Showing posts with label Big Hollywood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Big Hollywood. Show all posts

Thursday, September 17, 2015

How Hollywood's war movies have changed

An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/ about movies. This follows this post about anti-Americanism. This follows this post about Syria and western weakness. For a free magazine subscription or to get the books recommended for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886- 8632.
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How Hollywood's war movies have changed

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Those of you who have been moviegoers for many years may have noticed a basic shift in the emphasis of war films in recent decades. Consider the 1992 movie A Few Good Men.
The villain was a high-ranking army officer (played by Jack Nicholson) stationed at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, so often in the news lately. The movie was basically about how army lawyers uncovered the big mistake that he had sought to cover up. His deeds were exposed in a military court and his closing remarks on the stand were not unlike the disgraced Captain Queeg's in the 1954 film The Caine Mutiny.
Other more recently released titles are The Jacket (2005), Courage Under Fire (1996) and Three Kings (1999). All portray the American military negatively. They feature such themes as U.S. troops committing atrocities during the first Gulf War, a friendly-fire tragedy, mistreatment of a female officer, the corruption of the American military establishment and the betrayal of allied nations.
Revolution (1985), about the American war for independence, apparently showed national hero George Washington in a negative light. Even Dances With Wolves (1990) compared the American military unfavorably with Sioux warriors. Notwithstanding Saving Private Ryan (1998), the general run of war films in recent decades has been mostly unpatriotic and derogatory toward the U.S. military.
Media author and commentator Michael Medved summed up this sad situation in a fairly recent speech. He said: “The truth of the matter is that war movies have changed in a fundamental way, and I would submit to you, a dangerous way for the health of our culture and for the strength of the [American] dream.”
Mr. Medved further asked: “Why has Hollywood decided seemingly illogically to make movies in the United States that depict the American military as unrepresentative and twisted, America as a malignant force in the world and all wars as fruitless?”
Those who remember viewing war movies with patriotic themes during World War II can easily see the sharp contrast between the way the U.S. military was depicted then and now. Our popular culture is in serious need of redemption. (Source: Imprimis .)

Thursday, December 4, 2014

The Elephant in the Room in Ferguson's Troubles

An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/ about confrontations with authorities. This follows this post about differences between the Koran and the Bible. For a free magazine subscription or to get the books recommended for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886- 8632.
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The Elephant in the Room in Ferguson's Troubles



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As I watched and read the news, it struck me that a lot of our national arguments are based on two little words: "my rights." Various articles were titled like this: "How to Flex Your Rights During a Police Encounter," "Your Civil Rights," "Gay Rights," "Abortion Rights," "Right to Life," and even "What You Need to Know About Your Rights at the Airport." And here's one that I thought was somewhat humorous: "You're Smoking Pot and My Rights."
All of this came to mind as I was watching the news of the Ferguson rioting. While people were demanding their rights, some even burning down buildings and looting, the leaders held their meetings. The leaders gathered together to try and come up with solutions. One solution that came out of the meetings was to spend more money by ordering body cameras for the police. Will this solve the problem? Unfortunately the answer is ultimately no. When we try to solve big problems like this through human efforts, we're totally ignoring the “elephant in the room!” The leaders of Ferguson, Missouri, are simply ignoring what started this whole mess in Ferguson.
So what is the "elephant in the room" that the leaders of Ferguson, the United States, and the world refuse to look at? The heart! The heart is sick and must be changed. No matter how many body cams we buy, no matter how much training is offered to police forces, it will not solve the problem. No matter how much protesting people do for their rights, as long as we ignore the elephant in the room, the condition of our hearts, humanity's problems will never be solved!
So how do you heal or fix the heart? It's through repentance and placing God's laws in our hearts. These laws are found in Exodus 20. Instead of trusting in human efforts like body cams, why not teach people the basic principles that God laid out in the Ten Commandments? These Ten Commandments are laws that God placed in motion that are designed to show us how to love one another. Can you imagine how different our world would be if the law of the land was governed by the Ten Commandments? There would be no need for body cameras for police, no need for rioting and no need for demanding our rights!
The Bible tells us that this is Satan's world (2 Corinthians:4:4). In this current age, things will only progressively get worse and worse as people throw out God's laws that would make them happy. Instead, they prefer to demand their rights while ignoring the rights of others.
Jesus Christ admonishes us: "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another" (John:13:34-35, New International Version). One defition of love is in the keeping of the Ten Commandments (1 John:5:3). The apostle Paul wrote about how powerful that love is: "Love beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things" (1 Corinthians:13:7, King James Version).
The real elephant in the room that is being ignored is mankind's efforts to fix their problems without first fixing their hearts. The heart can only be fixed through repentance; turning our hearts to God, and abiding by His Ten Commandments. When this is done, there will be no more demanding "my rights!" We will ask, "How can I serve and help you?" That beautiful world is coming, so don't lose hope as you see these horrible things unfold before your eyes. Things will get better!

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, NPR and PBS Ignore Gosnell’s Abortion Horrors

An interesting story from www.lifenews.com  about the abortionist Kermit Gosnell. This follows this post about the SPLC and homosexuality.  For more that you can do to get involved click HERE and you can also get two very interesting books HERE.

ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, NPR and PBS Ignore Gosnell’s Abortion Horrors


The liberal media know an abortion outrage when they hear it. Sadly, they only seem to hear them from the mouths of Republican candidates, and it only takes a statement to outrage the press. Can’t they find a single abortion outrage inside an abortion clinic? Such is their radicalism that nothing, absolutely nothing regarding this gruesome procedure raises their eyebrows, never mind their ire.



One emerging story proves the degree to which our “objective” media’s views on abortion are dogmatic and extreme. Abortionist Kermit Gosnell is on trial in Philadelphia, and not just for killing babies outside the womb, but also for killing a mother through reckless use of anesthesia. Network TV coverage of the trial? http://www.lifenews.com/2013/03/27/abc-cbs-nbc-msnbc-npr-and-pbs-ignore-gosnells-abortion-horrors 



Friday, March 22, 2013

Tina Fey Resurrects Palin Impression to Slam Gov. on 'Inside the Actor's Studio'

A very interesting book from www.breitbart.com/Big-Hollywood about Tina Fey mocking Sarah Palin. This follows this post about current music that is topping the charts.  In the meantime, you can read two very interesting books HERE.

Tina Fey Resurrects Palin Impression to Slam Gov. on 'Inside the Actor's Studio'


 by Christian Toto
Tina Fey often sounds sore whenever the subject of her famous Sarah Palin impression comes up.

The shtick gave her nation-wide fame and earned her a warm spot in virtually every liberal celebrity's heart, but to hear her tell it she'd rather leave those Palin-esque glasses behind permanently.



Apparently, Fey had a change of heart, and just in time for her appearance on Bravo's Inside the Actor's Studio.



Fey resurrected her Palin impression long enough to rip the ex-governor about same sex marriage and generally pretend Palin is as dumb as the left would have us believe. Anyone who caught Palin's rip-roarin' CPAC speech a few days ago, or any of her fiery public appearances knows otherwise, but Fey understands the liberal narrative regarding the Tea Party favorite, and she's sticking to it.



Here's Fey channeling Palin on gun laws ...



"I believe that if everybody had guns there'd be fewer guns in the stores."



... and same-sex marriage:



"The Bible says it's gross ... marriage is meant for people who wear different kinds of sweatsuits."



Thursday, March 1, 2012

In Memoriam: Andrew Breitbart (1969-2012)

A very interesting post from http://biggovernment.com/ about the passing of a great journalist frequently referecned on this sight at posts here and here. You can get his book here and visit his website here.

In Memoriam: Andrew Breitbart (1969-2012)

by Larry Solov


With a terrible feeling of pain and loss we announce the passing of Andrew Breitbart.

Andrew passed away unexpectedly from natural causes shortly after midnight this morning in Los Angeles.




We have lost a husband, a father, a son, a brother, a dear friend, a patriot and a happy warrior.



Andrew lived boldly, so that we more timid souls would dare to live freely and fully, and fight for the fragile liberty he showed us how to love.



Andrew recently wrote a new conclusion to his book, Righteous Indignation:



I love my job. I love fighting for what I believe in. I love having fun while doing it. I love reporting stories that the Complex refuses to report. I love fighting back, I love finding allies, and—famously—I enjoy making enemies.



