I must confess-I am not a huge fan of documentaries especially those made by partisan manipulators like Michael Moore and Al Gore. In fact, I find most documentaries quite boring. One would think that as a mother of six and grandmother of eight, I would have enjoyed “Babies,” but after five minutes I was switching the channels to something more stimulating. Maybe I’m all babied out.

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When I received a request by a priest to review a film, “The Human Experience,” I was less than enthused. As a columnist for the New York Sun, my mail box was always filled with similar requests which I seldom had time to address although those received from Moving Picture Institute in Tribeca proved quite interesting and I eventually wrote columns about their features. “Mine Your Own Business: The Dark Side of Environmentalism, “written and directed by Phelim McAleer was a favorite and McAleer became Al Gore’s public nemesis for challenging him at forums about global warming.

This being the start of the Christmas season, however, I was intrigued by the priest’s invite when he told me the documentary was made by young residents of St. Francis House, a group home for troubled youth founded by Father Benedict Groeschel. Grassroots Films began here at the home when producer Joe Campo had the residents take up the art of filmmaking. After a few successful short films, the young men decided to live on the streets of New York City to learn about the homeless community. From there the film developed with opportunities to visit areas around the world to discover how our humanity transcends our environment. One of these treks includes a visit to a leper colony in Ghana; another to dying AIDS victims in Africa. (more…)

In November 1974, Werner Herzog received a most distressing phone call. Lotte Eisner, the beloved doyenne of German cinema, was dying. Part film historian, part published critic, part heroic preservationist, and part muse to the filmmakers struggling to piece together the broken shards of German culture left in the wake of the Nazis, Eisner was a legendary figure in Herzog’s eyes, and had inspired him to persevere through a decade of near-poverty as a struggling director. Now, at seventy-eight years old, she was deathly ill and not expected to survive.

Herzog was in Munich, Eisner in Paris, and their mutual friends implored the thirty-two-year-old director to fly to France post-haste so that he might say his goodbyes while there was still time. But Herzog would have none of it. “This must not be,” he remembered thinking. “German cinema could not do without her now. We would not permit her death.” And so, suddenly afire with what he once called in another context “the fervor and woe of pilgrims and prayers and hopes,” Herzog made a momentous decision: he would set out from his apartment in Munich and walk the five-hundred miles to Paris “in full faith, believing that she would stay alive if I came on foot.”

Days stretched into weeks as he trod alone through the winter sleet, sometimes breaking into barns or empty cottages to survive the cold nights and taking only a single detour, “to the town of Troyes, because I wanted to walk into the cathedral there.” Finally he arrived exhausted at Eisner’s Paris apartments to find her “still tired and marked by her illness,” but recovering against all odds. She would live nine more years, until at last, “when she was nearly blind, could not walk or read or go out to see films,” she called Herzog back to Paris and told him, “Werner, there is still this spell cast over me that I am not allowed to die. I am tired of life. It would be a good time for me now.” Herzog recalls that, “Jokingly I said, ‘OK, Lotte, I hereby take the spell away,” and three weeks later Lotte Eisner died. (more…)

If you’re a first generation watcher of MTV, you must remember the year 1984 and  Band Aid. Bob Geldof and other musicians from Duran Duran, Genesis, Culture Club, The Police and U2 teamed up to make a record which would raise money to buy food for starving people in Africa.

How? Through record sales. In other words: Capitalism.

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They didn’t demand that any government should pay the tab for the recording, production or distribution of their product. They relied on the free market system to solve the problem.

There was no politically correct objection to the song’s refrain which clearly references “Christmas” by saying “feed the world, let them know it’s Christmas time again.” (more…)

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This past Saturday, my wife Karen, and I had the opportunity to once again take in a U2 show.  This one was at Soldier Field in Chicago and kicked off the U.S. leg of the 360 Tour.  The tour gets its name from the round stage — which allowed for more seating.  We had been to several U2 shows in the past, but never a stadium concert.  Every one of those extra seats was filled and the energy was tremendous.

