Daily Archives: January 9, 2021

Letters submitted by BDN readers are verified by BDN Opinion Page staff. Send your letters toletters@bangordailynews.com.

What an egregious display from our fellow Americans. Come on people, we are better than this.

Occupying our Capitol and breaking into office spaces. These people need to be arrested and locked away. Their level of patriotism and class is of the lowest nature. I am a registered Republican and voted for Donald Trump twice. I cannot condone his inciteful speech, which only provided a match to a group of folks wanting to start their fire of disorder.

We all know that Trump has always been a person of wealth and has never been told no, but what he is doing now writes a whole new chapter of his legacy. I do feel that the election has been manipulated, only by the mailing of ballots. A ballot, in my opinion, must be requested not just arbitrarily received in the mail.

As true Americans, we are better than what we have seen on our TV screens or possibly in person. This is not the citizenry or government that I and my many fellow service members, many who made the ultimate sacrifice, served in the military for. It is an extremely sad time in our history and Trump has proved his presidency needs to come to a quiet close.

I am sad to say the man I hoped would bring us together and lead our country to the top of the heap has become such a divider. And dare I say a spoiled child. As a nation we will survive as we have in the past. We can adjust the present Congress in two years if Americanism can be restored and sanity is restored in our citizenry.

Wayne LeVasseur

Bangor

A year ago, Sen. Susan Collins had the opportunity to stop the Trump administration, and she chose not to stand up to the president. His lies and threats to our democratic system continued. While President Donald Trump was the instigator, I hold all Republicans who did not challenge the president responsible for Wednesdays attack on our democracy.

I call on all elected officials, especially Collins as a leader in the Senate, to publicly urge the vice president and Cabinet members to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove Trump from office. Once they call for his removal, he is no longer in power, though it is possible for him to get that power back.

Our beloved country can be protected from further damage caused by this dangerous man.

Dianne Kopec

Hudson

At 66 years old, Ive seen some debacles in my day, but Wednesday was shameful, heartbreaking and infuriating. Anti-American, anti-democracy, anti-anything to do with reality and common-sense, yet those I saw at the Capitol sincerely believed that they are the patriots trying to restore America. Sad. Sad and frightening, as it is a cold stark reminder of the power of disinformation. Both sides accusing the other of suffering the same malady.

For me personally, I consider myself a realist, Science trumps belief, verifiable facts defeat innuendo. But science without morality is neither and verifiable facts are to be used to betterment not tearing down. Im not angry, but I am very deeply ashamed.

Wednesday was something everyone of us, including myself, was complicit in. Complicit in not confronting and challenging lies and those who promulgate them when presented the opportunity. Complicit in electing and reelecting the morally and intellectually bankrupt to be our voices. Complicit in believing we have to respect others rights to their beliefs, opinions and motivations even when clearly threatening and dangerous to democracy, the republic and to the common good. Complicit in our fear of being viewed as socially or politically incorrect or worse, insensitive. Complicit in not confronting all the unbalanced, unsupported conspiracy theories fomenting discord. Complicated because any person with half a properly working frontal lobe could foresee Wednesday as the natural and likely outcome.

After Wednesday, any of us that thinks were just being courteous and give ear to seditious lies, half-truths (or no-truths), unfounded beliefs and alternate realities without civilly challenging and confronting them are complicit in our collective undoing. I have hope that the sleepers heard the alarm this week. Please try to respect each other.

Keith Howard

Belfast

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Saturday, Jan. 9, 2020: We are better than this, stand up to Trump, time to wake up - Bangor Daily News

Prominent climate science deniers moved rapidly to spread false and misleading conspiracy theories online during and after the attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters thisweek.

Some climate deniers, including some with ties to the Heartland Institute and other organizations that have historically helped to create the false impression that there is sizeable scientific disagreement on climate change, also directly expressed support for the attackers and called for more violence.

