Burnt Offering: Artists Must Unite to Protect Free Speech
by Robert DaviSo I wake up groggy and after getting my morning green tea –- yeah, I seem to be going through that phase — coffee doesn’t go well with global warming. Anyway, I start the computer and begin my ritual of clearing out emails; a daunting but necessary task where depending on my time and interest I sometimes randomly open something to read.
If your mailbox is like mine you receive an overwhelming amount of political stuff and reading it all can be a time-suck of enormous proportions. Let’s face it, if you don’t derive your living from this stuff, no matter how much of a concerned citizen you may be, there comes a point where you have to say, “Ah, is this paying my mortgage?” That’s reality biting you in the ass and so the knee-jerk reaction is to press delete and move on to something that may add a few more dollars to your already crumbling retirement fund. But, and I stress BUT, like the” pusher man” (remember that song, G** D**** the Pusher Man?) who you cannot seem to get away from, the sheer volume of political noise coming at you can’t be ignored and after just one peek … aaahhh your fix takes hold.
There’s a great scene in Sergio Leone’s “Once Upon a Time in America” where a young hoodlum waits to have his way with a local girl who “gives it up” for the price of a big cream-puff pastry. As this little guy with the cutest most innocent 10 year-old face sits on the steps outside her tenement door, he looks at his nicely wrapped pastry and smiles in the knowledge of what’s coming in just a few short moments. But this kid is so innocent-looking you know he doesn’t quite understand what he’s waiting for. In fact, there’s more trepidation than anything else in his countenance. Anyway, not being able to help himself, he opens the paper wrapper the pastry’s wrapped in, looks at the whipped cream on top, looks at the girls’ door, thinks for a bit and then wraps it back up. Well, this goes on a few moments until the boy succumbs to the allure of the pastry, takes his finger, and tastes the cream on the edges of the wrapping paper. He repeats this until he can no longer help himself and then gobbles the whole thing up with the most satisfied, beautifully innocent look just as the girl opens her door and beckons him to her, The boy, no longer hungry having had a far greater pleasure then she can provide, runs off.
At this point you’re all wondering what the significance of this is. There is none. Only kidding. Actually there is meaning and if you can figure it out I’ll treat you to a slice of pizza at Via Alloro in Beverly Hills.
Getting back to my emails…
I opened a few of them and one caught my eye that read: “Pelosi Wants To Ban Fox News from The Floor — she tells Keith Olbermann.” Now this woke me better than 5 liters of Red Bull given intravenously — the hypocrisy, the absolute absurd accusation by her regarding a news outlet that is fairer and more balanced than the others… And I watch them all. Not looking to see who agrees with my point of view but for who is trying to fairly present differing points of view.
I don’t agree with Olbermann, or most of the MSNBC line-up, but I watch them, want to hear their opinions and while I may vehemently disagree with how unbalanced I feel they are … to NOT let them report is DANGEROUS. Pelosi is not protecting the Constitution and should be impeached over this. President Obama, who has also attacked Fox, should tell her to stand down with this kind of rhetoric; the same rhetoric we’ve heard before concerning talk radio and the Fairness Doctrine.
While Presidents in the past may have canceled newspaper subscriptions over a disagreement with a certain publication, that is our prerogative as consumers. I see no harm in that. But when our elected officials even float the idea of having a major news outlet banned from Congress, something is rotten.
With all these thoughts boiling in my brain, I called a good friend of mine to rant and…. We find out the Pelosi quote is a hoax.
She never said it.
Orson Welles would have had a field day with the Internet.
Yeah, I got suckered … but for good reason. Sometime between the 2008 election and this morning the idea of a high-ranking Democrat threatening to ban a legitimate news organization from the floor of the House has quickly moved from inconceivable to entirely believable. After all, last week the White House — our White House – attempted to block Fox News from a pool report interview. Thankfully, the other news outlets refused to allow this to happen, but that doesn’t change what our White House attempted to do. It also doesn’t change the fact that two of President Obama’s top guys – Rahm Emanuel and David Axelrod – were sent out to the Sunday shows last week to tell other networks that Fox News wasn’t legitimate – to tell other networks what is and is not legitimate news.
We need differing points of view. If Fox is silenced who will MSNBC hosts argue with night after night? Some respected pundits write this off as a minor issue saying the President should not tangle with Fox and keep his eye on pushing health care. But, my dear fellow Americans, we need to keep our eye on THIS. Because if we do not the Obama Administration has made clear their goals -– if we do not, the administration has every intention of seeing to it we are spoon fed what to think, say and feel. And regardless of politics, that is an insidious and frightening thing.