Three years ago, I was mostly a behind-the-scenes guy who linked to stuff on a very popular website. I always wondered what it would be like to enter the public realm to fight for what I believe in. I’ve lost friends, perhaps dozens. But I’ve gained hundreds, thousands—who knows?—of allies. At the end of the day, I can look at myself in the mirror, and I sleep very well at night.



Andrew is at rest, yet the happy warrior lives on, in each of us.



***



Media inquiries: jpollak@breitbart.com

Friday, December 23, 2011

Top Five Christmas Films for Non-Christians

Here is an interesting article from http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/ about some movies that the whole family can enjoy this year if you have a multi-faith family. This follows this post about some of the music that was poplular during 2011. This follows this post about the case for stores such as Blockbuster. This follows THIS POST about some movies that have been released over the past few years that you might have missed! This all  follows this post about guidelines to chosing good movies to watch yourself!

Top Five Christmas Films for Non-Christians
by Dave Taylor


I love old movies, but even the first time I saw It’s A Wonderful Life I gagged on the sappy, daft storyline and banal message. Yes, the world’s a better place because you’re in it, dear reader, but really? This has become the go-to film for Christmas? Can I stop yawning now?



To be fair, I’m not Christian nor was I raised in a Christian household. I enjoy singing Christmas carols and appreciate the cheer and goodwill of the season, even if I watch askance at the capitalist excess and fist fights at Black Friday sales. A holiday about a so-called Prince of Peace subverted by a battle to get the best, the coolest, the “stuff” that says “yes, I’m a loving parent”?



That’s the backstory. When Big Hollywood asked me about my favorite Christmas films I balked, predictably, and said “not so much.” Instead, my list of five films that even us non-Christian, non-Christmas celebrating movie fans can enjoy…



The Hebrew Hammer (2003)







What, you want serious? Oy! Here’s the story: Mordechai Jefferson Carver (Adam Goldberg) is The Hebrew Hammer, an orthodox Jew who is on a mission to save Hanukkah from Santa Claus’s evil son Damien (Andy Dick), who has killed his dad after Santa got overly liberal. Now Damien is on a campaign to get rid of the Jewish holiday altogether. That’s okay; the Hebrew Hammer joins forces with the Jewish Justice League and the Kwanzaa Liberation Front to kill Damien and save Hanukkah. Hurray!

Jack Frost (1997)







A killer snowman terrorizes a small town during Christmas. Turns out he’s a reincarnated serial killer! Hair dryers, use your hair dryers! I mean, really, how can you not like a holiday B-movie with the tagline “He’s Chillin… and Killin!”



The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)







A fascinating and innovative stop-motion animated film produced by Tim Burton, the movie tells the tale of Jack Skellington (voice of Chris Sarandon), the pumpkin king of Halloween Town, who stumbles into Christmas Town and is startled by the idea of a positive, happy holiday. He tries to get the residents of Halloween Town to put on a Christmas celebration, but they can’t quite seem to get it right…



Trading Places (1983)







See that homeless guy? Yeah, let’s bet money that the rich guy can’t swap places with him and survive. The rich guy is Louis Winthorpe III (Dan Aykroyd) and the wiseass homeless guy is Billy Ray Valentine (Eddie Murphy, in one of his best roles), and they’ve become the victims of a cruel holiday season bet by a pair of callous millionaires. While there are a lot of laughs in this irreverent film, there’s also a thoughtful undertone about how we are products of our environment, particularly when Billy Ray first walks through his palatial new digs.



Holiday Inn (1942)







Bing Crosby. Fred Astaire. Virginia Dale. How can you go wrong, especially when you throw in music by Irving Berlin, including the mainstay “White Christmas” and the, well, rather dated musical number “Abraham”? The storyline: Jim (Crosby) and Ted (Astaire) are vaudeville performers who work at an inn that only opens on holidays and vie for the affection of beautiful Virginia (Dixon). Fun, fluffy, inoffensive, and way better than It’s a Wonderful Life. Trust me on this.



And a few to avoid…



Other than the obvious cloying Christmas movies, here are a few that I’ll just mention in passing as films I’ll switch off — or flip to the Home Shopping Network for relief — rather than watch: Christmas with the Kranks, Elf, Fred Claus, Miracle on 34th Street, The Polar Express and Silent Night Deadly Night.



Bah, humbug. Where’s my DVD collection when I need it?

Friday, December 16, 2011

Netflix vs. Blockbuster: An Argument for Brick and Mortar Rentals in the 21st Century

Here is an interesting article from http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/ about the case for stores such as Blockbuster. This follows this post about ABC's new shows such as Last Man Standing and Man Up. This follows THIS POST about some movies that have been released over the past few years that you might have missed! This all  follows this post about guidelines to chosing good movies to watch yourself!

Netflix vs. Blockbuster: An Argument for Brick and Mortar Rentals in the 21st Century

by Zachary Leeman


I push the squeaky metal glass door open to the store known as Blockbuster. I’m here to return one B-movie for another one to feed my copious addiction to way-too-cool-for-its-own-good genre fiction.



I drop the movie off and get a half-assed “hello” from one of the cashiers. I take one look around and the place is dead. I can’t even remember what I came here for. I start browsing. All I can hear is the static of the old TVs playing what is probably “Schindler’s List,” but the poor quality of the sets make it look like an Ed Wood movie and the cashiers talking about what level they are in “Skyrim.” I grab my movie and head to the counter.







The college-age, bearded cashier scans my movie without much thought. Clearly, he probably wants to be somewhere else … and maybe I do, too. He’s nice enough, and I even hear the other cashier explain the plot of the movie “Super 8″ to a customer over the phone which is impressive in this day and age of the too-ironic-to-be-good-at my-minimum-wage-job attitude. I leave the store to hop in my gas-guzzling truck to head home to the cool tune of about $10 in gas ( I live two miles away – an over exaggeration, but not by much, sadly).



If I still had Netflix, my movie viewing night would have gone a little something like this: I pop open my laptop, pick the genre I want and start watching whatever I want and, if I get bored, I just stop the movie and start a new one. Hmm. Easy as pie. And we know how we all love pie! Because we are American! Hoo-ah (except meat pie — is that even real!?).



Considering you probably watch your movies through Netflix and your movie watching life is just as easy, if not more easy than what I just wrote, you’re probably laughing at my one of many Blockbuster experiences and wondering why the hell I don’t just wake up … oh, but I have. It’s time to wake you up, sirs and ma’ams.





In 2009, there was this mostly forgotten Bruce Willis starring sci-fi flick entitled “Surrogates” – forgotten by most, except me. The film was about a world where people live vicariously through robot surrogates that make them stronger, faster, etc., all done from the comfort of their own home. Meanwhile, there is a small fraction of society that prefers the real deal to what the surrogates provide (these people can be seen as an obvious reference to the Tea Party). And Bruce Willis is the guy caught in between everything. I had Netflix when the movie came out. Then I deleted it. Why would I do such a thing?



The movie reminded me of something. Film lovers will agree when I say that films provide more than just a passionate look into another world for us and a reflection of our own. Films go hand in hand with experiences that enrich us as people, storytellers, etc. Where would movies be if storytellers simply sat at home watching everything on a computer, never bothering to experience what the world and the movie viewing world has to offer, good or bad? Movies would suck. Well, movies already do suck, but there are some good ones, I declare! And we wouldn’t have those gems without the experiences of the artists behind it.



On one occasion, I was searching for “The Boondock Saints: All Saints Day” so I could introduce the right-wing vigilante brothers to a couple buddies of mine. While searching, I ran into a man gazing at the first film. He had the famous line “In nomine patris” tattooed on his right arm. When he saw me reach for the sequel to the beloved cult classic, we struck up an interesting conversation. He asked how I knew about the films. We must’ve talked for at least fifteen minutes. We talked about the journey of the film’s director, Troy Duffy, and what our thoughts were on vigilantes in general and what our favorite films and books were that dealt with the subject.



When I go to rent a movie, I have something to come home and write about — not just the movie but the whole experience. I run the risk of picking something bad, I run the risk of spending too much money, but so what? I also run the risk of meeting new people, encountering obstacles I may hate. I’m experiencing something intimate between me, these four walls and whatever B-grade schlock I choose to indulge on.



