Feeling 30 again...

Now that the government has our tax money, what will they do with it? How much of each dollar you sent in will be used to kill someone? How much will be used to save someone? We don't really know, do we...

These ideas were very much in the theater last night at the Academy screenings of two of John Huston's great WWII documentaries. San Pietro (1944) wasproduced and directed by Huston for the U.S. War Department. Originally deemed too violent and realistic to be shown to the public, it was not screened until 1945, when General George Marshall’s endorsement led to the removal of its “classified” status. The War Department also banned Let There Be Light (1946), a naked portrait of the mental problems suffered by returning veterans and their doctors, who often used "magical" psychological treatments to put out their psychic fires. The ban was finally lifted decades later, in December 1980, and the film was released in 1981.

Both films will play on the Documentary Channel soon, so keep your eyes peeled. Try to see both, but I would especially recommend Let there Be Light, for its miraculous vision of psychology, and placebo affect of the camera.

But back to taxes: I wanted to reiterate my radical tax plan for the country. Obama, stop talking and listen: Imagine the direct involvement our citizens in government - no more handing over our money to have it spent on death machines and pet pork. If every citizen could decide where 30% of their tax dollars went, imagine the sense of non-irony we might feel when using the word democracy!