Wow.   After watching this episode, I’m stocking up on duct tape and bottled water.

The team and their families find themselves in the middle of a poisonous gas attack.  Chlorine is being released to the air through the water supply.  Everyone in their town has to get indorrs, seal off vents, windows, and doors, and hope their air hold out until the attack is ended and the gas disperses.  Many people die.

Grey -- Holed Up With Civilians in an Airtight Container Truck

Spoiler Alert

If you haven’t yet seen the final episode of Battlestar Galactica and plan to do so, stop.

Immediately after establishing that the Galactica has found the real Earth, and showing us that the entire fleet has arrived, the show basically took a turn I never would have anticipated.  As I’ve mentioned earlier (check the “bsg” tags for other Galactica posts) I was a bit surprised, but not completely shocked, that the show overtly affirmed the existence of God.

What was completely unexpected is that the show essentially endorsed “intelligent design.”  Intelligent design is the idea that the universe, life and everything else including evolution, is guided by some intelligent force, usually understood to be God.  There is a bitter debate about whether this can be reconciled with science, which I am not especially interested in, because I think both sides are arguing about something else and doing so dishonestly.

When the Galactica humans and Cylons arrive on Earth, they find a race of primitive but intelligent people already there.  Doc Cottle announces that they bury their dead, that he found a grave while exploring, and that he compared their DNA to the Galactica Humans’ DNA, and they are compatible.  This causes Adama and Baltar to remark that the same species evolved separately on different planets, and that the odds of that happening are astronomical.

Which essentially leaves us with intelligent design as the alternative explanation.  Given that the series already established that God was directing the show’s characters to their end, the intelligent design explanation is the only reasonable conclusion.

I don’t know if Moore is aware of this.  He is pretty bright but this also seems pretty far from his belief system.  Maybe he’s just having a laugh.

Finally, while many fans were disappointed to find out that the Cylons never had a plan, the show made it clear that God did.  Go figure.

Yesterday I Wrote:

So, what’s left, and what needs to be done in the last episode:

explain why Hera is important;

rescue her from Cavil (probably) and provide some indication of how she will lead to a better future for humans and Cylons (alternatively, give us a dark, unhappy ending where she isn’t saved and a remnant of humanity continues on with no hope);

explain why the Bob Dylan song matters;

explain who or what the current version of Starbuck is;

who or what are the head beings, such as Baltar’s Head Six — are they angels, or, what exactly, and how, specifically, does Head Six tie in to the miracles of Gaius Baltar;

who or what has been manipulating events — this could point to god or gods, and I would not be completely shocked if they go there (although it’s not my first choice) — but if they don’t give us some indication, they have failed to pay off on many, many set-ups.

Six for six.

They didn’t explain how the original Starbuck got to the original Earth, which I said was optional, and I’m OK with that.
And I’m quite pleased that they basically said there is a God. I said I wouldn’t be completely shocked, but I nearly am (and to be clear, when I said it would not be my frst choice I meant as a prediction, not as a preference). I am very pleased.
More thoughts later, I expect, including some quibbles, but right now I’m satisfied.

Remember when our President gave the Prime Minister of Great Britain a cheap set of DVDs? At the time, some predicted that the gift would be even worse than was known, because the DVDs would turn out to be produced for the region the US is in, and would not play in UK DVD players. They were right:

While not exactly a film buff, Gordon Brown was touched when Barack Obama gave him a set of 25 classic American movies – including Psycho, starring Anthony Perkins on his recent visit to Washington.
Alas, when the PM settled down to begin watching them the other night, he found there was a problem.