Why do you think filmmakers like Robert Rodriquez and Quentin Tarantino and movie critic Stephen Hunter all preferred the grindhouse theaters to the more convenient upper class theaters? Because the whole experience gave in to their wild movie watching imaginations. There is no imagination involved in sitting at a computer browsing randomly through film after film. The grindhouse feature houses were to regular movie theaters what Blockbuster is to Netflix, in a way. They provide a hand in hand experience for us.



There’s always been this fight of trying to eliminate consequences from everyday life, mistakes, but what if those are what define us as human beings? Those consequences and those mistakes are certainly what is the backdrop to most of our beloved films. So stick with your Netflix and your laptop. It’s fine. Me? Call me a dinosaur, call me a Nazi, but I think I’m going to stick to the zit-faced bearded kid behind the counter and the bad TVs and the candy and sodas and the old couple browsing through the horror section stupefied because they think this is supposed to be the comedy section. I’ll stick with all that because that’s my grindhouse. That’s my experience.





Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Dancing With the Haters: ‘DWTS’ Slam on Tea Party ALSO: GLEE SLAMS HERMAN CAIN!!!!

Here is an interesting article from http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/ about the television shows Dancing With the Stars and Glee. This follows this post  reviewing some of the movies that came out over the past weekend and  THIS POST about some movies that have been released over the past few years that you might have missed! This all  follows this post about guidelines to chosing good movies to watch yourself!

Dancing With the Haters: ‘DWTS’ Slam on Tea Party
by Warner Todd Huston


Even Dancing is not safe from left-wing attacks on Tea Partiers, sadly. Last night on the venerable dance show, fashion makeover maven Carson Kressley thought it would be a hoot to make fun of over half the voters in America with an attack on how he thinks Tea Party activists smell.







On last night’s Dancing With The Stars, funny guy Kressley hit the screen wearing a gorilla mask. Taking it off he snarked, “It still smells like a Tea Party.”



So, what are we to make of this nonsense? Is Kressley saying that Tea Party activists smell like gorillas?



Are we supposed to be laughing at that, now?



So, what do Democrats smell like? Maybe Europeans? How about reds?



I wonder what dance partner Anna Trebunskaya, who was born in Russia, thinks about that? I wonder how ABC will take attacking so much of its audience?





Whatever Anna or ABC thinks of it the bigger questions is, what do you Tea Partiers think?



Maybe you can ask ABC yourself?



Last Night on ‘Glee’: Gay Adoption and … Herman Cain?
by Jenny Erikson


The following article contains spoilers. You’ve been warned.





Hi everyone! I’m back for Week 2 of Glee, the show we all (or at least some of us) love to hate. In case you missed it, I’ll be your guide to Glee this season, breaking down the inevitable liberal indoctrination that occurs with each new episode.







As we learned last week, (gay guy) Kurt is running for student body president. (Sexually confused and dumb as wet paint) Brittany offers to be his campaign manager with a very pink and sparkly strategy, in which she likens him to a unicorn that poops cotton candy.



Excuse me, but isn’t that a conservative thing? Only our unicorns poop skittles. I’m sure they’re totally separate species. Also, we don’t liken people to mythical, candy-pooping creatures … we only liken things like free health care to them. Neither one actually exists, you know.



The heart of this episode doesn’t belong to unicorns, candy, or homosexuals – it belongs to baby mama drama. Shelby is back to cause a raucous. Shelby was the coach of Vocal Adrenaline, the arch nemesis of New Directions (thee glee club that the show revolves around).



Shelby is the adoptive mother of Beth, the biological daughter of Quinn and Puck. If you’ll remember from last week, Quinn is the chick with the new punk attitude, and Puck is the guy that everyone has done it with. To complicate matters, Shelby is also the biological mother of Rachel, the Barbara Streisand wannabe of Glee Club.





Shelby’s reason for returning is two-fold: First, she wants her daughter Beth to know her biological parents, and second, she wants to reconnect with Rachel. Because really, aren’t we all one big happy family that should get along, and isn’t every kid better off for having a ‘diverse’ upbringing?



Actually, kids are better off being raised in a two-parent household. Statistically speaking, at least. Of course there will always be variants, and no, a woman should not stay married to a man that abuses her and/or their children, and yes, I believe gay couples should be allowed to adopt.



There’s no way around the fact that a child has the best shot at succeeding at life if an intact couple raises him or her. There is nothing wrong with acknowledging that fact, while still paying homage to the multitude of amazing non-traditional parents out there that are making the absolute best of their situations.


Sorry, I get a bee in my bonnet when Hollywood tries to say that children are better served by multiple partial parents than by a stable couple. Before anyone hates on me about the gay thing, I’d like to link this post I wrote last year addressing that very issue. It seems that kids that come from households of two intact parents fare better than other kids, no matter the gender of the parents.



I keep an open mind and await further studies.



Back to Glee. Not much else of interest went on, unless of course you include Candidate Sue Sylvester briefly mentioning that her main opponent in the congressional race is a pizza magnate. Herman Cain, anyone? Godfather’s Pizza? The connection is fuzzy, but it could come into play in future episodes…

Monday, July 12, 2010

Coal Industry Mocks Ashley Judd’s Crusade to Destroy a Way of Life

An interesting post from http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/ This follows this post about the drilling ban. This follows this post about a creative solution to Gulf drilling and this previous article about the recent news about the ban on offshore drilling to encourage American energy independence This is a key issue to prevent money from going to hostile countries such as Iran and Venezuela. For more posts like this click here.



Coal Industry Mocks Ashley Judd’s Crusade to Destroy a Way of Life
by John Nolte
Ashley Judd’s been running around on a crusade to strengthen the power our oil rich-enemies hold over us and to put coal miners out of work. She calls it “opposing mountaintop removal mining,” but those of us who live in the real world understand the human consequences of her thoughtless narcissism. Speaking for all “hillbillies,” the actress went so far as to single out for criticism golf courses that have been built atop former mining sites, stating “I don’t know a lot of hillbillies who golf.”
Well, the “hillbillies” have struck back. The poster below was on display at a recent coal industry-sponsored golf tournament in Kentucky:
If you want to understand why Hollywoodists are so enamored with dictators, look no further than this. Ashley Judd and Oliver Stone and Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn despise being questioned, mocked and challenged by the hoi polloi, which is why you’ll never hear them criticize a Hugo Chavez for putting the “opposition media” out of business.
Judd’s crusade against the “rape of Appalachia” epitomizes thoughtless and cruel activism. If you remember, when she was asked how she planned to replace the working class jobs her activism against “environmental genocide” would eliminate, she freaked out and accused the interviewer of playing a trick on her.
I own a home in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina less than a mile off the famous and stunningly beautiful Appalachian Trail. From my front porch I can also see a golf course. No one loves and wants to preserve the natural beauty of that region more than the people who live there. Coal mining is not just a source of jobs, it’s a way of life, and these good, common sense folks have been remarkably effective at balancing the environment they love with the jobs they need. And they also understand that a golf course qualifies every bit as much as — oh, say – Central Park as “natural beauty.”
“Country” doesn’t mean “dumb.” If Ashley Judd needs validation she should stop searching for it at the expense of bankrupting and upending the lives of countless working-class families and a noble way of life that goes back generations.

Friday, June 25, 2010

Oliver Stone Defends Hugo Chavez, Trashes America as ‘Empire’

A very interesting post from http://bighollywood.breitbart.com about Oliver Stone and Venezuela.This follows this post about the Senators' support of Israel. This follows this post about Genocide in South Africa and this article about the recent news about offshore drilling to encourage American energy independence This is a key issue to prevent money from going to hostile countries such as Iran and Venezuela. For more posts like this click here.




Oliver Stone Defends Hugo Chavez, Trashes America as ‘Empire’
by Big Hollywood
—–
I thought Obama put an end to all this ugly America’s empiring? Or is Oliver Stone the last remaining critic of this country yet to receive a Presidential bow?
Anyway, here’s a glimpse of Oliver Stone’s pal:
Venezuela has asked Interpol to arrest the owner of the only TV station still openly critical of leftist President Hugo Chavez, the government announced Friday. ….
Zuloaga was previously detained in March, when he was accused of criticizing the government during a public forum outside the country.
International human rights groups have criticized the legal action against Zuloaga and other Chavez critics, calling such actions an attempt to silence them.
And here’s a glimpse of how much affection Chavez’s own people hold for him:
Despite a PR and marketing blitz that had Oliver Stone on a whirlwind tour of Latin America, his latest documentary “South of the Border” has sunk like a rock at the Venezuelan box office.
Local observers in Venezuela have reported empty cinemas, indicating a stunning indifference to Stone’s pic, a documentary about South American leaders that devotes a hefty amount of screen time to the country’s President Hugo Chavez. In the 12 days after its June 4 debut, it grossed only $18,601 on 20 screens, according to Global Rentrak. Showings on mobile screens in rural areas (where Chavez has more popular support) have attracted crowds, but these screenings are free.
“South of the Border” opens in New York this weekend and is scheduled to set the box office on fire elsewhere around the Empire starting in July.

