A few years ago, director Robert Rodriguez was popping pills like a freak. No, he wasn't addicted to drugs; he was just trying to raise enough money to produce his first movie, "El Mariachi," by being a guinea pig for a cholesterol-reducing drug experiment.

Rodriguez then went on to make movies about people shooting each other. This film is a sequel to "El Mariachi," suggesting that Rodriguez's low budget in that film didn't afford him the resources to shoot enough people. So Hollywood gave him cash and Antonio Banderas and said, "Go ahead, Robert, shoot all the people you want."

Inspired by the likes of John Woo and Quentin Tarantino, Rodgriguez made his movie about a lone desperado hunting down the men who shot a hole through his hand and killed his woman. Rodriguez pays a nice homage to Quentin Tarantino by allowing him to act in this movie and then shooting him in the face.

My point, however, is that now we have a connection between low cholesterol and a desire to shoot people full of holes. Perhaps this explains why the NRA and its militia buddies have been trying to corner the oat bran market of late. Perhaps Rodriguez, in his bullet-flying, blood-spurting glee, has inadvertently done us a public service.