Open Thread Wednesday
by Big Hollywood
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For Conservative Movie Lovers: John Ford, John Wayne, and 'They Were Expendable' Part 6
by Leo GrinThe casting of Robert Montgomery (1904--1981) in They Were Expendable was uncommonly appropriate. The suave, handsome actor made his name in debonair romantic comedies throughout the 1930s, but like John Ford he didn't wait until America was dragged into war before enlisting. In 1940, fired up by the...
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Parents, Hide Your Kids – Barack Obama is Coming After Them
The cult of Obama is dangerous to America's children and reminiscent of totalitarian governments
John Payne? Not quite a legend.
Enjoyed "V" last night
The best part was when Anna said you can't make the visitors look bad or say anything to cast any doubt
It sounded exactly like the WH press briefing
We conservatives kinda are the resistance also
This show is more like a Obama Biography than a Fiction SciFi show
Trade the retiles for Marxist and it is a reality show
/Hhahahahaha
Revenge of the middle class
The elections today should send a simple message to the Obama administration and congressional Democrats: You lost the middle class, and you won’t get them back until you fundamentally change your legislative agenda.
During last year’s campaign, President Barack Obama consistently stressed how his policies were going to help the middle class. He talked about his middle-class tax cut. He promised that any new spending would be paid by the rich. He attacked his opponent, John McCain, continuously for his plan to raise taxes on the middle class. He promised change the middle class could believe in. He was Mr. Middle Class.
http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/campaign/66...
/I hope it's not too late
Conservatives, End the Apology Tour
Ever since the left wing captured the universities and media, putative conservatives desiring media favor and intellectual respectability have been apologizing for conservatism's most popular and effective figures. These days, they want to distance themselves from the "anger" and "extremism" of such personalities as Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh.
What they ought to be doing instead is taking lessons from Beck as he lectures in front of a blackboard, a fitting symbol for what has gone wrong. Conservatism is rising, and we have the intellectual and historical high ground.
http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/11/conservati...
/I said the other day that the Dems/Libs have woken the sleeping giant
So I'm curious…I was just listening to a national news soundbite on my local a.m. news show and Waxman was blabbing on and on about the horrors of steroid use in professional sports and how it could get into high schools ….blah…blah blah….nostrils flaring……blah…. Well my question is this….Should these men not get to decide what to do with their own bodies … shrink the jewels, etc….? just like the libutards say a woman has a right to do….even as young as 12 or 13 with respect to ripping a life out or taking Plan B drugs and other hormone manipulating products?…. Seems like a double standard to me….wait….silly me….
…."Seems like a double standard to me….wait….silly me…. "
Now you get it
The Obama magic has faded
All politics is local, they say, and Tuesday’s off-off-year elections certainly had their local angles. Jon Corzine has been a terrible governor even by the undemanding standards of terribly governed New Jersey. Creigh Deeds, though he looked good to Democratic Party recruiters not long ago, turned out to be an undistinguished campaigner, more driven by the concerns of Washington Post editorialists than of Virginia voters. And NY-23 Republican nomineee Dede Scozzafava was a bizarre choice, bizarre enough to inspire a seemingly quixotic third-party run by Doug Hoffman.
Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnis...
ThinkRight,
AMEN!
I am not a rich fat cat and yet I am a staunch conservative. I was raised Dem in a pro-Union household.
I became a Republican long, long ago when I was just barely over the poverty level when I read the voter's pamphlet for every election and I discovered the Dem policies would KEEP me at that level, but the GOP ideal supported me rising to the top.
I've said for over 20 years the GOP is not JUST the party of the fat cats, but of the common man who wants to do right by his family, and carve out something for himself.
Right now, I'm REALLY not happy with the GOP's leadership or platform, and their recent performance in congress, and in politics, such as supporting RINO's and earmarks have stopped my contributions to them, but there is NO FLIPPING WAY a Democrat will offer me a decent choice that supports my values.
