UNITED 93: It's stupendous. I say that as someone who doesn't do movie reviews; to the best of my knowledge this is my first. I won't try to do a full review because, frankly, I'm still reeling from the movie's emotional punch. I'll just agree with this reviewer:

There's also no way to watch United 93 and not relive the surreal horror of the World Trade Center attacks and the jet that hit the Pentagon. And there's no way to watch this extraordinarily powerful film and not be in awe of what human beings are capable of - both good and bad.

The movie is not balanced, however. America haters will wonder why the filmmaker didn't focus on the psychology of the hijackers, who must have had really nasty childhoods to cause them to do such a mean thing as crash a plane filled with innocent passengers. And why not at least one reference to Bush and Cheney and their behind-the-scenes roles as masterminds of the September 11 nightmare? Yes, the usual crackbrain leftists have their theories about why and how 9/11 was an inside job. Chalk it up to “the combination of embitterment and not thinking," as Philip Roth describes the syndrome in his novel I Married a Communist. Forget about these morons. Go see United 93 as soon as you can. Warning: Don't think of taking young children. See it for yourself and then make sure the kids understand, in terms appropriate to their developing minds, that we must be willing to defend this nation is we intend to remain a nation. (While you're at it, pop 'em some popcorn and make sure they know how much you love 'em. The scenes of passenger-parents leaving voice mail "I love you" messages for their kids were excruciating.)

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY GASBAGS: There's something about shameless people that's just plain embarrassing. Such persons appear incapable of being embarrassed by their own contemptible behavior (recall Billy Jeff Clinton and his gal pal Monica), hence someone must step in to fill the void. Armchair psychology aside, how simply pathetic: the spectable of Democrats and Republicans trying to best each other in an opportunism derby over gas prices. And how disappointing to find Andrew Sullivan joining the fray by bemoaning the "death of conservative government" and then advocating sharply increased gas taxes to compel policy outcomes he favors. (Headline to Andrew: that's called social engineering and it's what liberals do.) The brightest cloud on the horizon comes from Krauthammer, who gets it entirely right about the alleged gas-price crisis. It's called Supply & Demand. Meanwhile, how about an excess-rhetoric tax, with both Pelosi and Specter paying top bracket rates?

ARREST HIM NOW, GET IT OVER WITH: Virginia Senator George Allen has a race problem. A fact that will almost surely torpedo his presidential ambitions has emerged from Allen's recent past. Well, not that recent. More like over three decades ago, but still — investigative journalists must write, so they can get quoted by bloggers, so they get on Hardball, so they can get big book contracts. But I digress. A New Republic investigative journalist reports that George Allen wore a confederate flag pin for his high school yearbook photo! The article that documents this horrifying fact doesn't say Allen spent his weekends rising up through the Klan hierarchy, but isn't it up to Allen to prove he was never a member of the Klan or any other hate group? Must we not assume, otherwise, that he's a terrible racist? Turn yourself in now, Senator. Make it easy on the thought police. They've got so many other people to destroy, so little time to do it. I wore a black anti-war armband in high school, and much worse: bell bottoms and long sideburns. May lawyer's on call for when the pics surface.

LEFT COAST PSYCHOSIS: The California Senate has gone on record in support of declaring the West Coast a province of Mexico. Not in so many words, of course. But announcing support of the May 1 work stoppage is the same thing, especially with the resolution's completely gratuitous reference to the "tremendous contribution immigrants make on a daily basis to our society and economy." That's not the issue. The issue is: people in this country illegally. Yes, many of "our" children play with "their" children." That's not the point, either. It's quite possible many of our children play with the children of bank robbers, car thieves, and white collar embezzlers. How would we know? I like Ann Coulter's suggestion. Build the wall and get the illegals to do the work. "They're good with stone work," Michael Savage said on his show today.

DOUBLE OR NOTHING: The Duke lacrosse accuser says the attack wasn't the first. Ten years ago, three men raped her, she claims. More evidence of the sheer pervasiveness of the patriarchy which empowers men to rape with impugnity. That, or she's one unlucky gal who makes her living getting naked at private parties attended by underage drunken males. Or she's an out and out liar. Maybe some combination of all three. Meanwhile, this case looks like it's cooked. A victim of a crime who failed to bring charges at the time will be targeted by defense lawyers — as she should be, and no, that's not the same as putting the "victim" on trial. Quotes meant to indicate doubts about she deserves to be taken any more seriously than Al Sharpton's buddy Tawana Brawley. Best guess: the D.A. who brought the charges can now withdraw them and keep his job, having gotten the political mileage he wanted from the Durham voting demographic he was aiming to impress. One more point: Regardless of the facts in this case, it's time to think about changing the rape shield law. Either amend so those who file complaints are named exactly like the alleged perpetrators; or protect the privacy of the accused along with the privacy of the accuser.

HOSPITAL KILLING FIELDS: Okay, so Terri Schiavo's husband, eager to get on with the wedding, remembered that Terri said she wouldn't want to live that way. So Terri was killed and we're all a more compassionate society as a result, oh yes, oh yes we are. Hold on to your hat, that was the slow pitch leagues, now we're getting warmed up. Here's the deal. Andrea Clark's alive and conscious and says she wants to remain there. Her family agrees: Let Andrea live. The hospital administrators say, No, let's kill her. And they will if they get their way. Read and weep.

CHEAPER OIL: There's a way to get it — by winning the war in Iraq, says Mark Davis:

Instability in oil-producing nations boosts world oil prices; stability brings them down. The best thing we can do to bring about that stability is to win the war. I'd hate to get in the way of scornful ex-generals tripping over each other in airports during their book tours, but if we could direct our energies toward supporting the war we're in, we might have a better chance of prevailing and seeing that stability unfold.

On the other hand: Want $100 per barrel oil prices quick? The fastest way there is for U.S. forces to pull out precipitiously, the John Kerry defeat-at-any-cost plan.