Striking fear in politicians is not a bad thing, the @ClimateDepot Twitter account tweeted on the afternoon of January 6 in a message describing the Capitol as then-undersiege.

Thomas Jefferson: The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants, @ClimateDepot tweeted secondslater.

What's needed next is mass protests to storm state Capitols and the CDC to end Covid lockdowns once and for all, the thread continued, referring to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control andPrevention.

The @ClimateDepot Twitter account, created in April 2009, is held by Marc Morano, the communications director for the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT), a Washington, D.C.-based think-tank with a history of receiving funding from ExxonMobil and the conservative dark money organizationDonors Trust. Morano serves as the executive director of CFACTs climatedepot.com website, which as DeSmogs databaseprofile puts it, regularly publishes articles questioning man-made globalwarming.

Screenshot of Twitter thread posted by @ClimateDepot on the afternoon of January6,2021.

Morano has for many years played a prominent role in the climate denial movement. The Heartland Institute currently maintains a biography of Morano under its Who We Are section, noting his prior role as a climate researcher for U.S. Senator James Inhofe, who has regularly made speeches rejecting mainstream climate science.Rolling Stone once called Morano the Matt Drudge of climate denial. He more recently authored a book titled, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Climate Change.CFACTs most recent tax filings show Morano was its highest-compensated employee, bringing in over $209,000 in pay and benefits in2018.

On January 6, after the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) whose board of directors includes senior officials with ExxonMobil and numerous other fossil fuel companies posted a statement condemning the violence at the Capitol Building, @ClimateDepot retweeted a reply to that statement reading: NAM has always been a bootlicking organization groveling at the booted feet of their governmentalmasters.

Many fossil fuel industry groups immediately condemned the insurgency in statements or social media posts, and some long-time climate deniers did as well. But Morano was not the only prominent science denier to express support online for the mob attack in D.C.

William M. Briggs, described by the Heartland Institute as one of itspolicy advisors, published a post on January 7 headlined, we fought the good fight and we lost this battle. In the piece, Briggs claims that Congress had an unarmed Air Force veteran shot and killed and misleadingly claimsthat the crowd, by doing very little, by remaining inside the tourist ropes inside the building, even, forced the startled regime intohiding.

Briggs' post goes on to describeRepublican politicians' later condemnation of Wednesdays attack as the most disgusting display of cowardice and abject surrender were likely to see in ourlifetimes.

Some of us will be in deep kimchi because of this, but there are no regrets, Briggs's post continued. One thing is certain. They will be coming forus.

DeSmog reviewed numerous accounts during and in the wake of the Capitol attack. Social media posts show that several other climate science deniers, like the UK-based columnistJames Delingpole and Steve Milloy, publisher of the JunkScience.com website, joined many on the far-right in circulating false information suggesting that it was not the visible pro-Trump participants who had been planning online for weeks to occupy the Capitol, but instead members of their opposition the loose,left-wing movement known as antifathat actually invaded the building. On Thursday, the Washington Post reported that there was no substantive evidence that any antifa supporters had participated in the pro-Trump insurrection, adding that many claims of antifa involvement had cited a soure that had, in fact, reported neo-Naziparticipation.

Screenshot of retweet by @JunkScience on the afternoon of January6,2021.

Others in DeSmog's Climate Disinformation Database, like the conservative media organization Prager U, used their social media presence to share messaging that sought to shift focus to lastsummer's Black Lives Matteruprisings.

Detailed information about precisely what happened inside the Capitol Building on Wednesday and what led to those events is still continuing to emerge. But what is clear is that neo-Nazis and long-time far-right Trump supporters were documented, and in many cases documented themselves, participating in the mob violence inside the CapitolBuilding.

The goal isnt necessarily to convince anyone of anything, Melissa Ryan, author of the Ctrl Alt-Right Delete weekly newslettercovering the alt-right and CEO of CARD Strategies, told DeSmog. The goal is to sow so much confusion that its actually hard for people to tell the truth fromfiction.

