah's term as Mayor. Like all Democrats representing that area in any form, he was called out by a number of Muslims who felt he was pro-gay because he was a Democrat.

Is he?

As Mayor he hasn't helped the LGBTQ+ population.

Common sense would dictate that when you do a lengthy interview with him, you get him on the record.

But no one does and MOTHER JONES didn't.

I'm not promoting homophobes. I'm not promoting politicians who betray Americans.

MOTHER JONES seems to be okay with it.

They and others create this myth of Abdullah. And I'm not a myth maker.

Tim Walz did awful in the debate and I said so.

The open prejudice and hatred that LGBTQ+ people face now since Abdullah became mayor is not something that you overlook.

And it's amazing how much attention he's gotten from left media for his attacks on Joe Biden and now on Kamala Harris with no one wanting to put him on the record about the hate in Dearborn that has only increased in the last two years, at the efforts to ban books, to strip away rights.

Shame on MOTHER JONES.

Abdullah's the new Rocky Anderson and if you're asking "Who?" -- exactly. THE NATION and others spent forever trying to make Rocky happen. He never did. He became famous for being a mayor in leftist circles and then he never delivered on anything.

Kamala Harris has done an amazing job. Unlike others in the 2024 election cycle, she hasn't had a year or more to build a campaign. She had to hit the ground running She'd done and is doing an incredible job.

And that bears stating since this is a left site and I am a leftist.

I thought THE NATION was left and THE PROGRESSIVE and MOTHER JONES and go down the list. But I see all these attacks on her. And we're 25 days away from the end of the election -- voting's already taking place, November 5th will be the final day of voting -- and they're running garbage articles? They're attacking her.

She's not doing this and she's not doing that!

I've never in my life seen the left media pile on a Democratic Party presidential candidate like this. It's appalling.

But fortunately, she doesn't have to depend upon them.

COMMON DREAMS has been a problem. They're now noting her healthcare proposals -- Brett Wilkins reports:

Independent U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont—a longtime universal healthcare advocate—on Wednesday hailed aw proposal by Democratic presidential nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris to expand Medicare to cover in-home care for seniors as well as dental and vision for the first time ever.

As Common Dreamsreported Tuesday, labor unions and consumer advocates applauded Harris' plan—unveiled on the ABC talk show "The View"—to expand Medicare coverage in order to better serve what the Democratic nominee called the "sandwich generation" of middle-aged Americans who are simultaneously providing for their children and aging parents.

Responding to the proposal, Sanders said, "Congratulations to Vice President Harris for announcing a bold vision to expand Medicare to cover not only home healthcare, but also vision and hearing."

The senator continued:

It is no secret that we have a major crisis in home healthcare. Millions of seniors would prefer, when possible, to receive care in their homes rather than be forced into nursing homes. Kamala's plan is a major step forward not only in improving the quality of life for seniors and their families, but also in saving the healthcare system large sums of money.

Further, her plan to expand Medicare to cover the cost of vision and hearing is enormously important. In the wealthiest country on Earth, millions of lower-income seniors today are unable to afford the hearing aids and eyeglasses they desperately need. That is not acceptable. Every senior in America should be able to access these basic healthcare needs.

"Thank you, Kamala," added Sanders, who has been campaigning for Harris across the country and plans to visit the Midwest this week.

Sanders' remarks echoed those of progressive healthcare advocates, with Social Security Works executive director Alex Lawson on Tuesday calling Harris' plan "life-changing for seniors, people with disabilities, and those who love them."

"Currently, seniors and people with disabilities who need care that family can't provide are too often warehoused in dehumanizing nursing homes," Lawson continued. "Often, these nursing homes are owned by private equity corporations who are exploiting patients for profit. Under the Harris plan, seniors and disabled people would have the freedom to stay in their own homes."

"This is a universal benefit," Lawson added. "Everyone on Medicare would qualify. This is a win for everyone in America—except the billionaires."

Harris' campaign and supporters contrasted the Democratic nominee's plan with the White House record of the Republican presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump, and sounded the alarm on the dangers he poses to Medicare and Social Security.

"Trump tried to cut Medicare and will cut the program as president," the Harris campaign said Tuesday.

Some critics also warned how Project 2025—the far-right initiative to expand U.S. presidential power and purge the federal civil service—poses a dire threat to seniors' public health by making private, for-profit Medicare Advantage plans the default option for all Medicare enrollees.

Harris' campaign added: "Trump spent a long career exploiting seniors, mocking disabled Americans, trying to take away seniors' hard-earned benefits, and supporting others who harm them. As president, Trump tried to destroy the Affordable Care Act and to cut Medicare and plans to do it again."

Julia Conley reported on it for COMMON DREAMS as well -- see yesterday's snapshot where we noted that.

Donald Trump is not an unknown.

We know he's a threat. This isn't, "I suspect" or "I predict" or "I feel" -- no. We saw what he did in the White House and we saw what he did when it was time to leave the White House. We know exactly what he is. We hear his racists statements day after day. We hear his threats against the press, his threats against immigrants, his threats against political rivals. It never ends -- just like the drama in the four years he was in the White House.

