Quotes on immigration

"I've spoken of the shining city all my political life, but I don't know if I ever quite communicated what I saw when I said it. [I]n my mind it was a tall, proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, windswept, God-blessed and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace; a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity. And if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and heart to get here."

- Ronald Reagan

It should also be noted that Reagan also supported and signed the 1986 immigration bill, which gave amnesty and permanent residency to millions of immigrants.

"The anti-immigration issue that's now sweeping the country in my view is no different than the movements that swept the country in the past You look back at the Chinese Exclusionary Act, or the Know-Nothing movement—these were movements that encouraged Americans to fear foreigners, to fear something that is different, and to stop immigration."

- Rudy Giuliani

I don’t know at what point in the last twenty years the republicans became anti-immigration. But Giuliani is right; our current fight against illegal immigrants just representation of a larger trend that has been going on for hundreds of years, and just as irrational.

I’ll end with a final quote from one of our nations greatest monuments:

Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breath free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-toss to me, I lift my lamp besides the golden door!

Good Writing and Health Care

Being concise is hard; saying what you want to say in the most compact form possible is what distinguishes great non-fiction writers from the rest (unfortunately, I currently land well with in the ‘rest’ zone.)

Take this article, about healthcare, for example:

Government Medical Care Always Becomes Political Medical Care

There is an incredible amount of argumentation and facts within this article; and it is less then 700 words long. In a short time the author: lists the various controls in the health care industry; explains why it doesn’t work; talks about the proper form of government; creates a parallel with the education system; and talks about the wider issue involved (with a few Thomas Jefferson quotes thrown in for good measure.)

What is incredible is that the article doesn’t suffer from all this information; it comes of as a completed and balanced piece of work. The clarity he achieves is fantastic. Just read this:

Only the government can maintain armed forces to protect us from the threat of foreign force, and only the government can maintain the police and the courts to protect individuals from the use of force by criminals. But it does not follow that government should use force to rule every aspect of our lives. Those who say that government should seize control of all of our medical care are ultimately advocating the elimination of all restraint on government.

I hope some day; I am able to achieve the same clarity and conciseness in my own writing. Unfortunately, with a blog name like “Ryan’s Rantings”, I might have doomed myself to failure.

A Little Hayek

Hayek was a pretty smart dude (I don’t even feel right calling him a “dude.”) Sure, he had his share of intellectual and philosophical flaws; but overall, he brought a lot of great ideas into existence, and into the minds of others.

So, while trying to break from a long stream of fluff posts, I decided to post something from Hayek (one of the most un-fluffy men your likely to read.)

Here you go:

The Use of Knowledge in Society

Like Hayek himself, not perfect, but thought provoking and intelligent.

Meet Emily

This is all Animated, no joke:

Mirror’s Edge Video

I found this Here.

Three More

I thought I would throw a few more games out there that I’m exited about; just for fun, and because these posts are easy to write and require little thought. So here you go:

Prototype


Another sandbox game, this one looks a little more brutal then most (even by GTA IV standers.) You play a genetically engineered dude with no past searching for whoever "did this" to him. He has quite a few powers available to him; including a particularly brutal one in which he kills someone, and then is able to absorb the body into his own, and become that person (with their memories.)

The gameplay footage I’ve seen so far seems a bit choppy, and the combat seems at times awkward; though the adaptive Parkour seems spot on and incredibly fun. Let’s hope this promising title turns into something great.

Ghostbusters

I don’t know much about the gameplay, except that it is a third-person shooter; what I do know is that all the voices from the original film will be back, and this will be an official sequel to the Ghostbusters franchise.

Now, Ghostbusters was one of the movies that helped shape my childhood, I was the kid running around his backyard with a plastic protopack. So you can understand why I would get exited about this.

I just hope the game is able to deliver.

Little Big Planet

I’m surprised I haven’t mentioned this game yet; I love puzzle games, and I love platformers, I also like a sense of freedom and control in my game. Little Big Planet is a game that gives you all this, and then some. The degree of customization in the environment is incredible, as well as the very natural looking physics engine.

I can’t wait to play with it, and to see what other people are able to come up with.

Kung Fu Panda: A Review

Kung Fu Panda is not a film about talking animals, it is a film about anthropomorphic animals; big difference (really.) The world of Kung Fu Panda is just like our own (if our world was ancient mythical China.) People own shops, have children, set off fireworks, and go to restaurants; except these “people” happen to be furry, or scaly, or covered in feathers.