I call on all of my colleagues — actors and actresses, singers, musicians, writers, directors… if we in the artistic community stand idly by out of fear we will slip further from our beloved democracy. We must unite together over an issue that has nothing to do with party affiliation. This is about freedom of speech and those in power are trying to put that freedom in jail, not only in America but around the world – as we saw when Michael Savage was banned from Cambridge.
Contact me. Join the free–speech campaign: info@free–speech.com
It is time to put the flag in the sand for the First Amendment.
But please act quickly…
God Bless you all and God Bless America,
Robert Davi
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64 Comments
The Boy represents the Public.
The Girl represents the Democrat Party; her Sexual Favors represent Socialism.
The Pastry represents Freedom.
I've bitten on a couple of those Internet hoaxes, too; as you write, the problem is that the less outlandish of them seem all too plausible. And it's because of the attitude being shown in DC by our (self-proclaimed) betters, that we should just shut up, put up, and do what we are told because they know better than we how to run our lives and what we need to know. When concerned (and yes, angry) citizens at town hall meetings are derided as a mob, or worse; when citizens are beaten by thugs allied to the majority party; when the President of the United States arrogates to himself the right to declare a new organization illegitimate, then, yes, rumors like the one you received are all to believable.
All I can say to the progressive elitists in DC and the media is that payback is coming in 2010, and you know what they say about payback.
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One in the hand is better than two in the bush?
The bush is burning, but not being consumned.
Chaff. So much confusion of facts, quotes, proposals, amendments, noise, and it all serves as obfuscation of the target. If everyone's a racist, everything is a hoax, everyone is lying, and no one is representing– then the temptation to cynicism is strong and the Truth dies long before the Freedom of Speech does.
But it's all of a piece.
I think some of these hoaxes originate from Rahm Emmanuel. During the Clinton years, rumors would spring up about Clinton's activities which could be later easily disproven, and then dragged out as evidence that the legitimate accusations against him were equally bogus. This White House is in intense Damage Control mode 24/7.
I mistakenly thought that if the Democrats finally won, they would shut up and govern the country. I was wrong. They don't want to share power. They want it all and they will go to any lengths to make us conform. This is just sick governing and I hope they get voted out in 2012.
There is a lot that makes me uneasy about him. He puts off a bad spirit. And it goes a whole lot further than hating this healthcare reform. I'm worried what else he is doing while we are watching healthcare reform in his right hand, what is the left hand doing?
Why don't you call on Fox News to act like a real news organization instead of just a mouthpiece for the Republican party?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCWzU9KUmpg
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I actually found it more unbelievable that the other networks in the White House press pool stood up against the White House last week on behalf of Fox.
We live in an upside down world.
Such original thought from the left.
I'm humbled by your big brain
The One employed these same tactics during the campaign. Disprove a "smear" that actually came from your own troops, and, in theory, you can enhance your own credibility. Is that an Alinsky tactic? Yeah, I gotta getta holda that book.
Lol!
Conservatives Rise up, to defend your Homes, Your Guns, and the Pastry of Freedom!
Gasp. Only Republicans know that unemployment is the highest it's been in decades, that Obama hasn't waved his magic wand and created all those jobs he promised? Who will tell the unemployed liberals, since none of them watch Fox?
You tell us, palmtree… where in the heck ARE all those jobs that Obama's mismanaged, pork-barrel-ridden, out-of-control stimulus package was suppose to create months ago before unemployment surpassed double digits? Because they certainly aren't in MY neighborhood. I doubt they're in yours, either. Unless you live in Texas… Texas is doing remarkably fine. Capitalism triumphs once again.
And don't pull out that tired violin and try to blame this disaster on GW Bush… this is Obama's mess – he was warned months ago by economists and the CBO. Oh, wait – Fox is the new "Bush." So, if something goes wrong in the White House, blame Fox. Including the escalating unemployment and underemployment numbers.
We get it, wink wink.
Eveh, you are not alone in your concerns. Obama is still a socialist Chicago community organizer. Deduce from that what you may.
Democrats are still angry (about WHAT, I have no idea… my mom is a hard-core Democrat and she's been a whiny complainer all her life, always pulling out the "poor me" victim card, finally driving my dad to divorce her, he couldn't take the "glass is always half empty" mentality. A cautionary tale here, I believe).
