While the media all goes crazy over the dictator loving, America hating Michael Moore and his latest documentary at the Cannes Film Festival, there is another film festival happening that you probably haven’t heard of. It’s called the GI Film Festival.
Speaking at the outset of the inaugural GI Film Festival in Washington, D.C., which runs through the Memorial Day weekend, Raughter said he hopes the new festival helps to focus attention on what he called patriotic films, such as “Saving Private Ryan,” which lost out to “Shakespeare in Love” for the best picture Oscar that year.
“Which film has more meaning?” Raughter asked in an interview. “Which one will last over time? What’s wrong with having films that say America is not the bad guy?”
America not the bad guy? That really goes against everything Hollywood believes.
This festival looks to showcase movies that show the patriotism, bravery, and heroic acts of our soldiers. A novel idea in a time when all Hollywood is interested in is bashing the United States and the president.
“Hollywood has perpetuated stereotypes about the American soldier,” said Raughter, speaking on behalf of the American Legion.
“There are some really bad films out there that portray Vietnam veterans as crazy and disgruntled people. This event is promising because there are some outstanding films about the U.S. military. Hollywood producers should not be afraid to portray the heroism of the American solider, but many of them are,” he said.
Producers afraid to make patriotic movies for fear of being shunned by the Hollywood elite. But the truth is, Americans love patriotic movies:
A recent study suggests the American public has a big appetite for patriotic films. Ted Baehr, publisher of Movieguide.org, said during a conference call that films with patriotic content have averaged $40 million at the box office over the past five years, while films that take an antagonistic view of America averaged $19 million over the same period.
“Patriotism wins at the box office and wins in the hearts and minds of Americans,” Baehr argued.
He also accused the media of denigrating the American soldier.
“We’ve got the Manchurian press, and they’ve been brainwashed in some strange way,” he said. “The Manchurian press has convinced people on the hill in Washington that if they speak out for the values Americans are voting for at the box office, suddenly they’re going to alienate themselves from their voters.
“People want to believe in their country. They want good to triumph over evil, and people don’t want to be told the country they’ve chosen is a miserable place,” Baehr said. “Sad thing is people in power have bought into the lie, and we need to break through the lie.”
Isn’t that the real truth. Americans do love this country, and many are getting sick and tired of Hollywood and the media bashing it. And those figures above from the box office show us that.
Soft Drinks Will Kill You
In order to keep the public in a constant state of fear we keep hearing about how all these different crisis are going to kill us.
In recent years we have had many perceived crisis, all these lead to the eventual nanny state, let me count them off the top of my head.
second hand smoke
alcohol
trans fats
mandatory seatbelts
sids
sars
bird flu
flesh eating bacteria
global cooling
global warming
being out in the sun
steaks not cooked well done
steaks cooked well done
caffeine
And now without further adieu, the latest killer:
Coke and Pepsi
From The Independent:
A new health scare erupted over soft drinks last night amid evidence they may cause serious cell damage. Research from a British university suggests a common preservative found in drinks such as Fanta and Pepsi Max has the ability to switch off vital parts of DNA.
The problem – more usually associated with ageing and alcohol abuse – can eventually lead to cirrhosis of the liver and degenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s.
The findings could have serious consequences for the hundreds of millions of people worldwide who consume fizzy drinks. They will also intensify the controversy about food additives, which have been linked to hyperactivity in children.
Concerns centre on the safety of E211, known as sodium benzoate, a preservative used for decades by the £74bn global carbonated drinks industry. Sodium benzoate derives from benzoic acid. It occurs naturally in berries, but is used in large quantities to prevent mould in soft drinks such as Sprite, Oasis and Dr Pepper. It is also added to pickles and sauces.
Now we can add soft drinks to the list of things that will kill you. The last time I checked the mortality rate among humans is at 100%. How can we live a better life that will ensure that we eventually bring down this mortality rate? 100% death rate for humans is unacceptable, I demand the government step in and regulate all of our bad behavior! Wait a minute, they have already started, how come they haven’t brought the mortality rate down?
Memorial Day Tribute Video
Thank you.
A Sign of the Times in New Hampshire
This is now hanging in front of a bar, I’m supposed to be impressed by this. The state hasn’t even passed anti-smoking legislation yet, it’s coming, it’s just not complete yet.
The state is trying to protect the citizens from bad behavior because we are not smart enough to do it ourselves.
The Nanny State is here New Hampshire.
John Edwards is a Homophobe
In his new memoir, “No Excuses: Concessions of a Serial Campaigner,” Shrum recalls asking Edwards at the outset of that campaign, “What is your position, Mr. Edwards, on gay rights?”
“I’m not comfortable around those people,” Edwards replied
Those people? I thought the Democrats were supposed to be an all inclusive club. I thought only Republicans were homophobes. This is just another example of a politician portraying themselves one way in public, but holding competing views in private. Remember the way he took a cheap shot at Dick Cheney in the ’04 election about Cheney’s lesbian daughter. Perhaps that cheap shot was driven by his internal disdain for the gay community.
Why is he uncomfortable around gay people? Does he feel his impish good looks make him attractive to gay men?
Not that there’s anything wrong with that. To quote Jerry Seinfeld.
Anti-Abortion bill Passes in Oklahoma
From reuters.com:
A bill prohibiting public funds from being used for most abortions has become law in Oklahoma after a deadline passed for the state’s governor to veto the measure.
“If the governor doesn’t act, it becomes law,” said his spokesman, Phil Bacharach. Gov. Brad Henry had until midnight on Wednesday night to veto the bill.
Henry, a Democrat, vetoed a previous bill that contained no exceptions for publicly funded abortions even in cases of rape or incest. The new version allows such an exception if the victim reports the crime to the police.