That misinformation benefits the far-right, shesaid.

They did the same after Charlottesville, said Ryan, who has previously written about interactions between climate deniers and QAnon conspiracy theorists. They do the same after any of their protests that cause violence. The goal is to cause confusion amongst viewers, those amongst their audience that might have a little trepidation about being associated with violent extremist groups, so both sides is sort of how they neutralizethat.

Several accounts associated with climate science deniers focused in particular on pictures of Jake Angeli, who wore face paint and a horned helmet on January 6, with these accounts suggesting that Angeli was a member of antifa. Angeli, however, is better known as the QAnonshaman.

Hes absolutely a QAnon right-wing follower, saidRyan.

Attempts to shift blame away from those visibly participating in the invasion and to antifa were later also spread in Congress by Republican Matt Gaetz of Florida who was met with audible boos on the House floor when he suggested that the Capitol attack was by people masquerading as Trump supporters a word choice made all the more ironic by the fact that many participating in the apparent coup attempt were not wearing masks despite the ragingCOVID-19 pandemic.

And of course, President Trump himself may perhaps be the worlds best-known climate science denier. Earlier in the day on January 6, he had addressed members of the soon-to-be mob in person, calling on them to walk down to the Capitol and adding that you will never take back our country with weakness. Later that day, in a recorded video, he told them, We love you. Youre very special. Gohome.

On Thursday night, in a tweeted video message lasting less than three minutes, President Trump said that the demonstrators the same individuals whom he had personally addressed before the attack had defiled the Capitol and called for their prosecution. Today, he resumed using his Twitter account to praise and encourage hisbase.

Today, Trump faces renewed calls for his impeachment or removal under the 25th Amendment. But the disinformation-fueled movement backing him is extremely unlikely to simply fade away and may in fact be further emboldened by the images of Trump and Confederate flags that were waved inside the CapitolBuilding.

I feel like its a very clear end of the Trump administration, said Ryan, but whats terrifying is what it is the birthof.

Far-right organizers have already reportedly posted calls to gather again on January 20, inauguration day. On Thursday, USA Today quoted from a white-supremacist Telegram channel that called for Pro-Trump and other nationalist crowds to gather in D.C. thatday.

Main image: The pro-Trump mob outside of the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. on January6, 2021.Credit: Tyler Merbler,CC BY2.0

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Climate Deniers Moved Rapidly to Spread Misinformation During and After Attack on US Capitol - DeSmog

My earliest memory of Flash was that it got me into trouble. I had heard about a website that hosted brutal games, including one particularly difficult shooter starring an audacious yellow alien. I soon discovered that this site, Newgrounds.com, brimmed with warped takes on American culturewithin minutes, I had battered Osama bin Laden and chain-sawed my way through a string of office colleagues. The next day, I visited the site at a friends house, and we massacred a school. In the evening, his mum rang mine to ask why her son had been undressing Britney Spears.

On December 31, Flash died. Adobe stopped updates and now recommends you uninstall it. This end has been a long time comingsince June 2017, officially; unofficially, since April 2010, when Apples Steve Jobs announced that Flash would not run on the iPhone. Its legacy lives on in Adult Swim cartoons and zany mobile games. Toiling conservationists continue to convert and archive old Flash content before it is lost forever.

Flashs death is, in many ways, incidentalthere may even be an impulse to welcome it. For those of a certain age, the command Please install Flash Player still provokes a tinge of irritation, as they remember how it came between them and that bopping badger video. But the softwares end is also a synecdoche of an aesthetic project years in the making. Its a reminder of how the web has been cleaned up; how it has been transformed from a messy and amateur space into a glossy and corporate one.

Flash animations could be crude and childish; they could be profane and pornographic. They were politically incorrect, an ideology that sometimes bled into real lifethe creator of Stick Assault is now a racist YouTuber. One member of Newgrounds posted two cartoonsClown and Target Practicebefore shooting up his school.