The thought of our government controlling the media is truly terrifying, HOWEVER, it would instill a vote of confidence if these imbeciles actually came up with a plan and than successfully executed it. In this instance I think we would be giving this administration too much credit, not that it would make them any less dangerous. What is just as terrifying is our media selling out our security, by suppressing legitimate questions, just so that they can make a buck or push forth a private agenda. In actuality, aren't they the ones who are supposed to be watching our backs?
[...] News Sources wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptSo I wake up groggy and after getting my morning green tea –- yeah, I seem to be going through that phase — coffee doesn’t go well with global warming. Anyway, I start the computer and begin my ritual of clearing out emails; a daunting but necessary task where depending on my time and interest I sometimes randomly open something to read. If your mailbox is like mine you receive an overwhelming amount of political stuff and reading it all can be a time-suck of enormous proportions. Let’s [...]
[...] Original post: Burnt Offering: Artists Must Unite to Protect Free Speech [...]
fascist is as fascist does….( good article & cause )….nuff said….
Once more, if Fox News isn't a real news organization, why were they rated as having the most balanced coverage of any network during the '08 elections by the Pew Research Center? Or is that organization now also a mouthpiece for the Republicans? Grow up and give us a substantive comment instead of trotting out these stale one-liners.
Wait, I got it. The girl has sex with the pastry. The little boy sees her juice all over the pastry, drops it, and runs.
Every time Obama or his Dutch Wife, Nancy Pelosi, open their mouth about Fox News, Glenn Beck, or Rush Limbaugh, their ratings go up another point and their shows keep getting better and better. I say let 'em babble, their dogmatic rhetoric is going to come full circle and we'll have students actually studying the constitution before the Democrats convince their mind numbed robots it's the softer two ply roll. But for God Sakes let's not impeach these jerks, the libtards will turn them into martyrs for that.
i'm wanting a pastry about now.
The Democratic Party sold their collective souls when they backed Bill Clinton. They were forced to defend blatant lawlessness, cynicism, dishonesty, and ruthlessness coming directly out of the White House. Sitting there with a straight face, first denying he had done it, then denying it was a pattern of behavior, then contorting a President lying under oath into "it is only about sex". Soon, trying to cheat the country out of the Presidency in Florida was just part of the cynical party plan. Now, consistent open-faced lies, personal attacks, misrepresentations, and dishonesty are second nature to them.
Hail to the Blowjob Antichrist and his one-world government!
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No, no!
Pastries are no good for sex play. That is what veggis are for.
Pelosi stating to Olbermann that she wants to ban Fox from the House floor may be a hoax, but that doesn't mean she wouldn't champion such an effort if she could get away with it.
Actually there is meaning and if you can figure it out I’ll treat you to a slice of pizza at Via Alloro in Beverly Hills.
If I had to camp on Pelosi's doorstep waiting for a sexual favor, to hell with the cream puff, bring me a can of gasoline and a lighter…self-immolation would be preferable.
The sad thing here is that it's even on the table, that anyone would even suggest that freedom of speech be curtailed (Fairness Doctrine). Do the people who suggest this stuff ever look at it on paper to see how ridiculous it is? Or do the approving nods of sycophants and "opinion makers" give them all the affirmation they need? Oy.
Until China & India are on board with that global warming thing, we're fighting a losing battle. Until then, let's support the 3rd world econ w/Coffee! I'll drink your share. COFFEE! We can sleep when we're dead!
Sir, you lack the ability to differentiate. This tends to negate the lucidity of your statement. Do you understand the difference between conservatives & republicans? How about opinion and news? Fuel oil and natural gas? October and November? Ah, now we're getting somewhere!
"Why don't you call on Fox News to act like a real news organization instead of just a mouthpiece for the Republican party?"
Exactly how does a real news organization act?
Does a real news organization…
…take the President at his word?
…promote the policies of Congress?
…mock the administrations opponents?
…fact-check SNL skits about the President?
Is that what you mean be a real news organization?
I have been using the internet since 1992 and I have a little mantra I would like to share:
I have never learned anything that was true from an unsourced email.
If the email doesn't have a link to a reliable source, I don't even bother reading it.
A good majority of those in the artistic community lean Left. Those on the Left can't comprehend when one of their own screws them over and even then, they try to deny it is happening. No amount of warning or even the presentation of hard facts will convince them until they get the rude wake-up call after it is too late. At that point, they blame someone on the Right for something someone on the Left did.