The films only worked in DVD players made in North America and the words “wrong region” came up on his screen. Although he mournfully had to put the popcorn away, he is unlikely to jeopardise the special relationship – or “special partnership”, as we are now supposed to call it – by registering a complaint.

via Gordon Brown is frustrated by ‘Psycho’ in No 10 – Telegraph.
The Anchoress has the most comprehensive roundup, including Ed Morrissey’s line that “You know how you can tell when a President has a bad day? When his comparison of an American corporation to terrorists is the second-stupidest thing he said…” Plus: references to and cites for the teleprompter gaffe with the Irish PM, and of course, the Special Olympics gaffe.
Meanwhile, the press covers for him. Today’s Daily news — the print edition — says nothing about the Special Olympics crack, in a gushing story written by hacks Nancy Dillon and Bill Hutchinson, who should be embarrassed. Here is their news:

Roundly knocked by his Republican critics for striding onto the nation’s most-watched nightly comedy stage at a time of economic turmoil, Obama had a ready zinger for the nitpickers of his fledgling administration.
“The key thing is for everyone to stay focused on the job instead of who you can pass blame onto,” Obama said.

The Headline in the prnt edition for this story is:

A STANDING ‘O’ ON LENO

Now on the website the News covers for Obama, reporting on his apology in an article date stamped 6:45 am for a story they tried unsuccessfully to bury, President Obama sorry for ‘insensitive’ Special Olympics dig on the ‘Tonight Show with Jay Leno’.
In contrast to how they cover for Obama, here is the illustration the Daily News created for the story they ran on George Bush’s book deal:

You Stay Classy, Daily News.

Update: My immediate reaction to the final episode is here.

With a single, two-hour episode of Battlestar Galactica remaining, I fear it is nearly inevitable that I’ll be left disappointed. Jimmy Akin provides the best explanation I’ve read of how the series got to this point, and how Ronald D. Moore’s writing process is responsible. I’ve listened to Moore’s podcasts and can vouch that Akin’s description matches what Moore does. It’s worth reading in full. My take on the process is that it is more fun for the writers, and can work in a more episodic series, but it does not serve either the material or the fans of a continuous long-form ongoing story series.
I’m disappointed because I don’t see how they can wrap this up in a way that satisfies the open issues that I still see. I’m disappointed because, no matter what happens Friday night, or what happens in the follow-up movie “The Plan,” it’s pretty clear that the Cylons never had a plan, and the opening credits for every episode until a little while ago were a lie. Apparently Moore has admitted as such, and claims he never like the idea of mentioning the plan in the credits.
NOTE, latter link has some spoilers.
Nobody had a plan but Cavil, and his plan was just to be a petulant jerk and manipulate the other Cylons into murdering all the humans. That’s not a plan, that’s a goal.

When we thought there was a plan, and the writers actually let people be happy sometimes.

I’m also disappointed because most of the answers we have received so far, in the episode No Exit, were provided through exposition. I didn’t complain about that at the time (follow link in previous sentence), because I didn’t think they would want to do an episode filled with flashbacks, and if you don’t do flashbacks, you’re pretty much left with exposition to describe past events. But the next to last episode (actually Part 1 of the finale), was filled with flashbacks that didn’t advance the story at all. There were some interesting character moments, especially from Baltar and his dad, but with so little time left we know the characters and need information.
Finally, I’m worried because as we’ve gotten deeper into the series, it appears from Moore’s podcasts and the direction the series has taken, that Moore confuses darkness with depth. They are different — art that is dark simply for the sake of being dark is wasteful. This could be much more.

So, what’s left, and what needs to be done in the last episode:

Less central to to main storyline, but still important:
explain how the original Starbuck got to Earth — I think many people have overlooked this. Even if we learn the nature of the “resurrected” Starbuck, we need an explanation of how the first one got to Earth. When we last saw her she was flying her Viper into a vortex in which her ship blew to pieces. You cannot just explain who the new Starbuck is, and fail to explain how the first one’s ship managed to get from that vortex to the surface of Earth.

Maybe they will do all of this in the last episode, or maybe they will do enough — in a way I cannot foresee — that I will be satisfied with a partial resolution to these issues. It just doesn’t seem that way this side of Friday night. We’ll see.