Now I’m sure some of you out there can find some flaws in the idea of a society made of animals of all different shapes and sizes; all I have to say to that is, “shut up you smarmy cynical twit and enjoy it for what it is!”

Anyway -as I have already mentioned- a Chinese village is the setting for this movie; the village and the surrounding valley is protected by a team of martial artists called the furious five, made up of a Crane, a Tiger, a Monkey, a Praying Mantis, and a Viper (fans of Kung Fu will recognize these animals as representing real styles.)

Po, the main character, is a Panda (voiced by Jack Black); who idolizes the furious five from his father’s noodle shop (did I mention he is overweight and somewhat clumsy.) Things get set into motion when the wise Buddhist sage (a turtle, naturally) has a vision that Tai Lung, a very nasty snow leopard bent on revenge, will escape from prison. To counter this threat, the temple decides to appoint the Dragon Warrior, who naturally will read the Dragon Scroll, which holds the secrets to “limitless power.”

It is through this that Po is (literally) launch into history; and Po suddenly becomes central to the events in the story.

I won’t be exaggerating when I say I think this is DreamWorks’s best animated effort yet. Yes, Shrek was funnier and even had a lot of heart, but the constant cultural references have dated it. Kung Fu Panda is a completely self-contained world with the exception of a few kung fu movie references that won’t be noticed unless you’re looking for them); all the movies humor derives from the characters and story, nothing more.

And the story never feels at odds with the comedy; unlike DreamWorks films like Madagascar, whose story was a contrived vehicle for laughs; everything is consistent within the Kung Fu Panda universe, everything compliments everything else. Ultimately, this means the movie is funnier, more heartfelt, and more interesting.

The voice acting is another thing this movie gets right. I still don’t understand DreamWorks desire to attach big names to their animated movies; I’m just glad it worked this time. Never am I thinking that Po is Jack Black and that Angelina Jolie is Tigress. The characters break away from their voices, which is a great compliment to the filmmakers. Dustin Hoffman does a great job as Shifu, possibly the best voice acting in the movie (though I will never understand the movies decision to cast Jackie Chan in the role of Monkey, who only has maybe five lines in the movie.)

As for the themes of the film, there really isn’t much new here. There is some body-image issues it deals with, about self-belief and self-acceptance; nothing too new; but is done very well. I particularly like the revelation about the Dragon Scroll, and how it fits into the movie. I found it very positive and life-affirming. There is some Zen-Buddhist-esc platitudes thrown in there (and actually gets it right), but this is more to connect it to its Kung Fu movie origins then anything else.

The movie was ‘filmed’ in cinemascope, which gives it a unique look; the color palette is strong, the direction of the camera is tasteful (which is somewhat lacking in the animation world); all the characters are clean and well-designed, and the character motions are natural and fluid. In fact, the kinematics are some of the best I have ever seen in any American animated movie, it might even top The Incredibles in this regard.

This movie was fun because I wasn’t expecting much from it, and I ended up getting a very good film. Kids will like it for the Kung Fu, the colorful atmosphere and the comedy (which actually had me laughing out loud at points); parents might appreciate the good story and voice acting. Animation geeks will like it for obvious reasons. Kung Fu movie enthusiasts will gush over this movie.

There is a lot to enjoy here, it might not take as many risks as Wall-E, but it stands on its own as one of the strongest animated films to come out in the last few years. It makes me hopeful and exited about DreamWorks future as an animation producer; which is possibly the best compliment I can give it.

My Rule

I’ve recently made a rule for myself concerning this blog: if I don’t post anything in five days or more, I need to post something, about anything at all

You see, I made a mistake; I got so exited about blogging that I started making blogs about every subject I was interested in. I now have eight blogs. This has turned blogging into a chore, and I now have eight mediocre blogs then one good one.

Well, I plan to fix this problem soon; but until then, I have to stick to the rule. So here it goes:

Camponotus saundersi


This is a Malaysian Ant species with a very unique defense mechanism. When threatened, the solider ants will contract their bodies, causing glands to explode which sprays poison in all directions, killing the surrounding enemy. Of course, the ant dies in the process. It turns out Nature created suicide bombers long before we did.

So there, I have posted something, the rule is satisfied.

One More Game I’m Exited About

Mirror’s Edge

A first-person game stressing parkour and hand-to-hand combat? Surly this is some madman’s silly musings; these features can’t possibly mix into a coherent title that looks incredible.