We know he's harmful. We know we can't afford him appointing another corrupt Supreme Court justice.

He's a known quantity. Stealing from Ruth's "Even Russia corrects Trump's lie:"

This is from the editors of THE ATLANTIC:

This election is the moment of truth. In The Atlantic’s final cover story ahead of the election, staff writer Tom Nichols lays out why “the votes cast in November will be more consequential than those in any other American election in more than a century”—because every essential norm and duty that George Washington established for the U.S. presidency could come to an end if Donald Trump is reelected. Trump is “Washington’s Nightmare”—the tyrant the first president feared, and one more capable now of finishing the authoritarian project he began in his first term.

Among Washington’s countless accomplishments and heroic actions, Nichols also focuses on what Washington would not do: “As a military officer, Washington refused to take part in a plot to overthrow Congress. As a victorious general, he refused to remain in command after the war had ended. As president, he refused to hold on to an office that he did not believe belonged to him. His insistence on the rule of law and his willingness to return power to its rightful owners—the people of the United States—are among his most enduring gifts to the nation and to democratic civilization.” The 44 men who succeeded him in office adhered to Washington’s example and those norms—all except Trump.

Nichols writes: “Trump and his authoritarian political movement represent an existential threat to every ideal that Washington cherished and encouraged in his new nation. They are the incarnation of Washington’s misgivings about populism, partisanship, and the ‘spirit of revenge’ that Washington lamented as the animating force of party politics. Washington feared that, amid constant political warfare, some citizens would come to ‘seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual,’ and that eventually a demagogue would exploit that sentiment.”

Nichols writes that America stands at such a moment with this election: “Trump has left no doubt about his intentions; he practically shouts them every chance he gets.” He continues, “As we judge the candidates, we should give thought to Washington’s example, and to three of Washington’s most important qualities and the traditions they represent: his refusal to use great power for his own ends, his extraordinary self-command, and, most of all, his understanding that national leaders in a democracy are only temporary stewards of a cause far greater than themselves.”

I don't understand how these periodicals -- which please remember, depend on your money to survive -- can't get on board the Kamala train. That's the only means of transportation to a proud future for this country.

There's no one else.

And at this late date, with voting already going on, the so-called left press is publishing one article after another attacking her.

Are they even reading comments their readers leave? The thing that saddens me the most about COMMON DREAMS' articles? The number of people commenting who say that they will not be voting.

Your vote is your vote, vote or don't. I've always said that. But I really don't think COMMON DREAMS started online with the notion that when democracy was at stake, they would be producing content that discouraged their readers from voting.

That's what they've done and they're not the only ones. Again, last few days, they've done some coverage and hopefully they'll pick that up. But we're voting over the next few days and so many periodicals and online sites are actually suppressing the vote, not encouraging it.

Okay, James Carville.

James Carville is a bean counter and that's all he's ever been and ever will be.

He's not a fighter. He wants the easiest path and that's why he's not a player when it comes to campaigns anymore.

He's insisting, if you missed it, that Kamala needs to not talk about January 6th.

He gave a lot of that bad advice to Bill Clinton as well. Betsy Wright was the unsung hero of that campaign and Bill trusted her more than Carville and rejected some of Carville's nonsense when Betsy would nix it.

January 6th is not the distant past.

There's Jack Straw's filing last week, for example, more importantly though, the person who created that insurrection is on the ticket and America can't afford not addressing this right now.

James is an idiot who becomes ever more stupid with each passing year.

And he's amplified by the corporate press.

And they are not perfect -- that's an answer to an outlet on the left who e-mailed to say I'm not slamming them. They make huge mistakes.

The liars are all around us. Politicians who regularly lie and deceive because that's what they do. And it's not just the MAGA clowns, It's also the nonsense Greens. The Green Party wrote out their political suicide note this summer when they made Jill Stein their presidential nominee for the third term despite the fact that no one likes her and that she left the party in debt and that White Karen that she is, she lied to Cornel West and when he realized what she truly was and called her out, she started lying about him. That's all Jill has to offer, endless losing campaigns and racist trashing of Cornel West. In the latest round of How Stupid Does That Hag Think We ARE?, NEWSWEEK reports, "Jill Stein, the Green Party's presidential candidate, said that her party 'would be very interested in allowing majority rule to take place.' Stein said that we need a change in the Filibuster rules." And, Jill FrankenStein, how does that happen?

When your party -- per its own website -- is only running four people for Congress, how does that happen?

There are one hundred members of the US Senate and 435 of the House Of Representatives. If the Green Party saw all four nominees elected to office, that still wouldn't been enough to take on this issue. She's a liar and a loon who deliberately misleads people. The next time she makes a claim about what she's doing as president, it's imperative that the press note the Green Party is only running four candidates for the US Congress per their own website. It should also probably be noted that based on the polling, not one of the four stands a chance in hell of winning office.

She's a liar who has made clear she's only running to elect Donald Trump.

Hagatha needs to go away now.

And the media needs to find a way to report accurately if they're going to report on her.

The following sites updated: