Dem Fools & Other Silly Rabbits

Fifth person pleads guilty to passport snooping

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 16:30:26 -0400

Fifth person pleads guilty to passport snooping: When someone pooh-poohs your concern over having...

GEICO Sends a Message to Glen Beck Viewers

Sat, 15 Aug 2009 14:42:00 -0400

GEICO Sends a Message to Glen Beck Viewers

"You simultaneously ban and tax soda the same way you do with smoking…tobacco. Can’t..."

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:42:00 -0400

“You simultaneously ban and tax soda the same way you do with smoking…tobacco....

"Pete Rawlings comments “I’d rather have someone who agrees with me 50-70% of the time..."

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:20:00 -0400

“Pete Rawlings comments “I’d rather have someone who agrees with me 50-70% of the...

NYC Could Require Anti-Smoking Signs At Retailers

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 12:45:34 -0400

NYC Could Require Anti-Smoking Signs At Retailers: The story, at wcbstv.com, says: The New York...

"There are “more problems than we thought,” Obama told a man who asked him about his..."

Sun, 31 May 2009 19:59:42 -0400

“There are “more problems than we thought,” Obama told a man who asked him about...

Ballad of a Soldier (USSR, directed by Grigori Chukhrai,...

Sun, 24 May 2009 17:12:00 -0400

Ballad of a Soldier (USSR, directed by Grigori Chukhrai, 1959)

This sensitive WWII tale washes over the screen in artfully composed frames of poetic photography. The look of the film subtly replicates the baby-faced, gangly self-assurance of the good-boy hero. They both exude a freshness—anxious to prove themselves to be worthy of the high standards and expectations of their superiors (and their mothers).

Although it’s commonly classified as a war film (how could it not, with the title and all), the war serves only as background noise.

Our young protagonist (Alyosha) has defied all odds and, through a random miracle, crippled two German tanks that were coming for him—the last man standing on the battlefield. When the general back at camp goes to issue him a medal, Alyosha blurts out that he’d really prefer a day’s leave to go see his mother and repair her leaking roof. Knowing how Russian transportation is in chaos due to the war, the general generously grants him six days to go home and get back. And the journey of the movie begins.

Our Alyosha befriends anyone around him—taking time to assist them to their homes and sweethearts, delivering messages and presents to the loved ones of the strangers he meets, and falling in love with an equally fresh-faced and boldly innocent Shura.

He misses trains and catches the next one. He loses people and then finds them again. He stands up for right, he confronts wrong, all the while running later and later for home—drastically cutting short the time he’ll have to spend with his mother.

Ultimately, the core of the movie remains apolitical on the value of war, as far as the modern-day preference for debating which side has the moral authority is concerned. This film instead focuses on the value of this one man, so early on in his promising life.

Chukhrai, the director and co-screenwriter, doesn’t go for the cheap grandstanding and lecturing that we see in today’s American movies on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. He’s painting a portrait of a person we’d all be proud to call son or husband or father or friend. He’s filling our hearts with love for this boy, not inciting petty political divisions and hatreds. He’s making us feel a sense of unity, that amid all the calamity and disorder and heartbreak, Alyosha represents our national spirit of “can-do.” He is who we aspire to be and aspire to raise.

Except for the sad fact that Alyosha is not American, and in the past eight years, the American film industry has thought it unnecessary—or even distasteful or worse—to provide us with positive portrayals of the American soldier, the youth of our current time.

This is the type of propaganda that Hollywood should be strivng to at least equal.

Pay no attention to the 9-part version that some comrade in the Communist Party USA/Russian Federated Labor uploaded to You Tube. It’s been dubbed into English, which also destroys the balance of the emotional musical score. Plus, the beauty of this film’s images deserves to be seen on as large a screen as possible. We highly recommend the well-preserved DVD edition produced by The Criterion Collection, which is available for purchase at Amazon or for rent through Netflix—or in the wee hours of Memorial Day 2009 on Turner Classic Movies.