It easily passed the Republican-controlled House and got through the evenly divided state Senate with several votes from Democratic lawmakers.
Its passage is a victory for social conservatives who have been pressing nationwide for restrictions on abortions. Such moves are generally challenged in court by groups that support a woman’s right to choice on the matter.
“Virtually every hospital in the state of Oklahoma will no longer be allowed to do it. If you live in rural Oklahoma, your hospital probably receives state funding,” said Linda Gray Murphy, a lobbyist with the National Association of Social Workers, who worked to the defeat the legislation.
Abortion has emerged as one of the most divisive issues in the United States. Its staunchest opponents include evangelical Christians who are an important base of support for the Republican Party. Strong opposition also comes from the Roman Catholic Church and some other religious groups.
Opinion polls consistently show that most Americans broadly support abortion rights but are less comfortable when it comes to issues like late-term abortions.
Imagine that, if a woman can’t afford to end her baby’s life, Oklahoma tax payers won’t have to pay for it. What a novel idea.
Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue Wednesday signed into law a bill mandating that women seeking abortion be given the opportunity to see an ultrasound of their unborn baby before having the abortion. The Full Disclosure Ultrasound Act goes into effect on July 1, 2007, making Georgia the 10th state to enact such a law. “This truly represents a trend among the states to provide a woman with all possible information before she makes a decision that will greatly affect her life and take the life of her unborn child,” said Mary Spaulding Balch, J.D., National Right to Life state legislative director. “Abortion is a decision that cannot be undone and women deserve all the fact,” she said in a press release. “Ultrasound is the window to the womb and allows women to see their unborn child,” Balch said. “We urge other states to join this trend and protect women and their unborn children.”
What else can I say, I think it’s a good idea. Let the mother see there is life there before she destroys it. Maybe this will help save a few babies in Georgia that would not have had a chance.
PBS to Finally show Documentary on Terrorists
PBS had filmed a documentary called Islam vs. Islamists which showed the struggles moderate Muslims faced by the radical Muslims. They decided not to air it. Apparently they were afraid to offend the radicals.
Now PBS has reached a deal and they will show the documentary:
A documentary billed as “the film PBS doesn’t want you to see” will at long last get a national audience.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) announced a joint agreement yesterday to make “Islam vs. Islamists” available to the 354 Public Broadcasting Service member stations across the nation as a “stand-alone” TV program, with a little extra embellishment.
“We plan to distribute the film to any public broadcasting station that wants it. We’ll package it and also produce some sort of discussion to accompany the film, and give it some context,” OPB President Steve Bass told The Washington Times yesterday.
What I don’t understand is what took so long? Don’t you want to hear from Muslims who condemn the perversion of their religion? I know I do. It’s time for them to speak out. I know many of them are probably afraid to do so, this documentary will give them the chance to do so.
The often-disquieting 52-minute film explores the struggles of moderate American Muslims at the hands of their radical brethren and gives details about a “parallel” Islamist society that is slowly but surely developing within the U.S. borders. The film was produced by conservative columnist Frank Gaffney Jr., founder of the Center for Security Policy, filmmaker Martyn Burke and Middle East scholar Alex Alexiev.
You can read my previous posts on this issue here, here, here, here, and here
John Murtha Apologizes for Violating House Rules
From politico.com:
Democratic Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania sent a note of apology to Republican Rep. Mike Rogers of Michigan Wednesday, the day after a divided House denied Rogers a vote to officially reprimand the powerful senior Democrat.
Murtha apologized for his “outburst” in a handwritten note Rogers received Wednesday morning, the latter’s office confirmed. This marks his first acknowledgement of an episode between the two lawmakers on the House floor.
Last week, the powerful Democrat allegedly threatened to deny Rogers any future spending projects in defense bills after the Michigan Republican challenged his earmark request for $23 million to prevent the administration from closing an intelligence gathering facility in his western Pennsylvania district.
Republicans have called the tirade a flagrant abuse of House rules.
Members and aides on both sides of the aisle continued to speculate that Rogers or another Republican will eventually call on the ethics committee to formally investigate last week’s flap, even after Tuesday’s partyline vote to prevent debate.
Typical, after publicly berating and embarrassing Rep. Mike Rogers in front of congress, he sends him a note of apology in private. If you are man enough to berate someone in public be man enough to apologize in public.
At least he is admitting wrongdoing, I guess.
John Edwards Denies there is a War on Terror
Democrat John Edwards Wednesday repudiated the notion that there is a “global war on terror,” calling it an ideological doctrine advanced by the Bush administration that has strained American military resources and emboldened terrorists.
In a defense policy speech he planned to deliver at the Council on Foreign Relations, Edwards called the war on terror a “bumper sticker” slogan Bush had used to justify everything from abuses at the Abu Ghraib prison to the invasion of Iraq.
“We need a post-Bush, post-9/11, post-Iraq military that is mission focused on protecting Americans from 21st century threats, not misused for discredited ideological purposes,” Edwards said in remarks prepared for delivery. “By framing this as a war, we have walked right into the trap the terrorists have set—that we are engaged in some kind of clash of civilizations and a war on Islam.”
This man cannot be president. I have to believe he is just pandering to his base, there is no way he can believe this. A bumper sticker slogan to justify abuses in Abu Ghraib?
He says we need a post 9/11 mission not misused for dicredited ideological puposes. Has anyone told radical Muslims that their ideology has been discredited?No, but George Bush’s ideology has been? John Edwards would rather believe the enemy than the president of the United States.
It sounds to me like John Edwards’ post 9/11 mission would be alot like the pre 9/11 policy of pretending the terrorists don’t exist. We all know how well that worked. I can’t believe anyone can forget what happened and would be willing to make the same mistakes that allowed it to happen.