In other words, your plea to the artistic community will sadly be falling on a lot of deaf ears since a majority will stay in denial. Obama is one of their own being a Leftist and they just can't bring themselves accept the fact that Obama could actually do anything wrong.
Don't look now…but I think the Reichstag is on fire.
You offer that link as a comdemnation? We were coerced into spending 700 BILLION for a stimulus package….and… Where are the jobs? If you're going to put out supporting evidence, at least have it show something indictable. Misleading editing, out of context soundbite, something. Instead you show SUPPORT of what the rest of the MSM is NOT doing…holding the administration accountable and asking tough questions.
Here's an example of misleading video. MSNBC declares armed WHITE RACISTS at town hall meeting-by showing a cropped video of a BLACK man carrying a gun. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYKQJ4-N7LI
and here is the REAL video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7syx26QtQIM&fe...
This was not a slight mistake, or cropping for time, or even an out of context bite. THIS WAS BLATANT LYING
If the MSM would just do their jobs instead of being a socialist propaganda arm, right wing media wouldn't even exist.
Sorry buddy, under the new socialist health plan, the health czar has declared eclares a health hazard by contributing to obesity. no pastries for you! eat your tofu burger and be thankfull you have that comrade.
just smoldering……for now. but it is concerning when you see the speaker of the house with a can of gasoline and the commander in chief playing with matches.
the price of freedom is eternal vigilance
Unfortunately, the price of Freedom is not just vigilance, it's blood.
You have drawn me into your zen koan pastry story, and its putative meaning beyond the literalness (not a shallow thing) of the scene. I have no recollection of context of the scene–so I am completely flying blind. Here goes. At the purely utilitarian level, the boy is simply being practical. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush (pun very much intended). He has no idea what is in store for him inside with the girl, but he sure knows what the pastry is all about.
One could also say he was impulsive, or the exact opposite of what I state above. That is, for most of us—putting aside the "10-year old" issue, say versus 16—the pleasure of what awaits him inside is greater than the pastry. So he was arguably a spendthrift.
Of course I jest. Neither of these ways of thinking actually capture what you describe. The boy is living in the moment. There is really nothing of great consequence occurring. No lives to be saved, no family to support, no moral obligations on the horizon. The boy makes a free choice and is happy with his decision. No regrets. He moves on. But how different would be the result if he went forward with the trade? There-in lay the key to the scene. One one level, he boy retains his childhood–but does director SL really value an innocence not prematurely lost? Maybe, but that's not quite it either. There seems to be something significant about rejecting sex beyond the mere innocence lost of it all.
I think the boy implicitly understands the higher human action of just eating the pastry versus a contrived purchased "less than fully human" contractual arrangement. I like to think he is choosing "freedom over bondage". I am quite sure he will happily choose to enter the girls room at some point, but on his own terms—not for some cheap trade. Is she kidding? Why the hell should I give her my pastry?
let's hope not. rarely does anyone win such things, even if they "win" the field.
Let those who would defend freedom resolve to fight as surely and desperately with this war of words before it comes to a change of weapons. For if you cannot steele yourself and stay focused in the face of the twitterings of idiots, can you be truely sure of yourself with the ache of swollen feet, the tearing pangs of an empty stomach, and the sounds of lead whistling about your head?
Obama telling Pelosi to stand down is a joke. He is merely a puppet and she is the puppet master. Wouldn't it be nice if subjects could be argued on their merits and bullying and name calling weren't the end product of any disagreement? I read both conservative and liberal websites and have noticed there is much more petty name calling, bullying and taunting in the comments from those who call themselves liberal. If C-SPAN quit televising the antics of the petulant infants in Congress, it would do more for our national security than doubling our nuclear arsenal. How can anyone take our country seriously after watching those clowns at work…talk about clueless.
Good column, Robert Davi. Thanks for link to free-speech campaign. (Isn't it insane that we need such a campaign?)
What it means …
Each of us has a comfort zone. We stick with what is familiar, where we know which way is up. The boy subconsciously chose the pastry, because he knew the pleasure it would provide. The girl was an unknown quantity.
In the context of reading email – or anything else – we tend to favor information that supports what we already believe, because that is more comfortable than confronting the unknown.
That is particularly true when we have limited time. We like reading things that confirm our beliefs.