For more information on the cast, crew and other tidbits (such as it was an Academy Award nominee for Best Original Screenplay), see the IMDB, Wikipedia, DVD Times and AllMovie entries.

Introducing… “Films for the Obama Generation” Re-education...

Fri, 22 May 2009 06:40:00 -0400

Introducing…

“Films for the Obama Generation” Re-education Series

Cheryomushki (aka Cherry Town) [USSR, directed by Gerbert Rappoport, 1963]

Just like Obama, we don’t want to scare you away from all of his fantastic programs by getting into the dull, drab details. So to start our film series, which will prepare you for your future life in Obama Land, we’ll begin with something bright and cheery.

Just like us, those zany Soviets had their own little housing problems. This happy tale sings and dances about trying to finagle and backscratch your way through the local organizing committee’s red tape into a two-room flat (with a balcony and a garbage chute!)—and the convenient love matches made between flat-holders and homeless.

Everybody wants one (even if it takes having your roof cave in to get moved to the head of the line for a housing coupon). And they too have reason to Hope for a Change in housing; Cherry Towns are blossoming throughout the Soviet Republic. As one song says, every old town is having a new town built in it. In these centrally planned Soviet condo communities (named Cheryomushkis for the cherry trees planted amidst the concrete high-rises), “every inhabitant will have all his dreams come true.” Ah, sweet mystery of government-dependent life.

This screen adaptation of the musical comedy by world-famous composer Shostakovich even features a death-defying dance routine on a concrete slab dangling several stories above the condo construction site. [Pay no attention, comrades, to the poorly executed rear projection background as the lead actors nearly twirl off the slab.] You can relax and enjoy the thrill. You just know they can come to no harm, as the crane is being operated by the sexy, singing blonde comradette in a sensible headscarf, proof of her mechanical competence.

Although Shostakovich eventually won two Order of Lenin awards, he himself feared for his life in 1936 after Stalin walked out of his Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk opera (something about disliking that the tyrant in the story was poisoned to death) and was thereby declared an enemy of the people by Pravda for writing “formalist” music. Shostakovich wrote Cherry Town after Stalin’s death.

[Don’t worry, American artists. We know that Obama would never object to any type of criticism thrown his way. He has very thick skin and solidly supports freedom of expression and dissension.]

Guess what year this photo was taken. (via Boston.com) At the...

Thu, 21 May 2009 06:05:00 -0400

Guess what year this photo was taken.

(via Boston.com)

At the website, the photo caption reads:

Russian BTR-90 Infantry fighting vehicles roll down the street in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, May 7, 2009, during a final rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade.

It appears that the rest of the world is not buying into this whole “lay down your arms, ‘cause everybody’s our buddy” philosophy the White House is trying to popularize.

Know what’s the best argument for why we don’t engage in our own displays of military awesomeness?

It’s not that we shouldn’t be crass or intimidating to the world (and thereby create more jihadists against us).

It’s that if we were to have tanks and missile launchers and such start rolling down our streets, the American people would run away screaming, fearful that the weaponry was aimed at them.

Sad, but true…as proven by an Air Force One flight over New York.

Are we right to be unconcerned about a huge country that, in the...

Thu, 21 May 2009 05:56:00 -0400

Are we right to be unconcerned about a huge country that, in the year 2009, still feels the need to drag out a collection of Topol-M missile launchers and other heavy-duty military hardware for a Victory Day parade?

Are we part of their intended audience?

(via Boston.com)

Would these parading Russian soldiers defy Putin and refuse to...

Thu, 21 May 2009 05:48:00 -0400

Would these parading Russian soldiers defy Putin and refuse to take up arms against the U.S. simply because of the personal magnetism of our President Obama?

"The European Court of Human Rights in the case of Ireland v. United Kingdom (1978) specifically..."

Sun, 17 May 2009 00:00:00 -0400

“The European Court of Human Rights in the case of Ireland v. United Kingdom (1978)...