I hope the GOP takes your advise and listens to Glen and Rush, and frankly the tea party, the blogs, ad the people like you and I. Middle class CONSERVATIVE America.
That picture looks vaguely like some kind of bondage pic., but it was nice to see a couple wins in Virginia and New Jersey.
Good morning everyone
How are you feeling?
It is a crisp morning here and my cold is going away. I feel regenerated. I'm not sure what it is but I feel more optimistic like things are going to be ok.
Hey it might be that day-quil kicking in or maybe that resume I sent. Who knows, but I hope you all have a happy day too.
"The Republican Party scored wins for governor from Chris Christie in New Jersey and Bob McDonnell in Virginia, but a congressional seat in New York — held by the GOP since the late 1800s — went to a Democrat."
Voice of Darth Vader: "This is CpinNN."
John Payne!
He may not be a legend, but he was one of the most popular and liked leading men over on the FOX lot back in the 40s. Good acting chops, sang, danced, wasn't gay, excelled at light comedy and in breaking Alice Faye's heart in several musicals until the final reel.
He had a strong, manly presence and was bright enough to know when his 'pretty boy' days were over and then moved into westerns and crime dramas which he produced.
His most famous film – MIRACLE ON 34th STREET in 1947. Surprisingly, FOX cut him loose after that or maybe he made the move himself.
He has a slew of hits that still get run today.
TIN PAN ALLEY
SUN VALLEY SERENADE
WEEK-END IN HAVANA
SPRINGTIME IN THE ROCKIES
HELLO FRISCO HELLO
THE DOLLY SISTERS
SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY – major fave with the ladies and never on video or DVD
THE RAZOR'S EDGE (as he gets ready to jump ship)
Here he introduces the still heard standard "Give Me the Simple Life" from the 1946 film, WAKE UP AND DREAM.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svQrMIXupQM
http://www.boingboing.net/2009/11/03/secret-copyr...
Check it out. There's been leak on what's in the secret copyright treaty. So much for promises of net neutrality. It looks like BO is going after the very things that helped mobiize to get him elected. Enjoy the Internet while you can.
I liked it overall, but I was a little annoyed at the idea that religion and aliens are incompatible. Do they seriously think we religious folks still confine all of our existence to just the planet Earth?
Very bland. I expected more. No compelling cast members to me. (And a geeky nitpick: you can fly a ship through interstellar space but you're going to fight people with knives??)
I never saw the original series, but I liked this one fairly well, although it seemed to me they revealed too much too soon. Frankly, with all the allusions to Obama and his administration, I'm a little surprised this show even made it on the air.
Yeah, even NBC wasn't trying to disguise this as anything other than what it was for the two parties. Small wonder CNN is near the bottom of the ratings.
ah.. that's a common theme in a LOT of good sci-fi books though. If you've ever gone through the Raman series by Clarke and Gentry, it's a HUGE part of the Rama books/series
It's not. The American electorate takes a little time to get in motion. But when they do, politicians beware.
Remember Reagan's two landslides.
Always nice to see that John Payne is still remembered. Now that holiday season is rolling around we can look forward his best role in "Miracle on 34th Street." He and Maureen O'Hara made a very believable couple and Payne held his own with some of the greatest scene-stealers in Hollywood history. My favorite moment in Christmas films is the by-play between Gene Lockhart''s nervous judge and Bill Frawley's crusty campaign manager over the judge's decision to announce that Santa Claus doesn't exist:
FRAWLEY (choleric) – "All right.. You do that and you can count on getting just two votes…. Your own and that of that District Attorney out there."
LOCKHART (miserable) – "The District Attorney's a Republican."
Great stuff!
