Eileen's Blog

Okay. All the hype in today's weekend reviews is about the movie, "United 93". I'm no film critic..but I didn't love this movie and I feel almost ashamed to give my opinion about it because every critic is falling over themselves over this picture. If you listened to today's interview with entertainment reporter, Bill Diehl, he seemed almost speechless that I didn't like it like everybody else. Here's why. Numero Uno reason is it is too soon. It is too soon because the movie is inaccurate and frankly, if the filmmakers waited....they would have been closer to getting it right. The movie killed off the pilots. We now know from the cockpit recording...that the hijackers didn't slash the throats of all the pilots...they waited and contemplated getting them back into the cockpit. The movie also did not have all the transmissions between ground control and the hijackers and the hijackers and passengers, that was overheard by the recording. Not in it. Should have waited to get it right.

The second reason I wouldn't pay to see "United 93" is that I found it overly political. Where is the President/where is the Vice President/why can't the military shoot this plane down/why aren't we grounding all of the planes? It's all George's fault. What could the President do? Besides ground every single flight into and out of the United States and everywhere inbetween. Wouldn't have mattered. The deadly flights had already taken off. American Airlines Flight 11 crashed at 8:46am. Flight 77 that hit the Pentagon took off at 8:21am and Flight 93 took to the sky at 8:43am. Meanwhile, we thought that what eventually turned out to be American Airlines Flight 11, was a Cessna plane, a hoax, a pilot having a heart attack. The movie brings up some of these...but it's just in passing. The problem with the movie is that you watch it with the hindsight and all of the after-knowledge of 9-11. It's imposssible to watch the movie after the first crash as if this is an ordinary Tuesday morning. We know more seating in the theater than the FAA/ground control/military on-screen and you want to jump out of your seat and throttle them. "DO SOMETHING! GROUND THE PLANES! THE PENTAGON IS NEXT! DON'T LET FLIGHT 93 TAKE OFF!" And inevitably, you want to yell at the unseen President. "GET OFF YOUR DUFF! STOP READING "MY PET GOAT"! GET OUT OF THERE! DOOOOOOOOOOO SOMETHING!" I left the movie more angry at the politics of Hollywood than at the terrorists. And my guess is that on a subliminal level, movie-goers will leave the theater as angry at the Bush administration as Al Quaeda. That's a big score for Hollywood. I don't blame Bill Clinton for not catching OBL when he was in the Sudan. Shoot. We shouted "Lewinsky Diversion!!!" after we attacked an aspirin factory. I don't blame George W. for trying to not create a disturbance in front of children on Sept. 11th. I don't think I would have reacted the same way. But I don't know how I would have behaved. I was paralyzed that morning the way a lot of you were. Who freakin' cares anyway? The fact is, we are not in 2001 anymore. Nothing we do, watch, read or discuss will EVER put us back on that Tuesday morning. Let's refocus on our enemy....and that is not ourselves...it is the terrorists who are out there, as I write, plotting, planning, gleeful in their schemes for 9-11 Part Two. When it happens....I know what will be said. Just the way we smirked at our September 10th mentality, we're doing the same thing again. We're fighting ourselves on gas prices and illegal immigration. Who gives a damn about Tom Cruise's Tomkitten and Angelina Jolie taking Brad Pitt away? We have forgotten our enemy and although this movie features hijackers...I walked out of the theater thinking we're more to blame than them. Score another for the terrorists.

The movie is well-filmed and the actors are great. That's why I give it stars. I don't know how well it will do this weekend. I don't know that viewers are ready to make 9-11 a choice for their personal entertainment...but it will put on screen for us what the heroes on that flight did in sacrifice for their country and fellow citizens. It will visualize for us their terror..and becomes a story of personal heroism. On that level, it is a triumph. No attempted hijacking will ever succeed because of Mark Bingham, Todd Beamer and the American heroes on United 93. Ten percent of the profits will go to build a memorial for these brave men and women. My suggestion? Skip the movie, make a donation to the families and they'll get it all. They deserve that much.

I've received more emails about the May 1st, Monday's illegal immigration rally. If you would like to post on this blog, email your thoughts to eileen.f.byrne@abc.com

Hi Eileen!

All I can say is that I am having surgery early monday morning. I hope to GOD that no illegals that work within my hospital, that could be involved in an indirect (or direct) way to my surgery, decide to walk out and take a day of "vacation". Susan

Good Morning Eileen,
Allright, you've got guests "A" that knock politely at the door, they wait till invited in, they say please and thank you and, through their pleasant visit you learn more about them, appretiate them and hope they'll stay. Guests "B" breaks into your house, demands that you do everything for them that you would do for your own family, they demand that you speak like them and are horribly insulted if you but imply that they may be impolite. You got your legal aliens and your criminal aliens, see the connection?