Monday, April 26, 2010

Everybody Draw Mohammed Day

A very interesting post from http://biggovernment.com/ about the censorship that South Park is receiving. This follows this article reviewing a book about an earlier Muslim terrorist event, and this article about the recent news about offshore drilling to encourage American energy independence that follows this previous post about it.. This is a key issue to prevent money from going to hostile countries such as Iran and Venezuela. For more posts like this click here.

Everybody Draw Mohammed Day
by Andrew Mellon
Molly Norris has declared May 20th “Everybody Draw Mohammed Day,” in defense of Matt Stone and Trey Parker. All freedom-loving Americans should get behind this. While initially I thought it was an ironic joke that South Park was censoring everything related to Mohammed in their last episode, obviously we have seen over the last few days that against the creators’ will, Comedy Central cowered in the face of a thinly veiled Muslim threat.
In fact, submission, the definition of Islam, is the apt word to describe Comedy Central’s cowardice.
The bottom line is that the First Amendment guarantees free speech including criticism of all peoples. We are an equal opportunity offense country. To censor ourselves to avoid upsetting a certain group (in a cartoon no less) is un-American.
It is especially egregious because it represents dhimmitude. We are sacrificing our law and our heritage to Sharia. The law of our land is the Constitution and beyond that the natural law granted to us by our divine creator.
Giving in to Islam at the cultural level is the first step towards going the way of Europe. Just as with leftism, the loss of our values begins not with the politicians but with the public. We must stop this madness now and stand in solidarity against those who wish to destroy our way of life and replace it with theirs. You can try to bully Matt Stone and Trey Parker but you cannot bully a million red-blooded, liberty-loving Matt Stones and Trey Parkers.
Let me end by evoking the words of a great many South Park characters: “If you don’t like America, then you can git out.”

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

‘The Simpsons’, Islamophobia and CAIR: The Price of Freedom

A very interesting article from Big Hollywood about mainstream culture's handling of the Islamic terrorist threat.

‘The Simpsons’, Islamophobia and CAIR: The Price of Freedom
by Mark Tapson
This past January, London’s Daily Star tabloid announced urgently that an upcoming episode – “the most controversial episode ever”! – of The Simpsons on the Sky1 network “pokes fun at Islam” and “is certain to enrage Muslim fanatics.” As anyone who morbidly follows this sort of thing (as I do) knows, enraging Muslim fanatics is hardly an accomplishment of Halley’s Comet-like rarity. It doesn’t take much: books, cartoons, teddy bears named Mohammad, posters of puppies, piggy banks, a Burger King ice cream swirl and the Nike logo (both of which apparently too closely resembled the Arabic script for “Allah”), are just a few of the recent Western offenses that have sparked their frothing outrage worldwide.
Yet despite the Daily Star’s perversely hopeful tone, there was no violent reaction in the UK from said fanatics, nor was there one in the United States after the episode originally aired here last Thanksgiving weekend (in a grimly ironic twist, the same weekend as the devastating mass murder and mayhem committed in Mumbai by a band of – wait for it – Muslim fanatics, or as the culturally sensitive media preferred to call them at the time, “gunmen”). So why no Muslim fury over The Simpsons?
In the episode “Mypods and Broomsticks,” Homer Simpson believes a local Muslim couple are terrorists planning to blow up the Springfield Mall. It turns out, unsurprisingly, to be a misunderstanding; no plot is being hatched after all. As a spokesman for London’s Sky1 reassuringly sums up, “At the end of the show, all the issues are resolved and Homer realizes the error of his ways.” In other words, Homer was wrong to suspect Muslims – despite seeing them unload dynamite in their garage, despite hearing them discuss blowing up buildings, despite finding the schematics of the targeted local mall on their computer, and despite the fact that, in the real world, Muslim fanatics do have an impressive track record of blowing up innocent civilians.
The moral of the toon: coming forward to protect your community from a possible terrorist attack by Muslims, even with an abundance of probable cause, marks you as a buffoonish bigot. So, contrary to the Daily Star’s claim, the episode did not poke fun at Islam, but at Homer. Simpsons creator Matt Groening explained to Sky1: “Cartoons deal in stereotypes. We try to be sensitive.” Well, sensitive to the murderous rage of Islamists, anyway, since the episode ridicules the stereotyping of Muslims as terrorists, while stereotyping Homer as an Islamophobic, paranoid, ignorant American.
Thus CAIR, the Council on American Islamic Relations, ever-ready with a quick denunciation of any criticism of Islam or any association of it with terrorism, instead whipped out a statement approving of the episode’s plotline and congratulating the show’s creators “for tackling the disturbing phenomenon of Islamophobia.” If I were CAIR, I’d be much more concerned about tackling the disturbing phenomenon of violent jihad committed by fanatics who have supposedly hijacked my religion (then again, CAIR is currently tackling revelations that it is a Muslim Brotherhood front group committed to replacing American democracy with Sharia and theocracy). What if Homer Simpson had been right, and the Muslim couple intended to murder and maim hundreds at the local mall? I guess CAIR would rather that he keep quiet and stifle his Islamophobia than act on reasonable suspicion, report the possible bombing to the authorities, and save countless lives.

Najibullah Zazi
Admittedly, those are cartoon characters in the service of comedy writers whose aim is to give the topic a light treatment; but they nonetheless reinforce the default PC position that only stupid bigots draw a connection between Islam and terrorism. In the real world, meanwhile, Osama bin Laden and his ilk are busy making that connection themselves, and political correctness won’t save you from them.
“Mark, this is all very fascinating,” I hear you say,“but doesn’t Obama’s election mean that America is now safer and more ‘well-liked’?” (A concept I previously bashed here) “Won’t our Islamist enemies respond more peacefully and diplomatically to his flaccid ‘open hand’ policy and his many cringe-worthy expressions of pro-Islam sycophancy?” First of all, no less an authority than bin Laden himself has made it clear that he considers Obama no different from his predecessor. Second, since Obama has taken office, over 40 American-born Muslims or converts have been arrested for plotting terrorist attacks here and abroad, including Najibullah Zazi, a Denver-based Muslim who apparently is connected to al Qaeda and at the center of what could have been a catastrophic terrorist plot; Hosam Maher Husein Smadi, for attempting to car-bomb a Dallas office tower; and Muslim convert Michael C. Finton, who planned to blow up a federal building in Springfield (Illinois, not the one in The Simpsons). Even as I write this, Tarek Mehanna and cohorts, apparently desirous “to participate in Islamist holy war,” were arrested in Massachusetts for plotting to attack a mall in the U.S. Are all Muslims terrorists? Of course not; indeed, the fundamentalists have no qualms about targeting Muslims who aren’t onboard with the notion of embracing Sharia and a worldwide Caliphate. But make no mistake, there are untold numbers of Islamists here in America, and many of them want to kill you.
What can you do about it? Join a great activist organization like Brigitte Gabriel’s ACT! for America, buy The Citizen Soldier Handbook: 101 Ways for Every American to Fight Terrorism by my friend Michael Mandaville and put his action items to work, or simply keep your eyes open and trust your instincts. The LAPD recently rolled out a community awareness program called iWATCH, a neighborhood watch service designed to nip terrorist plots in the bud by providing citizens with a hotline to report suspicious activity. Seems a little long in coming - nearly ten years after an alert customs officer arrested Ahmed Ressam at the Canadian border and foiled the “millennium LAX plot” in late December, 1999 - but better late than never. Skeptical, pseudonymous police officer “Jack Dunphy,” pointing out that iWATCH bluntly warns against ethnic profiling, believes the program will be hamstrung by political correctness. He may be right; time will tell. In any case, if only programs of this sort were promoted as frequently on television as Obama’s volunteerism propaganda (which includes nothing about combating Islamic terrorism), Americans would become more conscious of a local role they can play in the war-formerly-known-as-the-war-on-terror.
“The price of freedom,” said Thomas Jefferson, “is eternal vigilance.” Not willful blindness, not political correctness, not naive complacency, but vigilance. While the current administration has its hands full demonizing its critics, winning the praise of dictators worldwide, and embracing anti-American radicals and Sharia supporters, radical Islam continues to wage war against us on our own soil. It’s up to each one of us ordinary Americans, us Citizen Soldiers, to throw off the yoke of political correctness, disregard trumped-up accusations of Islamophobia or racism, and help law enforcement protect our communities and our country from the enemy among us.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Alec Baldwin’s Race Card Game

An interesting post from http://bighollywood.breitbart.com about racism being falsely thrown around in Hollywood.