But these are isolated examples among a generally harmless chaos. If there was a small share of depravity, its because Flash was so easy to use. What would have taken a studio of animators months to draw could be produced in just a few days, as Flash algorithmically generated the images between two keyframes. This led to its iconic lilting movementmotion without cycles, in the technical jargonaccompanied by the thick black outlines required to endure the poor resolutions of computer monitors.

The most memorable of these creations came from David Firth. Where Newgrounds was unquestionably American, Fat-Pie, Firths website, was intrinsically British. Salad Fingers, the creepy green humanoid with spinning digits, is his most famous character, but I watched every one of his night-terror creations, from eloquent locusts to mass-murdering milkmen to Burnt Face Man, the inept superhero who claimed that crime is a shit that needs cleaning up. His cartoons, often paired with music from Aphex Twin, obliquely reflected British societyChris Morris satire without the politics. In the early 2000s, they looked how I felt.

The best animation, argues the film critic Richard Brody, captures the spontaneity, the free-flowing imagination, and the uninhibited sense of fun at the heart of the medium. Flash spread these instincts across the web. The worst Flash websites were a thing to beholdremember restaurant sites with pumping muzak and flying food? There seemed no one framework back then.

In this sense, Flash was a bridge between generations. Its creator, Jonathan Gay, explained that the web could have settled on a filmic experience, based on movies and television, rather than the textual Twittersphere we accept now. Flash facilitated the personalization associated with Web 1.0 relics like Geocities, with users encouraged to manually code, design, and manage their website, in the words of architecture critic Kate Wagner, a state of affairs replaced by the corporate, professionally designed web that we cannot customize but must experience. This new professional web is glossy, uniform, and minimalist, typified by app stores, smartphones, and Facebook. Participatory portal culture, which websites like Newgrounds kicked off, is supercharged, but personalization is destroyed.

Link:
A Farewell to Adobe Flashand the Messy, Glorious Web - WIRED

Marsha Wiseman,

Muskogee

Regarding the 12/26/20 editorial in this newspaper by Steve Fair, the chairman of the 4th district of the Oklahoma Republican Party in which he proclaims that Donald Trumps politically incorrect no clutch full speed ahead style is fruitful and that is why candidates are copying his tactics.

Help me out here Mr. Fair: so those candidates are standing proudly by a president who throws out bait words to white extremists (stand down Proud Boys?); publicly mocked a reporter with a disability (watch the video yourself and please, offer a defense); used 'blood coming out of her wherever' about a female reporter; praised a congressman who body-slammed a reporter; and referred to immigrants from sh**hole countries.

These vulgarities are fruitful?No, this is conduct unbecoming of any human being, but even more so the POTUS. His self-obsessed, have-to-be-the-greatest words and actions have disgraced the office he holds, and it is equally disgusting for any politician to stand by him, mutely or otherwise. Lets debate the good and bad of Republican versus Democratic platforms or values, but the personal conduct of this president is far more grievous and disgusting than politically incorrect.We deserve so much better from our president and from all elected officials.

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LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Trump's personal conduct grievous, disgusting - Muskogee Daily Phoenix

From Daleks to Captain Jack, the Doctor Who New Year's special featured many familiar faces. The Harry Potter reference, however, was a mistake.

Among the many fun and nostalgic Easter eggs in the Doctor Who festivespecial "Revolution of the Daleks,"one reference to Harry Pottermay not really work for many fans. Whenviewers last left the13th Doctor at the end ofseason 12, she'd been mysteriouslytransportedfrom the TARDIS to Judoon jail. She's there to serve time for an undisclosed crime committed by Ruth,a previously unknown incarnation of the Doctor played by Jo Martin. After a gleeful romp past fan-favorite bad guys from throughout the show's history,like the Weeping Angels, the Sycorax, and the Daleks, the Doctor lulls herself to sleep, reciting the opening lines of the first chapter of Harry Potter and thePhilosopher's Stone.