Another thought:

Hi, Eileen!

On May 1st, I plan on taking a stand AGAINST all of this Mexican bullsh**
by eating out for every meal and even going out shopping which I normally
don't do on weekdays. This is a two pronged attack on my part. First, if
I and many other Americans do this, this will help reduce any impact the
Mexican boycotts will have American companies. Plus, it will show them
that they can do nearly the same amount of business without having to
employee any Mexicans (who decided not to show up for work that day).

Love your show. Have a great day!

Ken - Omaha
More...on the way

6:45pm. On the way downtown to see "United 93"

I've never experienced this type of feeling on my way to the movies. Usually, it's the anticipation of my face hurting from laughing at the antics of Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson or brother Luke in "Wedding Crashers", "Meet the Parents"--"OLD SCHOOL"! I love the excitement of seeing the previews--making the decision in the dark of the theater about what films to catch this summer and the possible Oscar contenders this winter. Of course, the good reviews are accompanied by the dismissive: "That's a rental" or worse, "I'll skip it altogether". (Wish I had decided that for "What Lies Beneath")

Tonight I feel like I'm on my way to a funeral. Never before have I packed a box of tissues to go see a movie. It is a feeling of utter dread.

I go to the movies to escape my problems du jour, which today include the looming special condo assessment of paying for a new roof and the expense of a new humidifier, water heater and a gaping hole in my ceiling where my plumber and I discovered the root of a leak. Where is Owen Wilson when you need him? I'm about to be confronted with Todd Beamer, Mark Bingham and the other heroes of September 11th. I don't think I'm ready to meet them again. Four and a half years have flown by.

6:55pm AMC Theatre, River East

I might not be the only one who feels this way. I've gone to many an advanced screening during my tenure at WLS. "Dukes of Hazzard," starring the guy from "Jackass," was the most recent one. There were five times as many people in the theater. Maybe the draw was Jessica Simpson.

I overhear that a woman two rows behind me has also brought tissues. I CAN overhear her because there's only about sixty people in the theatre. The cause of the no-shows? It can't be due to a lack of publicity. I've seen articles, commercials, reviews and "Access Hollywood" type interviews regarding the film with the 9-11 families and stars of the film. No interest in 9-11? Not a chance. The 9-11 Commission Report was a best-seller. But the entertainment value of September 11th is something entirely different.

We deal with the day on a regular basis. Shoes off at the airport. The trial and sentencing of that moron Zacarias Moussaoui commands the attention of our media. We had bombings today in Egypt and still have a bounty on the head of Osama Bin Laden. I don't consider any of this entertainment. This is our reality.

I know the movies can inform and educate but primarily I need them to entertain. Preparing to cry my eyes out over 9-11 in a public movie house doesn't exactly sound like a fun Saturday night. And paying to be miserable? That reminds me that my plumber's bill is in the mail. Lights are going down. Let's watch the show.



10pm. My house with a hole in my ceiling.

I'm home now. I'll have the full review tomorrow. Let me just say this. If you need Hollywood to define your enemy and establish a renewed sense of patriotism, you will be very disappointed.

SURE, THIS MAKES SENSE: A student at McHenry (Ill.) Community High School
has been disciplined after "doodling" in his own notebook. His drawing
features the initials "D.L.K." which, school officials told his mother,
"could" mean "Disciples Latin King" -- the Latin Kings and the Latin
Disciples are two rival gangs. His mother says he's not a member of any
gang. But under the school's zero tolerance rules about gang activity,
the boy was suspended, and the school board voted unanimously to expel
Derek Leon Kelly from any state-funded school for the rest of the
school year, rejecting his explanation that the initials he drew are
simply his own. (Chicago Tribune) ...Leaving him nothing to do but join
a gang. Thanks Mike!!!!

We've got books, DVDs, gift certificates, t-shirts...all for you..all for free...if you join us at the Woodfield Mall this Saturday, 12noon till 2pm--at the Select Comfort store at Woodfield. I look forward to meeting and talking with you...and while you're there, test rest the bed. It really, really is the best.

WOULD YOU DO THIS?

Boy or Girl? Couples Choose Unborn Children's Sex
Parents Use Technique Originally Used to Screen Genetic Disorders

March 25, 2006 — - John and Kristen Magill of Grafton, Mass., have what you'd call a full house: They have three girls and twin boys who are about to turn 1 year old.

The Magills conceived their daughters naturally, but with sons Patrick and John III they entered a brave new world.