"Please…be judgmental. As free people, we agree to tolerate any conduct that does no harm to..."

Sat, 16 May 2009 23:53:41 -0400

““Please…be judgmental. As free people, we agree to tolerate any conduct that does...

Prez Says We’re Heading For a Trainwreck There’s...

Fri, 15 May 2009 02:43:00 -0400

Prez Says We’re Heading For a Trainwreck

There’s something deeply unsettling in the psychology of Barack Obama. As he hurtles the US down the road to ruin, as he forces incomparably massive debt loads down our throats, as he belittles the million outraged tea partiers that took to the streets to protest his and Bush’s reckless, irresponsible fiscal shenanigans, he now realizes that this country is about to crash and burn. (Or is he just trying to cover his behind in future campaign ads and history books?)

So does he ask for the stimulus bill to be repealed? (It’s not too late. They’ve only spent 3%.) No.

Does he ask for the whole budget to be trashed and a new, drastically slashed one to be passed instead? No.

Does he tell GM and Chrysler they’re getting no more money, and all the banks should begin their TARP repayments immediately? No.

Apparently, no corrective action is necessary. This egomaniac just wants to lecture us that our debt load is not sustainable. It’s all our fault, not his.

A Bloomberg story, “Obama Says U.S. Long-Term Debt Load ‘Unsustainable,’” goes into greater detail, saying:

President Barack Obama, calling current deficit spending “unsustainable,” warned of skyrocketing interest rates for consumers if the U.S. continues to finance government by borrowing from other countries.

“We can’t keep on just borrowing from China,” Obama said at a town-hall meeting in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, outside Albuquerque. “We have to pay interest on that debt, and that means we are mortgaging our children’s future with more and more debt.”

Holders of U.S. debt will eventually “get tired” of buying it, causing interest rates on everything from auto loans to home mortgages to increase, Obama said. “It will have a dampening effect on our economy.”

Earlier this week, the Obama administration revised its own budget estimates and raised the projected deficit for this year to a record $1.84 trillion, up 5 percent from the February estimate. The revision for the 2010 fiscal year estimated the deficit at $1.26 trillion, up 7.4 percent from the February figure. The White House Office of Management and Budget also projected next year’s budget will end up at $3.59 trillion, compared with the $3.55 trillion it estimated previously.

Two weeks ago, the president proposed $17 billion in budget cuts, with plans to eliminate or reduce 121 federal programs. Republicans ridiculed the amount, saying that it represented one-half of 1 percent of the entire budget. They noted that Obama is seeking an $81 billion increase in other spending.

Now back to the government spending spree—and forcing the credit cards to permit us to carry our own personal unsustainable debt loads. It’s the new, hip, Obama-mama way.

William F. Buckley He Certainly Is Not The Huffington Post...

Wed, 13 May 2009 16:00:00 -0400

William F. Buckley He Certainly Is Not

The Huffington Post reports that “Keith Olbermann debuted a new and recurring segment on his show tonight called “Countdown’s WTF Moment.”

If you are unfamiliar with the acronym WTF, it’s typically only used by people such as Janeane Garofalo, Rahm Emanuel, Blago, Al Franken and sailors. (Sorry to throw you into *that* mix, sailors.) It stands for “what the …,” no, if your innocent ears and eyes have made it this far in life without being sullied, we’re not going to besmirch them.

It’s not a phrase or an acronym that any articulate person needs. Intelligent minds could go an entire lifetime without ever saying it or even thinking it.

What is it with MSNBC? With all their teabagging and pimping and wtf-ing, they’ve become incapable of discussing the news in ways that you don’t have to send children from the room.

[Question to the FCC: Can cable air MA (mature audiences only) programming during primetime?]