Harry Potterreferences are nothing new in the Whoniverse. Russell T. Davies, who revived the series in 2005, considered a Harry Potter/Doctor Who crossover episode, and there are several references to theWizarding World in Doctor Whoseason 3, episode 2, "The Shakespeare Code." Those references had a nice meta-effect, since David Tennant, who played the Doctor at the time, also starred asBarty Crouch, Jr in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. It also matched the zeitgeist, with both Harry Potter and Doctor Who among the biggest franchises on the planet. The Harry Potter callback in Revolution of the Daleks, however, feels at best irrelevant, and at worst, tin-eared on the part of Doctor Who showrunnerChris Chibnall, who also wrote the script.

Related:Doctor Who Holiday Special May Tease Torchwood's Return

Itmay not seem problematic at first for the magical boy who lived under the stairs to come to the aid of a magical girl seeking comfortin a prison cell under the stars. However, in 2018, J.K. Rowling favorited some Tweets expressing anti-trans sentiment, and since then, has become an outspoken opponent to transgender rights. She's even been criticized by Harry Pottercast members for her comments. Not only is the 13Doctor the first to be played by a woman, but her iteration has become iconic and celebrated among theLGBTQ+ community.At the time the script was written in 2019, Chibnall knew full-well Rowling's troublesomeanti-trans views. The decision to still reference it, then, is contradictory and inconsistent, especially since the Chibnall-era clearly prioritizes themes of social justice in its storytelling.

The reference is also alarming in an episode that also features the venomous and slimy Jack Robertson, a Chibnall creation played by Chris Noth.Robertson is a thinly-veiled Donald Trump corollary, who himself is anotoriously reckless Tweeter with politically-incorrect views. With the Harry Potter reference coming in the same installment, then it furtherhighlights attention to just how harmful Rowling's views have been. It's sad that in 2021 a once-beloved storyteller like Rowling carries similar connotations to Trump, but 2020saw the possible end of the pure love and whimsy once carried for Harry Potter stories by children.

From that perspective, the Harry Potter reference did at least match the surprisingly elegiac tone of the Doctor Whoholiday special.It also far from ruined what was otherwise a strong, well-paced episodethat could be counted both among Chibnall's best scripts, as well as one of Whittaker's best performances in the role so far. Writing Doctor Who is always a balancing act between the past and the future, but by including a J.K. Rowling reference, Chibnall clearly forgot to considerthe present.

More: How The Doctor Who Holiday Special Sets Up Season 13

Cobra Kai Reveals Why The Police Never Get Involved

Will Kennedy is a professional pop culture nerd, freelance writer, and senior music writer with Eugene Weekly. He lives in Eugene, Oregon, with his wife, daughter, and two cats. All of whom politely accommodate his obsessions with Doctor Who and The Smiths.

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Doctor Who's Harry Potter Reference Really Didn't Work - Screen Rant

Two years ago Georgia Governor Brian Kemp ran a campaign commercial bragging of rounding up illegal immigrants, showing off his gun collection and declaring himself a "politically incorrect conservative".But according to President Donald Trump, Mr Kemp is a "disaster" and an "obstructionist" who should resign as governor.

Mr Trump and Mr Kemp are members of the same party.

Little more than a fortnight before Mr Trump leaves the White House, a deep fissure has developed in the Republican Party.

The fissure isn't over policy or style or partisan ideology. It's about the election result.

Since November, the simple act of admitting Joe Biden won the presidential election is apostasy to not only Mr Trump, but to his legions of supporters, who now account for the vast majority of Republican voters.

"I'll be here in about a year-and-a-half campaigning against your governor, I guarantee you," Mr Trump told voters at a rally in Georgia today.