They were actually able to select their babies' sex.

"I always wanted a boy to, you know, play sports and stuff with, you know," John Magill said. "Not that I mind the girls. We love the girls, you know, and wouldn't trade them for anything. But you know, we just always wanted both."

The Magills had their sons through a process called pre-implantation genetic diagnosis. The procedure requires in vitro fertilization because embryos are screened for their gender before being implanted in the womb.

"I feel my family's complete," Kristen Magill said. "And I won't look back 10 years down the road [and say], 'I wish we'd tried to have a boy.' "


Designed to Screen for Genetic Disorders

But PGD was not originally created to help couples like the Magills. It was developed to help people like the Rinaldi family, who are prone to genetic disorders.

"If it wasn't for this procedure, I really believe we wouldn't have a baby," Diane Rinaldi said.

PGD tests embryos for disease by looking for defective chromosomes. This helps couples prone to miscarriage or who carry genetic diseases to have healthy babies. But PGD also can screen embryos for gender, which is how the Magills had their twin boys, with the aid of Dr. Jeffrey Steinberg's Fertility Institutes.

"We're coming up on 2,000 couples now that we've done PGD on," Steinberg said. "Eighty-five [percent] to 90 percent of those couples have done it simply for gender selection. And we're coming up on close to 940 babies."

There are no exact numbers on how many couples are doing this, but it's probably very low because of the high cost -- $18,000 for just one try. Also, the process requires IVF whether you are fertile or not, which turns off some interested couples.

There are other methods of trying to choose your child's gender, like Microsort's experimental sperm sorting program. But nothing has the nearly 100 percent success rate of PGD.


Gender Selection Controversy

This new use of PGD does not please one of the pioneers of the procedure, Dr. Mark Hughes, director of Genesis Genetics Institute in Detroit.

"I went into science and into medicine to diagnose and treat, and hopefully cure disease. And the last time I checked, your gender wasn't a disease," Hughes said.

Gender selection has been largely banned in a growing number of countries, including France, Canada, England, Australia, Japan and Germany. But the practice is unregulated in the United States, and American attitudes are mixed.

"About 40 percent of Americans approve of using genetic testing of embryos to pick the sex of their future child when it's not related to medical conditions," said Kathy Hudson, director of Genetics and Public Policy Institute in Washington, D.C.

Kristen Magill says she's not ashamed she chose her sons' gender.

"I think it's a good opportunity for a family in the same situation as us," she said.

Kristen Magill's friend, Bobbi Driscoll, has three boys and is considering trying PGD to have a baby girl.

"I'm just so excited I think it completes their family," Driscoll said. "Right now, I just still feel a void. Maybe over time it will pass or we'll decide to do something."

Playing God...would you do it...email me at eileen.f.byrne@abc.com

And this guy is a TEACHER?

Coach disciplined for distributing flier at school
JENNIFER RADLIFFE | Houston Chronicle | April 5, 2006

Rudy Rios was stripped of his duties as junior varsity baseball coach at Chavez High School last week after using a district copying machine to make a flier encouraging Latino students to attend a rally protesting restrictions on illegal immigration.

Rios, who still retains his duties as an English-as-a-second-language teacher, was distributing a flier that read:

"We gots 2 stay together and protest against the new law that wants 2 be passed against all immigrants.

"We gots 2 show the U.S. that they aint fuck with out us."


This teacher makes $42,000 a year, taxpayer funded. Holidays. Spring/Winter breaks...and of course, summers off. How much do you make? And you probably mastered the English language. Too bad your parents didn't only know Spanish. Then you'd gots to have something to show that they ain't gots to f* with out us. Know what I'm saying?

I've got prizes, stickers, books, magazines and gift certificates to Carmichael's Restaurant....all for the first friends who greet me at Select Comfort...Woodfield Mall this Saturday from 12noon till 2pm. Can't wait to see you. It will be a blast. Lots of stuff to give away...lots of stuff to talk about...and of course, check out the Sleep Number Bed. I now own two....I put my money where my mouth is. I LOVE this bed. You will too. See you Saturday

Check out our events page for more details and directions.

Nice email...thanks....I think! (This email was received after we discussed the man from Michigan on the roof of his home, on strike, because he was sick of how his wife was raising their children. Kids in the bed with them, no discipline...and no alone time with the mother of his children.)


Hi Eileen,

You get the award for being the first woman to figure out that if a wife does not take care of her man, he will look someplace else. It is not just the sex life. mental and emotional well being also comes into play. Too bad most women are unable to figure this out and take positive measures to prevent this. The self proclaimed experts wonder why the divorce rate is so high. They should listen to your show.