According to this Washington Post story, “President Obama’s apparent inability to block executive bonuses at insurance giant AIG has dealt a sharp blow to his young administration and is threatening to derail both public and congressional support for his ambitious political agenda.”

I’ve previously thought that the drop in Obama’s poll numbers in the past 2-3 weeks did not signify as much good news for conservatives as we would have liked. This article supports that view, in part. It appears that his slip — which is significant but not enormous — is based on hostility to bailouts for private interests, with some economic populism mixed in. I’ve not yet seen widespread opposition to the enormous “stimulus” that expands government interests. There is a growing tea party movement, yes, but I don’t think it is moving the polls yet.
Meanwhile, the economic populism of the anti-bonus furor is not likely to drive anyone to the GOP.
To the extent the AIG issue is a sign of hope for conservatives, it is that President Obama is facing the contradictions of his own to be too many things to too many people. He campaigned as a cipher, and for many, when you stared into the Obama you saw what you projected. Now that he actually has to govern, the inherent contradictions of his supporters’ differing expectations are becoming apparent.

By “self-suppression,” the source explained that he means the Republican base is not enthused about their candidate, State Assemblyman Jim Tedisco. “He has serious Albany problems, and that’s not a good place to be associated with right now.”

While it’s a challenging environment, this source laments that Tedisco has nullified a major issue by taking a muddied stance on the stimulus, effectively endorsing it. “In Albany, the idea of spending government money to improve the economy is normal,” he laments. “They live and breathe spending taxpayer money there.”

via Internal Polls Show ‘Extreme Republican Self-Suppression’ in NY-20 – Jim Geraghty – The Campaign Spot on National Review Online.

of why conservatives often call republicans “The Stupid Party.”
Bad enough that they nominate an Albany insider — that’s near to unavoidable. But that nobody around him realizes the deficiencies of being an Albany insider is unforgivable.

This is less of a President Obama issue than it is a Democratic party, and specifically a Democratic Congress issue: “Since 2002, Colombia has been the top U.S. ally in Latin America. Yet it still can’t get a vote from a protectionist U.S. Congress on a free trade agreement it needs.”

IBDeditorials.com: Editorials, Political Cartoons, and Polls from Investor’s Business Daily — Denying Trade Pact To Colombia A Slap In Face, Vice President Says.

It is also largely a labor, no, a union issue.  It is also wrong, and self-destructive.  We are pushing away a friendly nation who is turning elsewhere, including to China, to find trading partners.  That doesn’t help anyone.

The Chinese government had an interesting exchange with our President this week about US debt. John Hinderaker summarized it:

Of course, what the Chinese are worried about is not that the United States government will default on its bonds. That obviously won’t happen. The Chinese concern, now being expressed openly for the first time, is that the U.S. will adopt the standard debtor’s remedy of inflating its currency and paying back its debts in shrunken dollars. Why are the Chinese worried about this? Because Barack Obama’s budget proposes to borrow trillions of dollars, injecting them into the U.S. economy without any offsetting wealth being created. The inevitable result, as any economist not in the pay of the Obama administration or the Democratic Party will tell you, is inflation.

****

With their shot over the bow, I think the Chinese are telling Obama that they don’t like his budget. It is obvious to them that it will cause inflation, even if Obama himself doesn’t understand the problem. Thus, I think they are telling Obama that they are willing to lend our government more money only if 1) the Obama administration follows a more responsible fiscal policy, and 2) in any event, they will insist on higher interest rates in the future to compensate themselves for the risk of inflation. I assume Obama will have to go along, since there seems no prospect of a Plan B.

How ironic: we American conservatives may well be in the position of hoping the “Communist” Chinese can impose fiscal discipline on our shamefully incompetent government.

Power Line – Barack and Beijing.

Since Obama announced his budget priorities in early February or so, I’ve been very worried about inflation myself. I’m stocking up heavily on I-bonds and TIPS as a result, although I worry that somehow the government will simply walk away from the inflation protected aspect of those securities also, either by revising the method by which inflation is measured or some other vehicle.