What I am struck by is the amazing solidarity U2 has had over the years.  Make no mistake, they are an exquisite team.  Many people know of my relationship with Bono.  He is a man of faith who has used his celebrity to save countless lives in Africa.  He’s the front man with haunting vocals.  The Edge has that unique sound which keeps the band moving forward.  Larry Mullen’s drums keeps them in the now.  Finally, Adam Clayton’s bass allows the band to maintain that seemingly raw quality.  It’s no wonder they have been one of the world’s greatest rock bands all these years. (more…)

I suspect that because George Bush and Condoleezza Rice were so respectful of Muslims, constantly telling us that theirs is a religion of peace, some otherwise sensible Americans actually began to believe it.  Now we have a president who not only kowtows to a Saudi prince, but carries on as if Israeli homes are more threatening than Iranian nukes.

What is wrong with our leaders?  Are they worried that they won’t be invited to those cool Ramadan parties?  The Islamists have been actively at war with us for 30 years and generally at war with western civilization for well over a thousand years, and still we pay lip service to these people in a way we never did with Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan or the Soviet Union.  Is it because the Muslims commit sadism and murder in the name of religion and not country?  If anything, I would think that would make their evil acts all the more contemptible. (more…)

 The upcoming documentary “Not Evil Just Wrong” skewers global warming alarmists in the media and around the world. But filmmakers Ann McElhinney and Phelim McAleer contend their movie isn’t a conservative one.

“It’s a liberal, socialist film. It’s about poor people in Africa and America,” McAleer says. “We’re not interested in insulting anyone or winning political points,” McAleer continues. “I don’t care about your politics and I’m not going to demonize you.”

But what McAleer and McElhinney won’t stand for is watching people suffer while serious, glaring misinformation guides public policy.

That happened during the misinformation campaign surrounding the use of DDT years ago to stop the spread of malaria, they say, and it could happen soon if the U.S. adopts cap and trade legislation which will hamper industry – and curtail American prosperity. (more…)

Twenty-four year-old Susan La Muse has god-like powers. Actually, her powers surpass those of God since she can reconstitute dead people from scraps of debris and restore them to full health and cognizance. She waves her arms and AIDS disappears from Africa. Every internal combustion engine changes to electric (although the question of what is generating this electricity is never answered.)  She makes disparaging remarks about being a “white girl” while celebrating every other race. And she solves most of her problems through sex. 

Straight sex, gay, bi, group, it doesn’t matter to the sexually omnivorous Susan whose libido knows no bounds. In her most asinine encounter, which becomes key to “world peace,” Susan pulls a train of skinhead Nazis who quickly see the light, accept their “bi-curious” strains and copulate with her and one another. Thereafter, anyone who views her sex tape becomes one with the world and all living things. And “Kumbaya” was heard in the land.   (more…)

I’ll admit up front: I’ve never been a U2 fan. I never really understood the appeal of their self-righteous brand of music, and frontman Bono, with his made-up solo moniker (real name Paul David Hewson) and ever-present see-through wraparound sunglasses, simply irritates me.

Yet I was willing to give him some credit for working with former President Bush on a cause they both believed in – AIDS and poverty in Africa – even though he disagreed with Bush’s stance on Iraq. I honestly don’t think throwing all the money in the world at Africa will change anything there unless the tin pot dictators on that continent are all tossed out on their hineys – and I believe fellow rock star philanthropist Bob Geldof said something similar - but that’s beside the point. I might think even more of Bono if he were to give all of his own massive fortune to the needy in Africa before he lectures the rest of us about our “responsibility,” but I doubt even his philanthropic tendencies go that far. If he did, how could he afford to do things that only rich folks can do, like have his favorite hat flown from the UK to Italy because he forgot it? 

But cool rock stars have their limits. Apparently the B Man reached his when Bush tried to give him a hug at a prayer breakfast a couple of years ago. Adroitly dodging the president by scooting behind the podium, he shook his hand instead. Apparently Bush was good for soaking for taxpayer money for Bono’s cause, but that didn’t merit a hug.