Alec Baldwin’s Race Card Game
by James Hudnall
After enduring another self immolating Bill Maher monologue on “Real Time with Bill Maher,” Alec Baldwin was asked if Rush Limbaugh is a racist. To which Alec fell into that trap so many of his peers have in recent days:
“I think you need to always distinguish the rank and file of the Republican Party and conservatives and voters from their media representation and media stars and I believe that the people who are in the media and prominent in the media in the conservative community, speaking on behalf of the Republican Party, have a very clear racist stripe through their commentary, consistently. Not just Limbaugh but all of those people. But I don’t think that their rank and file Republicans are like that.”
Well, at least he didn’t accuse all Republicans. I guess he wanted them to keep some of them watching his show.
If there’s a sure fire way to look old and busted in today’s media world it’s to make the sweeping generalization that people who disagree with your politics are racist. It’s such a 20th Century argument. Calling someone a racist with no proof is hack. It’s like calling someone evil just because they don’t agree with you. Oh, wait–the race card hustlers do that too! They look for any evidence they can, no matter how vague or slight, to blow up into an incident. And if they can’t find one, well, they just make it up.
None of the quotes attributed to Limbaugh were proven and in fact, they were retracted by the people who made the accusation.
But Baldwin, ever late to the game, had to throw it out there again. Way to be current, Alec! Got any Spiro Agnew accusations while you’re at it?
But let’s not pick on poor Alec, he’s not alone in his dated and lame arguments, We can add such youthful and hip (replacement candidates) as Jimmy Carter, Charlie Rangel, Maureen Dowd, Charlie Gibson, Bill Maher, Janeane Garofalo and Maxine Waters to the race card tournament. Just to name a few.
They want us to believe that anyone who disagrees with President Obama is a racist because he’s black. Hmm…that’s odd. Only two years ago the lefties didn’t think he was. That’s the power of magical thinking. You can change people’s color or invent quotes from thin air just by wishing them to be.
But it still makes you look like fools for doing it.
Fortunately, the president wisely came out and said that the critics of his policies are mostly not attacking him because of his race. He’s correct.
But there is a racist component here. And it’s actually coming from race card holders. They’re attacking Obama’s critics because of their race. They’re assuming that they’re all white. This is wrong for two reasons.
1. Not all of them are white, so in their minds, any Black, Asian, Latinos in the mix must be “race traitors,” which is a racist term.
2. It’s racist to assume white people’s motivations are always racist when it comes to people of color. A common claim from race card hustlers.
If white people were so racist they never would have abolished slavery, in fact, it’s an insult to the many who fought and died to end slavery. Oh, and by the way, the Republican party was founded on an abolition platform. President Abe Lincoln was a Republican.
If whites were so racist, they wouldn’t have voted for civil rights. Oh, and by the way, civil rights laws wouldn’t have passed without the help of Republicans. Many Democrats voted against the bills.
Oh, and by the way, it was progressive President Woodrow Wilson who segregated our military in the early 20th Century. He was a Democrat. Don’t you hate it when that happens? So was President Johnson who enslaved a several generations to the welfare state, which among other things devastated the black family. Progressives, and their social engineering. It has fail written all over it.
Calling Republicans racist when their current leader is black is as lame as calling Limbaugh a racist based on fabricated quotes that were already retracted.
Racism used to be such a radioactive thing. But because the left has so overplayed their hand, and used the race card to the point of hilarity, they’ve almost rendered it inert. People used to be cowed by the racism charge. Now they’re fighting back. Soon they will laugh at it. They risk making it cool to be called racist, when it’s lame-os that like to throw the term around.
When the left loses one of its most potent weapons, it becomes a laughing stock. It becomes the target of backlash.
They are the establishment now. They can’t blame Republicans now. The Democrats are in charge. As such, they can no longer hide behind the skirts of the oppressed. They are the oppressors.
Let’s face it, white guilt is based on a lie. Yes, you heard that right.
No other Western nation would have voted for a black man before America did. America is the least racist nation on earth. Why else do people of every color want to flock here?
Those who keep bringing up slavery and other things from generations past conveniently ignore the fact that those conditions were everywhere. Not just America. In many instances, it was much worse than here. In fact, slavery still exists in many other nations. At least America worked hard to change and improve ourselves. We’re ahead of the world in that regard.
The next time some politician or celebrity throws out the race card, they’ve revealed their irrelevance. They are old and busted.
The new hotness is to make them regret ever using it.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

10 Reasons Why Pastors Avoid the Culture War

An interesting post from Big Hollywood about Christians in general and Pastors in particular.



10 Reasons Why Pastors Avoid the Culture War
by Doug Giles
As far as I’m concerned, a silent or waffling pastor in today’s paranormal climate is unnecessary. I don’t care how much the minister likes kitty cats, candy canes, and if he cries at Celine Dion concerts. Look, Voiceless Vicar, if you’re not currently in the middle of this crucial cultural squabble, pointing out what’s putrid and cheering on what’s proper, then you’re Dr. Evil in my book.
Given that the culture-dividing issues, thanks to Obama, are more obvious than Joan Rivers’ last lip implants, it is mind-boggling to me that many ministers are mute or side with parties, policies and principles that are antithetical to the Judeo-Christian worldview. I don’t know if you got this memo in seminary but pastors are not only supposed to salvage souls but also build the good society.
In some kind of ascending order, it seems to me there are 10 reasons why pastors and priests avoid political and intense cultural issues and thus aid and abet evil:

1. Fear of Man: If you purport to be a man of God then your regard for God and His opinion must trump the trepidation of the creature God created from spit and mud. Come on, man of God, don’t fear the crowd . . . we’re peons with cell phones who’ll shoot Botox into our foreheads. We’re weird and fickle weather vanes of what’s en vogue. You’ve got to lead us. Therefore, move into the Moses mode and command us to be and do what is holy, just and good. The grinning, mild, subtle Oprah approach doesn’t seem to be stemming the current flood of cultural filth.