Surly this and this is not really in-game -footage; and this is not the trailer depicting an interesting character and a possibly great story.

And maybe this developer’s diary is just a scheme by evil game-developers to get us exited and then crush our hopes.

This can’t be one of the most original and interesting titles to come out in years; a game that will change the first-person game as we know it. Right?

Watchmen: Movie Trailer

I had some differences with the graphic novel (though I liked it) and I’m not so sure about the movie; but wow, this is a great trailer:



And see some incredible posters here.

Fast-Food Banned!

This is a great idea.

Los Angeles has passed a law banning new Fast-Food establishments for one year. I expect in this one-year obesity will sharply decline (as fast food is undoubtedly the main cause of obesity; not silly things like behavior and lifestyle.)

Thank you, Los Angeles, for protecting us poor folk from the horrors of choice and responsibility. Now we don’t have to spend long hours teaching our children these false virtues; simply depriving us of bad choices makes us better. Right?

And who does McDonalds (and their ilk) think they are? How dare they try to exercise their moral and constitution rights to trade willingly with other people without the State’s permission! How dare they create a desirable product! How dare they create good food, convenient locations, fun atmosphere, and an affordable product!

A laugh at the old myth that obesity is caused primarily (in most cases) by life choices; Ha! Everybody knows that free-will and self-control are myths (and by extension, responsibility and self-responsibility.) Fast-food restaurants are devious manipulators of our desires; twisting us until we are practically slaves to their dollar menus. Well, now we have a state that will protect us from them. And really, what is free-will in the face of a quarter-pounder with all the fixings?

This bill creates some great precedents. I can only hope it goes further. Maybe Los Angeles can forcibly replace kid’s Playstations with treadmills. Force birthday cakes to be made out of asparagus. Limit the amount of TV a person can watch to thirty minutes a day. Even decree that the only thing a person can play on the radio is the theme to Rocky.

And isn’t that the Governments job? To stop people from making choices contrary to what the state deems as appropriate; To curtail that old demon: Free-Trade; and to protect us from the tyranny of choice.

All I have to say, is 'good thing we have an all-powerfull State to protects us from ourselves.'

Obama’s Turn

A few posts ago I criticized McCain on his economics; well, just to show you I’m not one-sided, Obama is getting some time on the grill.

Barack Obama mentioned that he wants to help gas prices by giving out an “emergency rebate” to consumers (in the amount of 1000 dollars.) Where will he get this money, you ask? Why, by taxing the “windfall profits” of oil companies.

Just take a moment, and let that all sink in. He plans to give money to consumers (which will increase demand) and then punish the produces (which will decrease supply); you don’t need to be a expert in economics to figure out what will happen.

I can only hope that he is not serous, that what he said was a mere crowd pleaser, “I will punish those evil oil executives and give you money!” I have to believe a person with such blatant economic ignorance could have a chance for the most powerful position in the world in this day and age.

This somewhat reminds me of one of the “New Deal” programs, which stated intention was to decrease productivity, and increase wages. One wonders if these politicians have ever talked to a real economist.

But frankly, I don’t know what’s more dangerous: compromise and politicizing (as embodied by McCain); or outright ignorance and silliness (I’m looking at you, Obama.)

In either case, I don’t think the next four-or-so years is going to be positive for the economic health of the country.

E3 Run Down

I’m still exited about a bunch of new games coming out this year, and this guy can’t stop me; but dahm if he ain’t funny (and there’s a good deal of truth in what he says.)

Be warned, this guy can get pretty crude.

Hope for Alzheimers Victims

This is fantastic news:

Breakthrough: The new drug reverses symptoms in 81% of patients….A new drug halts the devastating progress of Alzheimer’s disease, say British scientists.

Read the full article here.

There’s another article about this breakthrough here.

Turning a Mortgage Mess into a Mortgage Disaster

If you don’t know why Mortgage Bailout is a very bad idea, read this:

The Government Did It.

The simple fact is, the mortgage bailouts will do nothing to help the housing situation; and will most certainly not help those who it proposes to help. It won’t work for the same reason that other Socialist ideas don’t work. Simply injecting money into something does not change the underlying reality of the situation.

At least these bills will do two things: Break the myth that Conservatives are in favor of-and try to maintain- Free-Markets; and the myth that problems are caused by un-regulation (as the article above mentions.)