"We should be unfaithful to ourselves if we should ever lose sight of the danger to our liberties if anything partial or extraneous should infect the purity of our free, fair, virtuous, and independent elections." –John Adams
If you're trying to cover up your presence, you will use whatever works and draws the least attention to yourself. Knives are perfectly mundane, and most people folks, like yourself, would think "why on earth would an adanced species use something so primitive." Had they made a practive of using lasar pistols and floating bombs all the time, something would have gotten out.
I think they counting on a good portion of their audience having prior knowledge of the old mini-series. For those people, a big dramatic build up to a reveal would be sort of anti-climactic. We already know what they are in meta-terms, so the writers have to come up with other ways to play "gotcha" with most of us.
Daily Jihad watch:
European and American jihadists training in Afghanistan, Pakistan
Then they're going home and…waiting. "Report: Western jihadists being trained in Afghanistan, Pakistan," from DPA, November 3 (thanks to James):
Paris – More and more Europeans and Americans are travelling to Afghanistan and Pakistan to be trained to carry out jihad, or Islamic armed struggle, against the West, the online edition of the French daily Le Figaro reported Tuesday on a blog dedicated to the region.
Citing 'several Western intelligence services,' the report noted that at least 30 potential jihadists from Germany have traveled to Afghanistan and Pakistan since the beginning of the year.
Last year, about 12 others returned to Germany from the area, provoking fears about the existence of dormant terrorist cells that could act eventually….
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2009/11/european-and-am...
I understand that; it's just old is all. One recent sci-fi book I really liked was The Sparrow. In that book, a team funded by Jesuits is sent out to make first contact. It was different.
Ever catch Garry Shandling's 'What planet are you from'?
Near the end, he's getting drunk in a bar and starts letting it slip he's an alien. Goes something like "what is it about asses? You think we developed the technology for inter galactic travel, and when we get her, all we want is to see what's up your ass?'
The NY-23 was a lot more important than just the return numbers.
In NY the liberal and conservative parties are little more dropping off than the more than extensions of the democratic and republican parties. Mostly what they try to do is nudge their perspective wings slightly more left and right.
Hoffman may have lost, but he was running as an extreme long shot. All the media circus, the switching and dropping out. Normally I wouldn't expect to see a conservative party with more than 5 – 10% of the vote.
Hoffman got 46%. A very good showing to NY republican party they should start paying a whole lot more attention to that wing of their party.
The conservative party in NY usually runs the republican candidate on their ballot line. They usually pull 5 – 10% of the vote.
Hoffman pulled in 46%. That is an absolutely amazing feat in NY.
CNN may brush it off, but speaking as an upstate New Yorker, that was a phenomenal accomplishment.
Of course he is. Obama is a liberal, which means big government, total control, with him in charge.
As the serpent said to the dying lion he'd just bit 'you knew what I was when you put me in your mouth.'
Well they did reelect Bloomberg one of the biggest Rhinos of all.
I believe that is one of the reasons the GOP and Newt decided Scozza was there best chance.
Wrong again and looked foolish doing it.
Agree, ThinkRight. The controversial "personalities" are leading the charge to save the nation. We must stand together.
No More Political Correctness.
It's mind-boggling. How can people who value a woman's right to do what she chooses with her body – how can these same people crave government health care, which will dictate everything one does with one's body? (and mind?)
New York is the home for the Rockefeller wing of the republican party.
What passes for a conservative here would get run out of Texas as a fascist. The GOP and Newt were more interested in showing party unity than having a reliable, winnable candidate. They actually worry about the crud coming out of the left that Hoffman was proof moderate republicans are not welcome.
They are part of the GOP's problems, not the solution.
. . . and "net neutrality" is just their bizarro deceptive title for "net control."
Jed, I think this was a stunning victory — especially in New Jersey. When does New Jersey ever vote for a Republican?
Sounds to me like a lot of Kool Aid drinkers are suffering from Kool Aid remorse right about now.
Yes, but some had laser guns in the same attack. They fully expected to kill _everyone_, so why wouldn't they plan to do it in the most efficient way? In any case, my nitpickery just emphasizes that I wasn't entranced. Anyone know how the ratings were?