Mr Kemp may have a reputation as one of the brashest, most conservative, even Trumpiest governors in America.

"I love the Great State of Georgia, but the people who run it, from the Governor, Brian Kemp, to the Secretary of State, are a complete disaster and don't have a clue, or worse," Mr Trump tweeted earlier.

"Nobody can be this stupid."

And tomorrow every Republican in Congress has to make an unpleasant choice deny reality or incur Mr Trump's wrath.

What happens on January 6?

Congress's election certification process is typically a ceremonial procedure. The representatives and senators meet to verify the results of the presidential election with what is usually a straight up-or-down vote.

But if a representative and a senator object to a state's results, then both chambers of Congress meet separately for a two-hour debate. If both the House of Representatives and the Senate decide not to certify a state, its votes are not counted.

Vice President Mike Pence is tasked with presiding over the procedure, but has no power to change the outcome.

But speaking at a rally in Georgia today, Mr Trump appeared to think otherwise.

"I hope Mike Pence comes through for us," he said.

"If he doesn't come through, I won't like him quite as much," he said, tongue-in-cheek.

Trump supporters don't have the votes to overturn the election via Congress. But they do have the votes to delay certification for up to 100 hours, and in the process, make their colleagues look bad.

And that's exactly what Josh Hawley is planning on doing.

Over the weekend Missouri Senator Josh Hawley announced he would challenge the results of the presidential election.

The move drew the ire of his colleagues, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who challenged him in a conference call soon afterwards.

The objection appears to be an effort to raise his profile in the party ahead of a long-rumoured presidential run in 2024.

But the editorial board of his state's largest newspaper, the St Louis Post-Dispatch, was not impressed.

"Hawley plans a manoeuvre on the Senate floor Wednesday to stomp on democracy and throw millions of American votes into the waste bin just to satisfy his selfish political ambitions," a scathing editorial published today read.

"He's the walking definition of a phony."

Who is opposing Biden's election win?

Since Mr Hawley announced his objection, 11 other senators have jumped on board, all conservative Republicans.

One of those Republicans is Senator Kelly Loeffler, who is in a neck-and-neck contest in a run-off election to be held in Georgia tomorrow.

Her predicament is an unenviable one. Her decision would seek to overturn the choice of voters in her own state while she simultaneously tries to get them to support her.

But if she didn't push to overturn the results, she would anger her voter base, which consists almost entirely of Trump supporters.

When Republican senators Pat Toomey, Mitt Romney and Lisa Murkowski all said they wouldn't object to Mr Biden's victory, Mr Trump called for them to be replaced.

He also took a swing more broadly at others unwilling to overturn the election results.

"The 'Surrender Caucus' within the Republican Party will go down in infamy as weak and ineffective 'guardians' of our Nation, who were willing to accept the certification of fraudulent presidential numbers!" Mr Trump tweeted.

Unless a substantial number of Democrats in the House of Representatives decide to vote to overturn the election results, Mr Biden will be sworn in as president on January 20.

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Trump forces a fissure in the Republican Party over election defeat - 9News

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Ralph Macchio as Daniel Larusso in Cobra Kai. (Courtesy of Netflix)

Some of our favorite movie characters from the 1980s and early 1990s have resurfaced in the 21st century, from the return of Matthew Brodericks Ferris Bueller in an ad for Honda to Bruce Willis reprising John McClane from Die Hard for Advance Auto Parts to Bill Murray repeating his Phil Connors from Groundhog Day in a commercial for Jeep to Annie Potts Janine Melnitz from Ghostbusters appearing in ads for QuickBooks to Chevy Chase and Beverly DAngelo returning as the Griswolds from National Lampoons Christmas Vacation in a spot for the Ford Mustang Mach-E.