Surprisingly, the media failed to pick up on that little maneuver until this week, when Bono admitted to the dodge in a BBC interview. Why mention it now? Apparently he felt bad about it, but since no one noticed it, why point it out publicly and humiliate someone who is no longer in the public eye? He could have just written Bush a private note saying “sorry, dude.” But I’m a little more cynical – I’m thinking he knew about the buzz of publicity that would accompany his little admission. See, with Bush out of office and criticizing Obama being verboten in the media, even new evidence of old Bush-bashing would immediately be picked up on and go viral. When a world tour is looming, any publicity will work in a pinch. (more…)

I’ve been way behind on this, mainly because I had relatives staying with me, and consequently I’ve been drunk for four days. However, this piece of footage is still worth showing, courtesy of Weaselzippers. In it CNN’s Don Lemon is interviewing a correspondent about President Obama’s visit to Ghana. Here Lemon earnestly brings up the “unprecedented” welcome Obama received upon his arrival. Only he finds out quickly, that it wasn’t unprecedented. In fact it’s totally precedented, if indeed that’s a word:

Watch Lemon’s response around thirty seconds in. It looks like someone gently pokes him with a stun gun.

Can we go back to that moment again? But this time, producers, let’s slow-mo it.

Joy! In that instant, you learn a couple of valuable things:

-Lemon is adorable when he’s miffed (more…)

We do admit to being conflicted, sometimes, when writing about the politics of Global Warming hysteria.

It is hilarious that Al Gore’s electricity bill is ten times the national average. However, our idea of a perfect world is when everyone in Africa and the developing world is so wealthy they are using the same amount of electricity as the former vice-president.

If the world were that wealthy it would mean the end of the scourge of needless child mortality. It would mean that people in Africa would live long and healthy lives and get to know the joy of their grandchildren.  It would mean that children would know how wonderful it is to see their parents live to an old age. (more…)

I have been a proud conservative Republican my entire life. My father and Jimmy Carter saw to that. My first vote ever was for Ronald Reagan in 1980, and I have never voted for a Democrat. Ever. Even today, the reasons for my being so have not changed, despite the media’s and liberal Democrats’ tireless efforts to discredit my belief system. Though the times may change, core principles never do. I have also served this nation proudly in uniform for six years, and don’t regret a minute of it.

In the early 1980s, my military service brought me to some of the darker corners of the world. I spent time in South Korea and Marcos’ Philippines when both countries were under martial law. Knowing I could be shot just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time really woke me up to what exactly it is we have here in America. Seeing a thousand Vietnamese Boat People pulled out of the South China Sea in one day only reinforced my belief in America, Sweet Land of Liberty.

Today, the Party of Lincoln and Reagan appears to be in political disarray, which is why I am writing this OpEd now. Yet many promising developments, along with some huge mistakes by Congress and the Obama Administration, have opened many new doors for us. If only we will enter. (more…)

I may get in a lot of trouble for this, but that’s the risk you take with bold statements. And the bill on slavery reparations, currently before a Congressional committee, requires the boldest. Even President Obama stated he was against this a year ago. Why is this bill even in committee?

Well, if he isn’t going to say anything, I am. By the way, this is an old song. Never liked it.

The issue of reparations for slavery, once a hot topic of political speculation and conjecture among pundits everywhere, not to mention political agitation and racial tension, is fast becoming a possible source of yet even more crushing financial drain on an already shaky American economy.

It is called H.R. 40, submitted by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) with three co-sponsors, and its exact title is  “Commission to Study Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act.” It was introduced on January 6th of this year, and has since been referred to committee. (more…)

I’ll be the first to say it; Barack Obama’s G20 speech inspired me over the past week… I tell you no lies. In the spirit of his apologetic, butt-kissing extravaganza, I felt compelled to make some additional apologies on behalf of our backwards nation. I suggest you all pitch in and add your own. As Americans, we’ve all got a lot to be sorry for… But admitting that we have a problem is the first step towards recovery.

To England: I would like to apologize on behalf of my American Forefathers, for flipping you the finger, fleeing your tyranny and kicking the ever-loving crap out of you only to become the world’s greatest superpower within a mere century.

I’d also like to apologize for all of the goods, services and exploding ingenuity that resulted from our crazy new liberty-based system being put into place. Capitalism is a bitch. I get that now. (more…)