2. Ignorance: Most people are not bold in areas in which they are ignorant . . . always excepting Janeane Garofalo, of course. I know keeping up with all the pressing political issues is maddening, but that’s life, brother, and if you want to be a voice in society and not just an echo, you have got to be in the know. Staying briefed is par for the course for the hardy world changer.
3. Division: Y’know, I hate the current non-essential divisions in the church as much as the next acerbic Christian columnist. Squabbling over the color of the carpet, who’ll play the organ next Sunday or who is the Beast of Revelation, is stupidity squared. That being said, there’s a time and place for a holy throw-down and an ecclesiastical split from political policies and parties. For a minister to seek unity with secularists when they are trashing and rewriting Scripture with impunity is to side with vice and to allow darkness to succeed.
4. Last Days Madness: Many ministers do not get involved in political issues because they believe that “it simply doesn’t matter” since “the end has come.” These defeatists believe that any change in the jet stream, war, earthquakes, a warming globe, the success of a corrupt politician—or even a new Shakira video—are “proof” that God is getting really, really ticked off and that His only recourse is to have Christ physically return and kick some major butt. Attempting to right culture is, in the defeatists’ eyes, equivalent to polishing brass on a sinking ship; therefore, they are content to simply pass out gospel tracts, tramp from Christian rock concert to Christian rock concert, eat fatty foods and stare at Christian TV.
5. Sloth: Classically defined, sloth is lethargy stemming from a sense of hopelessness. Viewing our nation and the world as an irreparable disaster, where our exhortations, prayers, votes and labors will not produce any temporal fruit, leaves one with all the fervor of a normal guy who’s forced to French kiss his sister. If you’re wondering why your flock is so apathetic, Pastor Eeyore, ask yourself if you have stolen the earthly hope that their valiant efforts can actually prevail in time and not just in eternity.
6. They don’t want to lose their tax-exempt status: Many pastors, priests and parishioners have been cowed into inactivity by the threatened loss of their tax-exempt status if they say anything remotely political. This can make pastors who don’t, or won’t, get good legal advice about as politically active as Howard Hughes was during the flu season.
7. They bathe in paltry pietism: Pastors avoid politics because such concerns are “unspiritual,” and their focus is on the “spirit world.” Yes, to such imbalanced ministers, political affairs are seen as “temporal and carnal,” and since they trade in the “eternal and spiritual,” such “worldly” issues get nada.
This bunch is primarily into heavenly emotions and personal Bible study, and they stay safely tucked away from society and its complicated issues. How sweet. They forget that they are commanded to be seriously engaged with our culture or fall into the worthless manure category Christ warned them of (Mt. 5.13). Snap.
8. They have bought into the Taliban comparison: Pastors have muffled their political/cultural voices because they fear being lumped in with Islam by the politically-correct thought police. The correlation made between Christians’ non-violent attempts at policy persuasion and the Taliban’s kill-you-in-your-sleep campaigns is nothing more than pure, uncut crapola.
9. They can’t say “no” to minutiae: Some ministers can’t get involved in studying or speaking out regarding pressing issues simply because of the ten tons of junk they are forced to field within their congregations. Spending time wet nursing 30-year-olds without a life and being bogged down in committee meetings over which shade of pink paint should be used for the women’s ministerial wing of their church, ministers are lucky if they get to study the Bible nowadays—much less anything else.
10. They like the money: The creepy thing about a lot of ministers is their unwillingness to give political or cultural offense when offense is needed, simply because taking a biblical stand on a political issue might cost them their mega-church, which means their seven homes, their Bentley and their private jet. Oh well, what do you expect? Christ had His Judas, and evangelicalism has its money loving hookers.
If the ministers within the good old US of A would crucify their fear of man, get solidly briefed regarding the chief political issues, not sweat necessary division, not get caught up in last days madness, maintain their hope for tomorrow, understand their liberties under God and our Constitution, not become so heavenly minded that they’re no earthly good, focus on the majors and blow off bowing to cash instead of convictions, then maybe . . . just maybe . . . we will see their righteous influence cause our nation to take the needed sharp turn away from the secularist progressives’ speedily approaching putrid pit.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Meet the Cry-Wolf Racists: Dowd, Garofalo, Carter

Below is an interesting article from www.bighollywood.com about "racist" being an overthrown-around word. It does get to the point where if someone is losing an argument, they will bring out this charge. For more on recent consequences of this read this about ACORN and Kanye West.



Meet the Cry-Wolf Racists: Dowd, Garofalo, Carter
by Alan Nathan
What do actor/comic Janeane Garofalo, New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd and former President Jimmy Carter all have in common? They commit racism in the name of fighting it, but still expect to be taken seriously. In short, their grasp of self-awareness has the finely tuned grip of a yak opening a jar of jelly.

Our health care debate has fortunately exposed much ugliness too long ignored. Like most political animals (elephants or donkeys), these three give a pass to their own for that which they never tolerate from others. They’re the kind of individuals rightly scorned by Shakespeare’s Antonio in The Merchant of Venice when he said, “Oh what a goodly outside falsehood hath,” Act I, Scene iii. More specifically, Garofalo, Dowd and Carter have morphed into the very beings most of us loathe – those who accuse others of the very evil they have done themselves. They are cry-wolf racists.
During her routine at the 9:30 Club in DC on August 21, Janeane Garofalo referred to health care opponents as simply exhibiting “emotion over being angry that there’s a black guy in office.” In true dissenter-phobic zeal (pardon the neologism), she called them “functionally retarded” and “racist.” She speculated that, “You know what they’re really saying is, ‘I want my white guy back.’”
Maureen Dowd offers similar guessing in her New York Times column on September 12:
Surrounded by middle-aged white guys — a sepia snapshot of the days when such pols ran Washington like their own men’s club — Joe Wilson yelled ‘You lie!’ at a president who didn’t. But, fair or not, what I heard was an unspoken word in the air: You lie, boy!
Finally, on September 15, President Carter theorizes on NBC Nightly News:
I think an overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity toward President Barack Obama is based on the fact that he is a black man, that he’s African-American.
Garofalo’s “what they’re really saying,” Dowd’s “unspoken word in the air” and Carter’s “I think…animosity… is based on the fact that he is a black man” share a common denominating theme – they’re supported by zero facts relevant to the specific people getting tarred as racist.
The moment they predicate assertions of racism on grounds that are devoid of any corresponding foundation, they become guilty of using race to marginalize otherwise innocent folks. Whenever you leverage skin color to intimidate opposing speech, BINGO, you’re actually implementing the very racism you claim to despise.
By their measure, no person of color should ever have to defend his or her politics. Are they genuinely unable to discern the difference between issues relevant to racial conflict versus conflict transpiring between those who are simply not of the same race? A Black guy and a White guy can disagree over the same things that might be the case for two Blacks, two Whites, two Hispanics, two Asians or two Semitics. But according to these abridged thinkers, if they’re not of the same race, it’s a racial conflict. This is inexcusably and embarrassingly unevolved.
In the interest of fair disclosure, I’m an aggressive centrist. For example, I concur with most conservatives in my support for the war in Iraq, the war against fanatical jihadists, smaller government, lower taxes, originalist judges and the genuine belief that health care reform should be more targeted and less all-encompassing. However, I’m also a social progressive who’s pro-choice, pro-gay rights, pro-gay marriage and pro-reparations for African-Americans. I’m additionally of the view that both conservatives and liberals have been responsible for our current health care challenges.
Republicans claim that health insurance out of the workplace would lower costs, but still take funds from HMO lobbyists who want the opposite. Democrats argue that health insurance devoid of waste would cut prices, but continue banking the bucks from trial lawyers opposing the very malpractice reform necessary to make it happen. Consequently, both parties ensure that their moneyed constituents trump their voting constituents.
There are plenty of grounds for legitimate debate. However, fringe folks like Garofalo, Dowd and Carter must learn that invectives without premise are masturbatory. Given their volume, not even a Sham Wow! could clean up their mess.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Honduras: A Truth Stranger Than Fiction?

To keep tabs on what is going on in Honduras see below and also http://brianleesblog.blogspot.com/2009/04/what-our-president-should-have-read.html