QuickBooks also featured Martin Koves notoriously hiss-worthy villain John Kreese from The Karate Kid as a kinder, gentler version of himself who is now operating the Koala Kai dojo, but we know thats not what REALLY happened to Kreese. Whereas all those previous examples were one- or two-minute updates on beloved characters from three decades ago, weve been gifted with three full seasons featuring the modern-day adventures of the surviving main players from the Karate Kid saga in the wildly entertaining, outrageously corny and ridiculously addictive Cobra Kai streaming series, which played on YouTube Red for two seasons before Netflix acquired the show, with Season 3 debuting Jan. 1 and a fourth season already in the works.

Ralph Macchio as Daniel Larusso and William Zabka as Johnny Lawrence in a scene from Cobra Kai. (Tina Rowden/Netflix)

Who knew we were so thirsty to catch up with Ralph Macchios Daniel LaRusso, William Zabkas Johnny Lawrence and yes, Koves John Kreese 35 years after Kreese told Lawrence to sweep the leg? (Sadly, the wonderful Pat Morita, who earned a best supporting actor Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Mr. Miyagi in the original film, has been gone since 2005, although Mr. Miyagi looms large as the guiding influence of Daniels life in the streaming series.) Ive binged the entire Season 3, and while the initial big kick of seeing the return of these characters has lessened and the soap-opera plot developments are becoming increasingly ludicrous, its still great escapist fun.

Ralph Macchio as Daniel Larusso in Cobra Kai. (Courtesy of Netflix)

In the Cobra Kai universe, Daniel and Johnny and Kreese hadnt crossed paths in 35 years until they started crossing paths practically every other day. Daniel is living the country club life he once envied from the outside looking in, with a lucrative car dealership chain in the San Fernando Valley, a loving family and a beautiful home. Meanwhile, Johnny Lawrence is a divorced deadbeat dad who is estranged from his teenage son, pounds beers 24/7, lives in a shoebox apartment and still has anger management issues. As for Kreese, he literally emerged from the shadows at the end of Season 1, eventually took control over the Cobra Kai dojo and is even more of a violent sociopath than he was during the Reagan administration. (Ah, but as we learn in Season 3, the bully wasnt always a bully. He was a teenage victim of bullying himself. And then came his Vietnam experience.)

William Zabka as Johnny Lawrence and Xolo Mariduea as Miguel Diaz in a scene from Cobra Kai. (Courtesy of Netflix)

One of the great things about Cobra Kai is how it shows us events past and present from the points of view of Johnny and Kreese, as we learn more about the backstories of these initially one-dimensional characters. As Daniel and Johnny renew their petty rivalry, with Daniels daughter, Sam (Mary Mouser), and Johnnys son, Robby (Tanner Buchanan), getting caught up in the crossfire, its often Daniel who comes across as the self-righteous bully, while we begin to understand and empathize with Johnny and even Kreese (to a certain extent).

Martin Kove as John Kreese in Cobra Kai. (Courtesy of Netflix)

The callbacks to the original films are frequent and fantastic, with a number of cast members reprising their roles. (Ill say no more other than to note Season 3 includes Daniel returning to Mr. Miyagis homeland of Okinawa.) As was the case with the first two seasons, there are LOTS of karate fights once again, often staged as if the combatants have spent more time in dance classes than dojos.

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The young actors do a fine job in their vanilla West Side Story universe, but its the adults who pack the biggest punches in Cobra Kai. Courtney Henggeler is terrific as Daniels wife, Amanda, who is often the only real grown-up in the room. Martin Kove clearly relishes reprising the Kreese character, who has been through hell and is about 100 years old now, but still looks like he could kick your ass. Macchio retains his youthful vigor and plays Daniel as a good guy who sometimes is a little too pleased with his good guy self. And then theres William Zabka, who has transformed Johnny from a one-kick pony into a funny, politically incorrect, self-destructive, deeply flawed but redeemable man.

Finally, we have a Johnny Lawrence worth rooting for.

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35 years later in Cobra Kai: Johnnys complex now, and aint that a kick in the head - Albuquerque Journal