Even during their daytime supposed objective-news-only, they’ve got their anchors throwing hissy fits and being disgusting. Take, for example, another little scene approvingly reported by the Huffington Post, titled “MSNBC Anchors Erupt Over Miss California Press Conference: “Can I Vomit Right Now?” The triad erupting were Contessa Brewer, David Shuster and Tamron Hall. The effluent drama queen squawking about regurgitation wasn’t Contessa or Tamron.

The whole network needs a good scrubbing down with stiff brushes and lye soap. But with the anchors’ minds remaining in the toliet, it would be better to flush them all down the drain and start fresh with some lefties that can have a stimulatingly learned discussion of the news and policy and be repulsed by the idea of wallowing in the gutter for entertainment.

P.S. The page on which HuffPo has their publicity piece about Olberman’s new segment also had an ad for an article in The Nation, which says Olberman is Ed Murrow reincarnated. It’s hard to say whether that is a smear on Murrow’s legacy or the truth. Could be both.

"White House is changing the name of the Office of Public Liaison to the Office of Public Engagement...."

Mon, 11 May 2009 17:48:35 -0400

“White House is changing the name of the Office of Public Liaison to the Office of Public...

“Say No To President Obama Or Throw Me In...

Fri, 08 May 2009 00:00:00 -0400

“Say No To President Obama Or Throw Me In Jail”

That’s what Obama nemesis and former presidential candidate Alan Keyes told the administration of Notre Dame on Thursday, according to Indiana’s NewsCenter reports. (Video of the on-location interview with Keyes is also available through that link.)

Keyes and about 75 other protesters against abortion and embryonic stem-cell research held a rally at the gates of the Notre Dame campus, reciting the “Hail Mary” and other prayers, pushing strollers of dolls covered in fake blood and listening to Keyes’ firebrand style of speaking.

But when 30 of them entered the campus, further news reports say that 22 (including Keyes) were handcuffed, arrested for trespassing and had to pay a $250 bond to get out of the St. Joseph County jail.

Bishop D’Arcy’s diocese issued a statement saying they do not approve of any attempts to disturb the school’s graduation ceremony or “to drive a wedge between the Bishop of the Diocese and Nortre Dame.”

It’s likely that the Notre Dame class of 2009 will have quite a circus for their commencement exercises. Operation Rescue staged their own protest a week ago. Now Keyes’ merry band. And there doesn’t seem to be any let up in sight.

The Wall Street Journal reports that a plane “trailing a giant photograph of a fetus aborted at 10 weeks” is already flying from now until the ceremony on May 17.

The WSJ article continues:

Below the airplane banner, antiabortion activists who have converged on South Bend are making their point in a more aggressive way. They are driving trucks around the perimeter of the campus and carrying signs outside the main gate showing images of aborted fetuses.

Meanwhile, even practicing Catholic Notre Dame students go soft-spined and tingle-legged at the thought of being in the presence of their Obama—and not wanting to be associated with those meanies who are demonstrating.

The WSJ describes one such student:

Caitlin Conway, a 22-year-old political-science major who attends Mass once a week, says she is excited by Mr. Obama’s appearance. She says she abhors the idea of abortion, but that she and others on campus are largely turned off by Operation Rescue’s tactics and extreme stance.

“I consider myself someone who supports life and wants to protect life wherever possible,” she says, “but I don’t want to identify myself as a pro-life American as [the movement] currently stands.”

That’s right, Caitlin. Don’t let your brain get in the way of your feelings. Don’t use that polysci degree to try to shape the movement as you would like it. Just join the happy herd being led into the stadium. Baaa.

Obama Worship Goes Secular Geek… Atheists now to bow to...

Thu, 07 May 2009 09:33:00 -0400

Obama Worship Goes Secular Geek…

Atheists now to bow to Spock-O-Bama—a melding of two “mixed race icons”

The Salon.com article “Obama is Spock: It’s quite logical,” by Jeff Greenwald, carries the subhead “Our president bears a striking resemblance to the rational ‘Star Trek’ Vulcan whose mixed race made him cultural translator to the universe.”