You might not have intended this to go so far, but Pelosi, as with other liberals, truly does not understand the conservative perspective. It is foreign, unfamiliar, uncomfortable. It is difficult to persuade any liberal – or conservative, for that matter – to view issues from a perspective that differs from her own. First, for reasons already mentioned, it is hard to hold someone's attention long enough for them to understand the other perspective. Second, in the aftermath, people tend to revert to kind. They go back to their normal routines, their thoughts return to their normal patterns, and their fleeting grasp of that different perspective flickers out.
Which begs the question, what's a reliable source? Is Glenn Beck reliable? Is the New York Times? Is Pat Buchanan? Truth is more ephemeral than ever. And based on the comments on this site, it seems lots of people are living in a land where truth is a lie, where facts are fiction, and where reality is twisted beyond all measure.
Interesting that not one of you even commented on the point of the link , which was that Fox news anchors just repeated a Republican talking point catch phrase over and over. It's hard to think of a more clear example of a news organization working for a political party. If they at least said " many conservatives are asking , where are the jobs" , even that would a little less biased. But they don't even try to hide it , because you, their audience doesn't care in the least about objectivity. Of course they should report on unemployment, that's not the problem.
This is akin to news anchors repeating campaign slogans. Some republican strategist came up with this phrase "where are the jobs" and the Fox news folks repeat it over and over.
October and November aren't all that different where I live.
I do understand the difference between opinion and news , that's why I hate to see Fox undermining that distinction.
I understand that some conservatives are not republican , however most are and it's tiresome to hear them try to avoid responsibility for the failures of Bush by saying he wasn't a conservative.
The whole point of Fox from the beginning was to be a conservative news outlet. That was their business model for gods sake. Just like Murdoch has conservative papers , now he has conservative tv.
You just presented an example that applies to all media in this country. I don't see how its "shocking" or why bother to just point out Fox siding with a conservative talking point when 4 out of the 5 networks spend all day repeating DNC points. But at least it is a legitimate question as oppossed to the nonesense coming out of the rest.
I just found your site..this was excellent! I couldn't agree more- you've echoed my deeply felt sentiments-__"Rahm Emanuel and David Axelrod – were sent out to the Sunday shows last week to tell other networks that Fox News wasn’t legitimate – to tell other networks what is and is not legitimate news….Obama Administration has made clear their goals -– if we do not, the administration has every intention of seeing to it we are spoon fed what to think, say and feel. And regardless of politics, that is an insidious and frightening thing"
[...] testify on the legislation at today’s hearing and at a second hearing planned for November 2. Burnt Offering: Artists Must Unite to Protect Free Speech – bighollywood.breitbart.com 10/26/2009 So I wake up groggy and after getting my morning green tea [...]
Oh by the way , the story about the White House blocking Fox from the pool report was bogus too:
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/10/wh-wer...
Censorship is coming.
Freedom of Speech is no big deal, until you lose it. There are positive comments here and negative comments here,
both are good, however, it is important to remember that everyone and anyone is even able to comment at all and we as Americans should fiercely protect each other's right to sincerely state our opinions regardless if those opinions happen to give someone an ear ache. Don't tell Fox News to shut up, no one is telling the other News Stations to shut up, let's listen to each other and enjoy the rights that we are fortunate enough to have and that a lot of other countries envy. Robert Davi is right on and congratulations to him!
It is up to the individual to determine what is a reliable source. If someone thinks that Keith Olbermann's word is the truth, then they are free to believe everything he says. Same goes for Glenn Beck. To many people, anonymous words in an email are a reliable source.
How an individual determines their own truth is irrelevant to me. It only becomes relevant when they wish to share their information with me. That is when I will use my own criteria for reliable sources to determine whether I am going to believe their information.
“From where Winston stood it was just possible to read, picked out on its white face in elegant lettering, the three slogans of the Party:
War is Peace
Freedom is Slavery
Ignorance is Strength”
- Part One, Chapter I, 1984, by George Orwell
Reading the novel today is more terrifying to me now than when I first read it in high school. So much more of the novel is damningly familiar to me now in what I see on the evening news.
When Bill Clinton uttered, "I guess it all depends on what the defintion of "Is" is….. I began getting flashback's to Orwell's prophetic commentary on "Newspeak"…. where words mean what you are told they mean by governements and no longer by dictionaries and thousands of years of life and history.
Welcome to 2009 folks – just a little bit overdue by the Orwellian calendar, but arriving here neverheless.
And while they're at it, artists must unite to find jobs for out-of-work Goonies actors.
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