Honduras: A Truth Stranger Than Fiction?
by Chris Burgard
Imagine an America in the not too distant future:President Obama has entered into a special trade pact with Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua. Once the treaty is signed doctors and teachers from Cuba and Nicaragua offer their services to help the American “poor.” As soon as they enter the United States and become embedded in the countryside, they immediately begin organizing and indoctrinating the “poor” as to how oppressed they are and how they are entitled to the same lifestyle, privileges and properties that the “rich” enjoy.Honduran President Roberto Micheletti and Chris Burgard
The “rich” are now defined as anyone who has more than two bedrooms in their home. In this imaginary, future America, President Obama owns several mansions across the nation, yet he declares that it is the patriotic duty of every “rich” homeowner to turn their 3rd and 4th bedrooms over to the “poor.”
President Obama raises the minimum wage by 60% percent. The “poor” hail him as their champion. Unable to meet the federal minimum wage requirement, thousands of small businesses close. Overnight 7,740,000 Americans lose their jobs. The American economy slumps even further.
Taiwanese investors agree to build new hydro electric power plants to revitalize the failing American energy grid. However, they rescind their offer when President Obama begins to talk of nationalizing energy production. Other foreign investors take notice and foreign investment in America stalls.
Even though the country cannot afford it, President Obama starts to subsidize gasoline. He gives the” poor” free electricity. He then makes a deal with Hugo Chavez and the Iranians to give free tractors to the poor. In the most rural parts of America every public works project has a big sign on it: “This has been built for you by Barack Obama!”
The “poor” people love him for it.
President Obama also makes huge concessions to the labor unions. Teachers now get paid whether they are in the classroom or on strike. As a result instead of a 220 day school year, American public schools are now only open 70 days per year. Public school students are hit the hardest. They soon fall far behind the few American students who can still afford private school. However, with the teacher’s union in his debt, President Obama now has a ready demonstration force that can be mobilized for public rallies at a moment’s notice.About this time, President Obama loses trust in the Secret Service and military personnel assigned to protect him. House minority leader, John Boehner and others believe that the President has his own private security force made up of Nicaraguans and other foreign nationals.
With the end of his second term in sight, President Obama decides that he doesn’t want to leave office. He banks on his charisma and the devotion of his cult followers to allow him to follow in the footsteps of Hugo Chavez. President Obama declares that he will add a referendum to the ballots for the upcoming Presidential primaries. There will be a special box on the ballots that Americans can check in order to eliminate presidential term limits.
But Americans rise up against this attack on their Constitution. There is not a single printing company in the United States that will print the illegal ballots.
With the exception of only three legislators, the entire Congress votes against the President. Undeterred President Obama again turns to his friend, Hugo Chavez. Millions of illegal ballots are printed in Venezuela for use in the United States.President Obama orders Joint Chief of Staff, Admiral Mullen to distribute the illegal ballots to every polling place across the nation. When Admiral Mullen refuses, the president fires him.
The US Supreme Court orders Admiral Mullen reinstated and the illegal ballots confiscated.President Obama then takes his cause to the streets. Organizers, the unions and the “poor” rally to his side. The mob breaks into an air force base and seizes the illegal ballots by force.In this fictional, future United States, there are no articles of impeachment, but the law does apply to all citizens equally, even the President.
Article 239The citizen who has served as head of the Executive branch shall not serve again as President or Vice President of the Republic….He who violates this disposition or proposes its reform….shall immediately be removed from office.The Supreme Court orders President Obama arrested. On a Sunday morning at 6am, Admiral Mullen and the military carry out that arrest warrant.In this future, fictional United States, the office of Vice President is vacant.
Vice President Biden had recently resigned, so according to Constitutional succession the speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, is sworn in as President.World reaction is swift. Within hours, the Organization of American States, the European Union and the United Nations all stand against Nancy Pelosi’s administration. Putin, Calderon and Gordon Brown stand in solidarity with the Castro brothers, Daniel Ortega and Hugo Chavez, in demanding that Barack Obama be reinstated immediately.With the exception of Germany, Panama and Israel, the United States stands alone against the world.There is reported troop movement on the US Southern border. Hugo Chavez threatens to move in with Nicaraguan and Venezuelan troops in an effort to “restore democracy” and help Barack Obama avoid a civil war. Americans live in fear of foreign invasion.Foreign operatives and paid organizers spread cash and chaos wherever television cameras are likely to be found. They threaten American citizens.Americans are afraid to leave their houses.The pro-Obama factions immediately take to the streets. The rallies number in the hundreds and sometimes thousands. The demonstrators call each other “comrade.” Posters of Che Guevara are predominate among the protesters. Red bandannas and clothing are every where. Communist leaders from the 1980s direct graffiti artists to blanket the capitol streets in propaganda. The protesters burn diesel fuel and tires in the streets. They carry a blind old lady off of a bus and then torch the vehicle. They fire bomb a Popeye’s restaurant while there are still women and children inside. At one demonstration, they cut holes in an airport fence and charge government forces. A young man is killed.In response, pro-Constitution rallies soon pop up. The demonstrators wear red, white and blue clothes. They don’t litter. They don’t burn things. They don’t attack security forces, vandalize or burn businesses. The pro constitution rallies number in the tens of thousands. The biggest rally hits one hundred thousand. But the Main Stream Media focuses almost exclusively on the Obama rallies and the violence that they create. The outside world never knows the full extent of popular support that the US Constitution carries within its borders.Fortunately for us this is a purely fictional future United States. I do not believe that President Obama would ever do these things. Unfortunately for the people of Honduras, this is their reality. Ex President Manuel Zelaya did all of these things. The story you have just read is true. The President and the country were changed to put it into an American perspective.I spent two weeks in July and August covering the events in Honduras for Pajamas Media. I interviewed, spoke and traveled with campesinos living with no electricity and dirt floors, teachers, military officers and enlisted personnel, missionaries, business leaders, national police, the House Minority leader, the Chief Supreme Court Justice, the ex First Lady: Xiomara Castro, hard core ex president Manuel Zelaya supporters, community organizers, militant revolutionaries and the current Honduran president: Roberto Micheletti.I lost count of how many times I heard…”We never thought this could happen to us! We are a democracy.”Hondurans were shocked when their democratically elected leader, Manuel Zelaya, began shifting dramatically to the far left and began to adopt the policies of Hugo Chavez.After Manuel Zelaya was arrested and removed from office, Hondurans were stunned when President Obama called this a military coup. Within hours, President Obama stood in solidarity with Daniel Ortega, Hugo Chavez and the Castro brothers in demanding the return to power of Manuel Zelaya.Manuel Girbal, a retired Honduran Army officer wanted me to know that the Honduran military swears an oath to the Constitution, not the President. In his eyes, by protecting the constitution, the military was protecting the people.Chief Supreme Court Justice, Magistrado Presidente Rivera explained to me that the Honduran Constitution does not have articles of impeachment, but that the law applies equally to all men, even the president. Manuel Zelaya broke constitutional law and that is why the Supreme Court issued an arrest warrant and ordered the army to serve it.Later, as Honduran troops deployed once more to guard the Presidential Palace and the Marriot Hotel from pro Zelaya demonstrators, I was asked by an Army Lieutenant why the United States had abandoned their friends in Honduras. Honduras gets a lot of criticism from its neighbors for leasing Soto Kano airbase to the Americans. Soto Kano is strategically located and plays a huge part in stopping the flow of drugs into the US. This lieutenant had served five months in Iraq because President Bush asked him. He wanted to know why President Obama had now abandoned them.From the president on down to the peasants, from the right to the left, Hondurans are asking their Northern cousins to come and see for themselves what is going on in Honduras.Unfortunately for them, Michael Jackson died the same week that Manuel Zelaya was removed from office. It was Michael Jackson that dominated American television screens.Regular Honduran Presidential elections are scheduled for November 29. Hondurans are hoping to have free elections and a new president. According to the constitution, President Micheletti is ineligible to ever hold the office of president again.The EU has cut off over 90 million dollars in aid to Honduras. The US has cut off military aid and suspended diplomatic visas. All joint US/Honduran narco/military operations have been suspended. Labor unions across the planet have demanded that longshoremen refuse to unload Honduran fruit and coffee cargos. Between this and the US tourism warnings, the Honduran economy is taking a huge hit.In spite of all of this punishment, Honduras is standing tall. Everyday that they do not cave into international pressure brings them one day closer to their Presidential elections.Over and over Hondurans told me that they would rather have six months of hell, than a lifetime of communism.In the two months since Manuel Zelaya was arrested, Daniel Ortega has declared that Nicaragua needs to change their constitution in order to extend his stay in power. Oscar Arias, the president of Costa Rica and the man that Hillary Clinton put in charge of mediations between Zelaya and the Micheletti administration came out last week with similar demands on the Costa Rican constitution.There are lessons to be learned here and there are friendships that should not be forgotten.Those of us who do not learn from history are destined to repeat it. Those of us who do not pay accurate attention to the plight of our friends and neighbors may not fare much better.

Friday, September 4, 2009

Honduras: A Truth Stranger Than Fiction?

