Today is the first Monday of Spring, the season that inspires fresh hope, renewed energy, and thoughts of new beginnings.  And so it is appropriate that today a colleague and I have launched Parcbench, a pop-culture and lifestyle brand whose central feature is an online daily magazine at www.parcbench.com.   

Parcbench does not profess to be like most other publications, although we have derived much inspiration from Big Hollywood and its founder, Andrew Breitbart, who has agreed to join our Board of Advisors.  And we believe that we share a common mission.  Specifically, we strive to bring people pop-culture that reflects mainstream America.   (more…)

At last, the long-suffering people of Darfur should rest easy.  The International Criminal Court (ICC) has finally issued an unenforceable, meaningless arrest warrant to bring Sudan’s murderer of a president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, to justice.  In case you did not get a chance to read the fine print, the indictment actually exonerates al-Bashir from charges of genocide but does subject him to arrest for war crimes and crimes against humanity.  This is the international community’s desperately awaited message that will send shivers down the spines of Sudanese thugs.  In fact, al-Bashir is already partying in public, mocking the ICC’s theatrics.  

Nonetheless, human rights groups and fashionable Darfur activists are heralding the development as a breakthrough.  And although I have yet to read any statements from actor George Clooney, he must be beaming with pride given his secret meeting with President Obama several weeks ago to discuss this issue.  While we do not know the exact contents of the Obama-Clooney discussion, al-Bashir’s indictment led me to speculate on how that conversation might have unfolded.  (more…)

Hmmm….why did Mickey Rourke win Best Actor in every other award ceremony besides this one?  As I said, the Academy punished Mickey for his gratitude towards President Bush for keeping our country safe from Islamo-facist terrorism.  Instead, it chose to award its biggest donkey, Sean Penn.  I would looooove to debate Sean Penn and explain to him why his such an insufferable idiot and jackass. 

I have an idea…now that Guantanamo Bay is being closed within the year, maybe Southeren California can help find a home for people like Khalid Sheikh Mahammed.  I know Sean Penn could make them feel right at home.

I haven’t looked around the internet to see what sort of drinking games have been invented for the Academy Awards tonight but I imagine if the game involves taking a drink upon praise for Barack Obama or relief that George W. Bush is no longer President then anyone playing should be pretty wasted by the end of the show.  Then again, even if you don’t drink a thing you should be pretty wasted from exhaustion from what always proves to be exceedingly boring and self-congratulatory, yet somehow, must-see television. 

While you should hear Barack Obama’s name more than once tonight, here are a few things you probably won’t hear spoken:

• “Did you know that Harvey Milk was a Republican?”
• “How about Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight?  What an overrated performance!”
• “Thank you to President Bush for keeping us safe the last seven years.”
• “I dedicate this award to the brave men and women who keep my idiotic, ungrateful Hollywood cronies and me safe.” 
• “Wasn’t Rendition just the worst movie you’ve ever seen?”
• “Why the hell wasn’t Gran Torino nominated for best picture?!”
• “And the award goes for Best Actor goes to Mickey Rourke…thank God…Sean Penn is such an ass!”  

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Leave it to the out of touch boneheads in Hollywood to exclude the best movie of the year, “Gran Torino” with Client Eastwood, from it best picture nominations.  If you have not seen it yet, then you should before Sunday’s Academy Awards-if for nothing else, to see what Hollywood missed.  While there is nothing overtly political about the movie, I am convinced there is something below the surface, something a little too Americana for the Academy’s liking.  And while watching the movie, I could not help but feel reminded of the explosive immigration issue that will surface again soon.  

To make that reminder more poignant, a recent U.S. Joint Forces Command report warns of a “rapid and sudden collapse” in Mexico because “the government, its politicians, police and judicial infrastructure are all under sustained assault…by criminal gangs and drug cartels.”  In other words-to cut through the political correctness-America has a third world nation on its southern border that is compromised by corruption and violence and an implosion would likely cause teams of illegal immigrants streaming into southern U.S. states.   (more…)

Go to YouTube and type in, “I Pledge” for the latest insufferably, self-important pat on its own back courtesy of Hollywood.  The video montage is Tinsletown’s way of pledging fidelity to Barack Obama and letting him know that…”You’re Not Alone!”  Because while Iran scurries to acquire a nuclear weapon and the economy falters, Demi Moore pledges to smile more (and “to be a servant to our President”), Eva Longoria pledges to laugh more, Cameron Diaz pledges to learn her neighbors’ names, and Jason Bateman pledges to save the planet by only flushing after a deuce.  Give Barack Obama credit for one thing: he seems to have woken the consciousness of an entire class of people who are out of touch and inspired them to demonstrate how they are completely and utterly out of touch.   

But heck, Hollywood, good for you guys.  You have finally realized that you are Americans too, and you can once again attend overseas premieres with pride, rather than the shame of citizenship under the Bush administration.  While you are at it, maybe you could pledge to make Khalid Sheikh Mohammed smile and love more too.  That guy could use a hug and an environmentally friendly toilet.  And since you are looking to pitch in now and to “turn the lights off,” “trade in your obnoxious car and buy a hybrid,” and “drive slower,” I have a few other ideas for how you might be able to help.  Please, forgive me if these suggestions may seem a little punitive, perhaps counter-productive, but this is a time for sacrifice and a time to embrace the collective, selfless philosophy of Democrats and The One.    (more…)