Posts

Questions and Answers: Why won't liberals allow Trump to bring back coal mining jobs?

To be honest, the premise of the question is not only flawed in its logic, but it reflects both ignorance (of facts) and a strong bias (of political mindset). For starters, the “left” (i.e. Democrats, liberals, or whatever convenient “demon of the day” may be for Trump supporters) is not responsible for the decline in the coal mining industry. There are various factors involved here, but essentially, it is not the “left’s” fault. Coal mining, by its definition, involves the extraction of fossil fuels from the ground. Fossil fuels - including petroleum and natural gas - are plentiful but not infinite. So once coal miners have extracted x amount of coal from the ground at a specific mine until the coal is exhausted, that’s it…there’s no more coal to be had there. Also, coal mining creates its own subset of negative side effects, such as pollution of nearby rivers and deadly diseases that kill miners. Ever heard of “black lung disease”? It’s a deadly condition caused by the inhal

Movie Review: 'PT-109'

Image
In June of 1963, five months before the assassination of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Warner Bros. released director Leslie Martinson’s  PT-109 , an adaptation of Robert J. Donovan’s non-fiction book  PT-109: John F. Kennedy in World War II.   Starring Cliff Robertson ( Charly, Spider-Man ) as Navy Lieutenant (junior grade) John F. Kennedy and co-starring Ty Hardin, James Gregory, Robert Culp, Robert Blake, Norman Fell and even an uncredited George Takei (Hikaru Sulu of  Star Trek: The Original Series ), the film is a fairly accurate depiction of JFK’s naval service in the South Pacific as the commander of a motor torpedo boat given the Navy pennant number PT-109 (the PT standing for the Navy ship designator “Patrol Torpedo”).  Although Hollywood had made movies in which former Presidents (either living or dead) were depicted, producer Bryan Foy, under the direct guidance of Warner Bros.' head of production Jack Warner (who, in turn, was influenced by Joseph P. Kennedy, a f

'Star Trek: The Next Generation' Episode Review: 'The Neutral Zone'

Image
Pros:  Good mix of storylines; nice way of reintroducing the Romulans Cons:  The writers' strike delayed the development of the Borg storyline; otherwise none The Neutral Zone Stardate 41986.0 (Earth Calendar Year 2364) Original Air Date: May 16, 1988 Written by Maurice Hurley Story by Deborah McIntyre and Mona Glee Directed by James L. Conway   On stardate 41986.0, the  Galaxy- class starship  USS Enterprise  (NCC-1701-D) is under the temporary command of First Officer William T. Riker (Jonathan Frakes).  Capt. Jean-Luc Picard  (Patrick Stewart) is on his way back to the Federation’s new flagship after having been summoned to an emergency conference in Starbase  718.  As Riker and the rest of the  Enterprise’s  crew   await their commanding officer’s return, the ship’s sensors detect something unexpected; a very old space capsule launched centuries ago from Earth. Ops officer Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) receives permission from Commander Riker to beam aboard t

Blu-ray Review: 'Star Trek: The Next Generation - Season Five'

Image
“Star Trek: The Next Generation - Season Five” Over the past few years, the Blu-ray division of CBS Studios has released the entire seven season-run of Gene Roddenberry’s “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (TNG)  in high definition. The seminal Season Five, which connects the series with Roddenberry’s 1966-1969 “Star Trek,” is one of two complete season sets released in 2013. This six-disc collection features some of TNG’s finest episodes, including “Darmok,” “Unification, Parts I & Ii,” and “The Inner Light.” To Boldly Go…. Capt. Picard: Space... The final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its continuing mission: to explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no one has gone before. The fifth season of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” is considered by many “Star Trek” fans to be among the series’ three best years. The season kicked off with the action-packed “Redemption - Part II,” in which