This concept is apparently not shocking to Trekkies and media elite:

Spock has been on many minds lately, and not entirely because of the new film. Big thinkers in both print media and the blogosphere—from New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd to MIT media moguls—have referenced the Enterprise’s science officer in recent months, drawing parallels between the dependably logical half-Vulcan and another mixed-race icon: Barack Obama.

They’re not just talking about the ears. For those of us who watched the show in the 1960s (or during the countless reruns since), Nimoy’s alter ego was the harbinger of a future in which logic would reign over emotion, and rational thought triumph over blind faith….

Anyone who followed the early “Star Trek” with regularity knows how charismatic Spock was. If there were two characters I wanted to be as a young man, they were Spock — and James Bond. Both displayed total self-confidence, and amazing problem-solving skills. Both traveled to exotic destinations, and were irresistible to women. And both shared a quality that my generation lacked completely: composure.

Good gracious. This is taking a “thrill up the leg” to a whole ‘nother level.

Greenwald does capture one seemingly reasonable comparison between Spock and Obama: their physical bearing (at least in the head area). “The raised eyebrow, the lifted chin, the vaguely sarcastic mien — these were coins of the realm to my pubescent friends.” (Oh, what sad, lonely children they must have been.)

On the surface, most would agree there’s a similarity in those areas. But if you probe more deeply, a less impassioned observer can see that Obama holds his chin in a permanent, more emotional and jutting lift. His brows tend more towards being in a furrow or a scowl than raised. And on the other side, Spock’s vocabulary did not include “um” and “uh.” He did not use a teleprompter. And he certainly did not swagga.

Greenwald makes it clear that physical similarity is merely the jumping-off point. This is no simple hope-and-change fantasy that Obama’s gonna pay for his mortgage or buy him gas. He’s thrown his lifelong childhood-pain-and-isolation fantasies of becoming cool and powerful into this. All the crushed dreams and humiliations suffered when raised eyebrows and chins could not get him into the popular crowd are being avenged for him now by Spock-O-Bama:

“Star Trek” fans who bonded with Spock already understood what those of us who followed Obama learned early on: that witnessing a powerful intellect can be deeply satisfying on an emotional level. We got a similar hit from Martin Luther King Jr. and the Kennedys, of course, and from Bill Clinton. But while Clinton’s administration was smart, Obama’s seems futuristic.

Greenwald does take a moment in his article to indulge a futuristic, sci-fi fantasy:

Which is another reason why the sometimes audacious diplomacy of the Obama administration is innately appealing to those of us weaned on the credo of “exploring strange new worlds” and “seeking out new life and new civilizations.” And what if the Earth itself was visited by aliens? If benevolent ETs were to land on the Mall tomorrow, most of humanity would be proud to have Barack Obama speak for us. If Bush were still president, we’d be looking at “Mars Attacks.”

There’s a key word in that last paragraph that proves Mr. Greenwald is still living in a childish Trekkie fantasy world. That word is “benevolent.”

“If benevolent ETs were to land…,” Spock-O-Bama might frighten them off with an Air Force One photo op. But, really, Mr. Greenwald, which of all the diplomatically difficult dictators in the world are you calling benevolent? Kim Jong Il? Chavez? Hezbollah? Fatah? Osama Bin Laden? Somali pirates? Mugabe?

Paris Hilton could deal with “benevolent” ETs. It’s the dangerous, malicious, insane, conniving ones that Obama’s already having problems with. (And our long-time “benevolent” allies certainly aren’t showing him all the love and glory and slobbering that we were promised.)

Write Your Own Joke

Mon, 04 May 2009 14:46:00 -0400

Greensburg, KS (the town wiped out by a tornado) has gone full-bore eco-freak and decided to become...

Media Sigh:

Sat, 02 May 2009 13:05:00 -0400

Breathy Op/Ed Titled “Obama Revels in Power.” Substitute Castro, Kim Jong Il...