If you haven't been following this, this is the latest about Honduras from http://bighollywood.breitbart.com


Honduras: A Truth Stranger Than Fiction?
by Chris Burgard
Imagine an America in the not too distant future:
President Obama has entered into a special trade pact with Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua. Once the treaty is signed doctors and teachers from Cuba and Nicaragua offer their services to help the American “poor.” As soon as they enter the United States and become embedded in the countryside, they immediately begin organizing and indoctrinating the “poor” as to how oppressed they are and how they are entitled to the same lifestyle, privileges and properties that the “rich” enjoy.
Honduran President Roberto Micheletti and Chris Burgard
The “rich” are now defined as anyone who has more than two bedrooms in their home. In this imaginary, future America, President Obama owns several mansions across the nation, yet he declares that it is the patriotic duty of every “rich” homeowner to turn their 3rd and 4th bedrooms over to the “poor.”
President Obama raises the minimum wage by 60% percent. The “poor” hail him as their champion. Unable to meet the federal minimum wage requirement, thousands of small businesses close. Overnight 7,740,000 Americans lose their jobs. The American economy slumps even further.
Taiwanese investors agree to build new hydro electric power plants to revitalize the failing American energy grid. However, they rescind their offer when President Obama begins to talk of nationalizing energy production. Other foreign investors take notice and foreign investment in America stalls.
Even though the country cannot afford it, President Obama starts to subsidize gasoline. He gives the” poor” free electricity. He then makes a deal with Hugo Chavez and the Iranians to give free tractors to the poor. In the most rural parts of America every public works project has a big sign on it: “This has been built for you by Barack Obama!”
The “poor” people love him for it.
President Obama also makes huge concessions to the labor unions. Teachers now get paid whether they are in the classroom or on strike. As a result instead of a 220 day school year, American public schools are now only open 70 days per year. Public school students are hit the hardest. They soon fall far behind the few American students who can still afford private school. However, with the teacher’s union in his debt, President Obama now has a ready demonstration force that can be mobilized for public rallies at a moment’s notice.
About this time, President Obama loses trust in the Secret Service and military personnel assigned to protect him. House minority leader, John Boehner and others believe that the President has his own private security force made up of Nicaraguans and other foreign nationals.
With the end of his second term in sight, President Obama decides that he doesn’t want to leave office. He banks on his charisma and the devotion of his cult followers to allow him to follow in the footsteps of Hugo Chavez.
President Obama declares that he will add a referendum to the ballots for the upcoming Presidential primaries. There will be a special box on the ballots that Americans can check in order to eliminate presidential term limits.
But Americans rise up against this attack on their Constitution. There is not a single printing company in the United States that will print the illegal ballots.
With the exception of only three legislators, the entire Congress votes against the President. Undeterred President Obama again turns to his friend, Hugo Chavez. Millions of illegal ballots are printed in Venezuela for use in the United States.
President Obama orders Joint Chief of Staff, Admiral Mullen to distribute the illegal ballots to every polling place across the nation. When Admiral Mullen refuses, the president fires him.
The US Supreme Court orders Admiral Mullen reinstated and the illegal ballots confiscated.
President Obama then takes his cause to the streets. Organizers, the unions and the “poor” rally to his side. The mob breaks into an air force base and seizes the illegal ballots by force.
In this fictional, future United States, there are no articles of impeachment, but the law does apply to all citizens equally, even the President.
Article 239
The citizen who has served as head of the Executive branch shall not serve again as President or Vice President of the Republic….He who violates this disposition or proposes its reform….shall immediately be removed from office.
The Supreme Court orders President Obama arrested. On a Sunday morning at 6am, Admiral Mullen and the military carry out that arrest warrant.
In this future, fictional United States, the office of Vice President is vacant. Vice President Biden had recently resigned, so according to Constitutional succession the speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, is sworn in as President.

World reaction is swift. Within hours, the Organization of American States, the European Union and the United Nations all stand against Nancy Pelosi’s administration. Putin, Calderon and Gordon Brown stand in solidarity with the Castro brothers, Daniel Ortega and Hugo Chavez, in demanding that Barack Obama be reinstated immediately.
With the exception of Germany, Panama and Israel, the United States stands alone against the world.
There is reported troop movement on the US Southern border. Hugo Chavez threatens to move in with Nicaraguan and Venezuelan troops in an effort to “restore democracy” and help Barack Obama avoid a civil war. Americans live in fear of foreign invasion.
Foreign operatives and paid organizers spread cash and chaos wherever television cameras are likely to be found. They threaten American citizens.
Americans are afraid to leave their houses.
The pro-Obama factions immediately take to the streets. The rallies number in the hundreds and sometimes thousands. The demonstrators call each other “comrade.” Posters of Che Guevara are predominate among the protesters. Red bandannas and clothing are every where. Communist leaders from the 1980s direct graffiti artists to blanket the capitol streets in propaganda. The protesters burn diesel fuel and tires in the streets. They carry a blind old lady off of a bus and then torch the vehicle. They fire bomb a Popeye’s restaurant while there are still women and children inside. At one demonstration, they cut holes in an airport fence and charge government forces. A young man is killed.
In response, pro-Constitution rallies soon pop up. The demonstrators wear red, white and blue clothes. They don’t litter. They don’t burn things. They don’t attack security forces, vandalize or burn businesses. The pro constitution rallies number in the tens of thousands. The biggest rally hits one hundred thousand. But the Main Stream Media focuses almost exclusively on the Obama rallies and the violence that they create. The outside world never knows the full extent of popular support that the US Constitution carries within its borders.
Fortunately for us this is a purely fictional future United States. I do not believe that President Obama would ever do these things. Unfortunately for the people of Honduras, this is their reality. Ex President Manuel Zelaya did all of these things. The story you have just read is true. The President and the country were changed to put it into an American perspective.
I spent two weeks in July and August covering the events in Honduras for Pajamas Media. I interviewed, spoke and traveled with campesinos living with no electricity and dirt floors, teachers, military officers and enlisted personnel, missionaries, business leaders, national police, the House Minority leader, the Chief Supreme Court Justice, the ex First Lady: Xiomara Castro, hard core ex president Manuel Zelaya supporters, community organizers, militant revolutionaries and the current Honduran president: Roberto Micheletti.
I lost count of how many times I heard…”We never thought this could happen to us! We are a democracy.”
Hondurans were shocked when their democratically elected leader, Manuel Zelaya, began shifting dramatically to the far left and began to adopt the policies of Hugo Chavez.

After Manuel Zelaya was arrested and removed from office, Hondurans were stunned when President Obama called this a military coup. Within hours, President Obama stood in solidarity with Daniel Ortega, Hugo Chavez and the Castro brothers in demanding the return to power of Manuel Zelaya.
Manuel Girbal, a retired Honduran Army officer wanted me to know that the Honduran military swears an oath to the Constitution, not the President. In his eyes, by protecting the constitution, the military was protecting the people.
Chief Supreme Court Justice, Magistrado Presidente Rivera explained to me that the Honduran Constitution does not have articles of impeachment, but that the law applies equally to all men, even the president. Manuel Zelaya broke constitutional law and that is why the Supreme Court issued an arrest warrant and ordered the army to serve it.
Later, as Honduran troops deployed once more to guard the Presidential Palace and the Marriot Hotel from pro Zelaya demonstrators, I was asked by an Army Lieutenant why the United States had abandoned their friends in Honduras. Honduras gets a lot of criticism from its neighbors for leasing Soto Kano airbase to the Americans. Soto Kano is strategically located and plays a huge part in stopping the flow of drugs into the US. This lieutenant had served five months in Iraq because President Bush asked him. He wanted to know why President Obama had now abandoned them.
From the president on down to the peasants, from the right to the left, Hondurans are asking their Northern cousins to come and see for themselves what is going on in Honduras.
Unfortunately for them, Michael Jackson died the same week that Manuel Zelaya was removed from office. It was Michael Jackson that dominated American television screens.
Regular Honduran Presidential elections are scheduled for November 29. Hondurans are hoping to have free elections and a new president. According to the constitution, President Micheletti is ineligible to ever hold the office of president again.
The EU has cut off over 90 million dollars in aid to Honduras. The US has cut off military aid and suspended diplomatic visas. All joint US/Honduran narco/military operations have been suspended. Labor unions across the planet have demanded that longshoremen refuse to unload Honduran fruit and coffee cargos. Between this and the US tourism warnings, the Honduran economy is taking a huge hit.
In spite of all of this punishment, Honduras is standing tall. Everyday that they do not cave into international pressure brings them one day closer to their Presidential elections.
Over and over Hondurans told me that they would rather have six months of hell, than a lifetime of communism.

In the two months since Manuel Zelaya was arrested, Daniel Ortega has declared that Nicaragua needs to change their constitution in order to extend his stay in power.
Oscar Arias, the president of Costa Rica and the man that Hillary Clinton put in charge of mediations between Zelaya and the Micheletti administration came out last week with similar demands on the Costa Rican constitution.
There are lessons to be learned here and there are friendships that should not be forgotten.
Those of us who do not learn from history are destined to repeat it. Those of us who do not pay accurate attention to the plight of our friends and neighbors may not fare much better.