Hah! That's because God gave us the finest asses in all the universe!
That's how you handle it with liberals, refuse to allow them to set the rules for the debate.
I think back to all the research you have done over at Commenterama which shows just how conservative America really is. I think not just independents, but even a lot of traditional moderate "Reagan" Democrats are stunned by how far this adminstration has over reached. I know the Democrat press will be working hard to pretend the economy is back on track over the next year!
Barbara Walters Sits Down with Sarah Palin for 5-Part Interview
ABC's Barbara Walters will sit down with former Vice Presidential candidate and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin for a five-part interview series later this month.
The interview, timed to coincide with the release of "Going Rogue: An American Life," begins airing on "Good Morning America" on Tuesday, Nov. 17. Portions will also air that week on "Nightline" and on "20/20" Friday, Nov. 20.
http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/abc/barbara_w...
/I hope Palin eats her lunch
/Hahaha
ITA with the oldness. That was my overall feeling–they were using SUCh old tropes…felt like they were running down their plot point checklist but no emotion or originality to any of it.
Obama’s “Bush Did It” Narrative – by Jamie Glazov
FP: Victor Davis Hanson, welcome to Frontpage Interview.
I’d like to talk to you today about radical Islam and the Obama administration’s ability and inclination, or lack thereof, to confront it.
What’s the best way to begin this discussion?
http://frontpagemag.com/2009/11/04/obamas-bush-di...
/Golly… Are the masses starting to wake up and smell the coffee ?
Hanson: Thanks Jamie.
The paradigm of discussing radical Islam is entirely different after January 20. Jihad has been institutionalized now as a benign personal odyssey rather than explicatory of the sort of murderous attacks we have seen since 1979 directed at the West, most recently with the four Islamic plots to kill Americans by radical Islamists since Obama has taken office.
Even though it felt rushed, I really enjoyed this remake of V. It's a great idea to make the visitors so similar to humans (the original V made the aliens' voices slightly distorted). The growing sense of paranoia reminds me of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" and "The Thing".
That's what I thought. "How can belief in God be sustained with the arrival of these aliens?" God created the entire Universe, right? We don't know how He stocked the rest of it. Is there a book out there where earthmen visit an alien planet and the people there know of Jesus? That would be a good read.
"Scientists say it's impossible for alien life to look like us." Not with the same Creator.
The Sparrow and The Children of God sort of cross that bridge; while the aliens don't know of God, it is through the interactions (warning they are pretty horrible – for the earth folks) that a deep connection is discovered between the two planets.
These two books are sort of like a train wreck. Bad things keep happening, but you just can't look away (or put the book down). When you read the author;s commentary in the back, you discover that she had finally come to the realization that faith was the best way to raise her kids, and being an atheist, she sort of resented that realization. When read through that lens, the book makes a lot of sense.
You can bet they'll edit the interview to make her look bad!!
I saw the floating splinter bomb and couldn;t believe that no one noticed it for so long. But I totally missed the lasar pistols.
Congressman Thaddeus McCotter, THE man: http://www.threedonia.com/archives/15406 .
When any person of the Muslim faith travels to those two countries they should understand they can't return period, for any reason……they have to stay there for the rest of their lives how ever long or short it is. That would stop that s**t
Not a bad idea. If they shift training sites, include that country in the ban. Pretty soon, even Muslims might get sick of other murderous Muslims. Then they can limit their murder to amongst themselves. That would be *paradise found*.
How nice. Hope you get the job (or at least an interview). Pop outside if you feel up to it. Fresh air in your lungs is a good thing for body and spirit – esp. when you have not felt well.
