I just finished watching Red State, this year’s thriller from writer/director Kevin Smith. I have got to say that this one will stick with me for a while. Smith’s movies are usually the type that I watch when I’m feeling blue, and need a feel good, if profane, pick me up. Movies like Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Clerks and Clerks 2 are usually just what the doctor ordered. This is not one of those, however.

That is not a bad thing. I have heard Smith talking about a lot about how he went wrong with Zack and Miri. He felt he was playing to his past, and not moving forward with his talents. First off, I loved Zack and Miri, but I get where he was coming from. This movie stretches what people are going to think of a “Kevin Smith” movie, and people will just not be able to pigeonhole him anymore. The bottom line? The man is a great storyteller.

The story begins with 3 high school kids driving to meet a woman they think is going to have sex with all three of them. Instead, the woman is a part of a right wing religious cult that has much more sinister plans. Pretty soon the ATF gets involved, and maybe even the rapture. To give away anymore of the story would take away part of fun. This movie just works really well at going in unexpected places.

Michael Parks, as Abin Cooper, is probably the highlight of the film. He is perfect at playing the role of a true believing madman. His character is the head of a religious sect that is a cross between the Fred Phelps clan and the Branch Davidians. John Goodman turns in a solid performance, and you are going to notice a few very short performances from the likes of Stephen Root, Kevin Alejandro and Marc Blucas.

I would give this film a solid rating, and I really like where Kevin Smith is going with his career. He is great at comedy, but he clearly possesses a more varied talent. I hope he gives us more films like this in the future.

The GOP would have us believe that their economic policies are the ticket to American economic prosperity. John Boehner, Eric Cantor, and the rest of the funky bunch would have you believe that President Obama doesn’t know his ass from a hole in the ground. However, as time has proven and the Tea Party would rather you forget, the Republican economic plan means the rich get richer, and the rest of us…get nothing.

Robert Reich does a great job of de-bunking the biggest GOP economic lies.

I have been hearing the term “Un-American” quite a bit lately. It seems to be used frequently in conjunction with the Occupy Wall Street movement by those that find it to be objectionable for one reason or another. I think the term means different things to different people, and I have been thinking about what it means to me. Here is part of the definition of the phrase, according to Wikipedia:

Un-American is a pejorative term of US political discourse which is applied to people or institutions in the United States seen as deviating from US norms.

This definition of “Un-American” would seem to go well with what the Tea Party politicians have been spewing. However, I would like to see more progressives take the term back. In my mind, “Un-American” is exactly the opposite of what the far right would say. To me, “Un-American” is anything that would suppress dissent. To me, it is anything that would discourage the citizenry from seeking redress from a government they believe has wronged them. The entire reason we have a nation at all is because the original “Americans” told King George to stick it.

In all honesty, I thought the term died in the 1950′s. Sen. Joseph McCarthy made a mockery of our system of government with his witch hunts during his efforts to root out so-called communists. My thought, when studying history, was always, so what if they were communists. What did it matter? Wasn’t this country founded on freedom of expression?

Now, here we are in the second decade of this century. It seems that phrase has not died. At least not in the McCarthy way of thinking. I hope that somewhere along the line there happens to be an Edward R. Murrow moment. I hope that someone important stands up for the dissenting voices in this nation. I really hope that someone does it soon.

Tributes from all over are coming in for Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple, who passed away today. He was 56 years old. There is nothing I can say that hasn’t already been said about him, but I will agree with the sentiment that he has touched all of us in one way or another. Whether you love or hate Apple, you have to give him that.