Random

~ There are some funny moments in the Simpsons Movie and I enjoyed it. My overall sense, though, is that without the constraints of television they relied more on crudeness and vulgarity than on cleverness to carry the day. The television format also requires a tighter storyline. This story could have perhaps been told in a 22-minute Simpsons episode without much loss.

~ New Zealand is cracking down on satire. That's truly odd -- not that politicians are over-reactive and paranoid about their images but that Kiwis are worried about getting roasted. I just don't think of them as given to sarcasm -- something which seems to be foundational to satire. Why New Zealand?

~ Ingmar Bergman has died -- a brilliant but troubled soul.

~ Finally, something to cheer about in Iraq.

~ Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior David Cohen suggests that the US government doesn't have any kind of obligation to the islands for expenses they've incurred as a result of migration from the Freely Associated States. That's not only a dumb thing to say but it's just not right. The US opened the door for a lot of needy islanders to move to Guam, the Northern Marianas, and Hawaii. There has been some federal assistance but it is limited. The local governments have had to bear the brunt of a decision that was made by and for the benefit of the federal government.