I listened to Christie's acceptance speech a couple times last night. He sounded like a real guy who knows New Jersey and cares about the people living there. He sounded like he had actually been to the towns he talked about and understood them. I hope that perception is reality. I liked that he was not snotty towards Corzine or Obama, but instead concentrated on moving forward and fixing what is clearly broken. He has his work cut out for him with their liberal legislature and corruption problems. Having been a prosecutor will come in handy.
Nobody likes the guy who makes the hard decisions that may bring temporary discomfort for long term survival. Hopefully he has the finesse he showed thru the campaign.
I was watching a movie over the weekend. One of the lines in it (and I am paraphrasing) was: A politician looks out the window and sees a parade of folks going by and sez "those are my people – I must get in front of them and lead them"
Meaning, you band together in numbers and conviction and made yourself known then they (politicians) will adopt you cause – especially if they are rudderless – which defines the Republican party these days.
Personally, I would like to see Michael Steele replaced with someone with a strong conservative sense and the charisma to lead and make our points well. Someone with a fire in his or her belly. The temperature taking and feeble omni-checking of wind direction is for the birds.
We know where we are going, they can get in ront and lead or get trampled.
Jed, That's why I always get frustrated when they call people with far left views "moderates." In poll after poll, the real "moderate" in America is actually rather far right on almost every issue.
And I think you're right, I think this election was a repudiation of the far left approach the Democrats are taking in policy making right now. Nothing they are doing is consistent with the thinking of normal Americans.
P.S. Glad you like the website! Don't forget to come vote today on what it means to be a conservative!
Come vote on what it means to be a conservative!
http://commentarama.blogspot.com/2009/11/commenta...
I already did, but thought I would post a link for others who I think would enjoy voting. The more responses, the better:
http://commentarama.blogspot.com/
Thanks for voting Jed. You're right, the more the better. I'm actually really excited to see the results. Some surprises so far, in fact.
I agree, it seemed a little cramped- maybe they needed a 2-hr premier? But overall, I liked it and I'll watch it again.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Big Hollywood and Fernando Colon, Michael Chavez. Michael Chavez said: Open Thread Wednesday http://bit.ly/4Dgv4I [...]
Great night! He finally arrived!
Who? Why, it's:
THE AMERICAN REGENT
http://naturalfake.wordpress.com/2009/11/04/the-a...
Now that they've won, those guys had better do a damn good job or they'll be out in the next election cycle. People want REAL chance and REAL results, and if these guys don't deliver the goods, well, that's just more bad news for the party I'm afraid. Good luck GOP!
I hope they do well as well, though I'm not sure how much support they'll have from their legislatures. Still, if they stick with good conservative ideas, they should do quite well.
good info..i didn't know much about that guy.
good piece! thanks. I lived the Carter nightmare as a teen, what a weak idiot – as he still is to this day.
More evidence of Europe caving in to Islam. When with this Italian joke of a judge prosecute some Islamic Jihadists? Oh ya that's right, he wants to LIVE until ripe old retirement age!
"An Italian judge found 23 Americans and two Italians guilty Wednesday in the kidnapping of an Egyptian terror suspect, delivering the first legal convictions anywhere in the world against people involved in the CIA's extraordinary renditions program."
Always happy to share. IMDB will have his films and I think there is a decent amount of comments by his fans,
I like the dialog in TIN PAN ALLEY where Payne as Francis Harrigan tries to convince building manager Casey to give him a break on the rent due b/c they are both Irish.
Casey replies, "But the landlord's name is Goldfarb."
I know Carrie Prejean has posted at Big Hollywood before…is she going to say anything about the whole alleged sex tape thing?
Godzilla is loose and the people of Philadelphia are running for their lives…
Of course everyone knows Miracle on 34th Street, but I've always had a "Million Dollar Movie" affection for another Payne/O'Hara pairing in "Tripoli" – weak on a very compelling chapter in history (in my area, there are annual celebrations for the military hero Richard Somers), but – and you may argue the point – there was a chemistry between Payne and O'Hara that was as sharp and sassy as Hepburn and Tracy.
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