For Conservative Movie Lovers: John Ford, John Wayne, and ‘They Were Expendable’ Part 1

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“[John Ford] was the only one of the Hollywood directors who fought who did not forget his men.”

– Captain Mark Armistead, USN –

Thus quotes Joseph McBride in his masterful biography Searching for John Ford, at the head of the chapter dealing with the director’s wartime activities. It is usually seen as lamentable when a genius is pulled from the practice of his art for any extended period, but here we must make a special allowance. As filmmaker Lindsay Anderson (1923-1994) explains in his essential critical volume About John Ford (which, like the McBride book, should be sitting proudly and dog-eared on the bookshelf of every conservative film fan): “War service took Ford away from the making of films for some three years when his powers were at their height. One would regret this interruption more had it not led directly to the making of a masterpiece.” (more…)

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Tags: "John Ford's Navy", About John Ford (book), Bette Davis, bob hope, Charles Trowbridge
Posted Oct 17th 2009 at 11:09 am in Classic Hollywood | 24699460 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/lgrin/2009/10/17/for-conservative-movie-lovers-john-ford-john-wayne-and-they-were-expendable-part-1/For+Conservative+Movie+Lovers%3A+John+Ford%2C+John+Wayne%2C+and+%27They+Were+Expendable%27+Part+12009-10-17+18%3A09%3A04Leo+Grin

It’s the Saul Alinsky Comedy Show!

“The only way to upset the power structure in your communities is to goad them, confuse them, irritate them and, most of all, make them live by their own rules. If you make them live by their own rules, you destroy them. And never forget that ridicule is man’s most potent weapon. Comedy is our friend. Throw the kitchen sink at them!” – from Saul Alinksy’s “Rules for Radical Comedians.”

Alinsky

I never really had any insight into the pure comic genius of Saul Alinsky until I saw his new age Method followers display their considerable chops on the national stage. James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles, the Master’s ostentatious and envelope-pushing Dan Aykroyd and Gilda Radner-like proteges, whose hilarious ACORN skits also showed brilliant flashes of the late great Allen Funt. The Mysterious Mister X, the L.A. street comic who “Alinskyed” Faris Alkhateeb’s boredom-fueled Obama Joker art into an urban poster as devilishly humorous as Hannibal Lecter, also made as big a national splash as a 300-pound chub doing a cannonball into a crowded public kiddie pool. (more…)

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Tags: ACORN, Andrew Brietbart, anti-war, Barack Obama, big government
Posted Sep 25th 2009 at 6:41 am in Political Humor | 22877837 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jtsimpson/2009/09/25/its-the-saul-alinsky-comedy-show/It%27s+the+Saul+Alinsky+Comedy+Show%212009-09-25+13%3A41%3A50John+T.+Simpson

The CIA and the Statute of Limitations

I’ll try to make this short…last week I wrote about my concerns over the naming of a special federal prosecutor to re-examine the use of Enhanced Interrogation Techniques by the CIA. I have appeared on several radio shows since the article posted here at Big Hollywood and I was pleased to see over weekend former Vice President Dick Cheney say in a more articulate fashion almost every point I raised in the article EXCEPT one. 

Today my point is the LAW. I touched on it briefly in the article but no one seems to be discussing the LAW. Many on the left and maybe even some on the right are applauding the decision by Attorney General Eric Holder to name a special prosecutor. I only have one question: What crimes were committed? Those supporting the decision to name a prosecutor say, “torture.” 

 The federal statute can be found in Title 18 chapter 113C of the Federal Criminal Code and Rules. Section 2340 defines torture. Section 2340A says: (more…)

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Tags: Afghanistan, CIA, Eric Holder, Iraq, Leon Panetta
Posted Sep 4th 2009 at 3:04 pm in Featured Story, Politics | 21677852 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bhamer/2009/09/04/the-cia-and-the-statute-of-limitations/The+CIA+and+the+Statute+of+Limitations2009-09-04+22%3A04%3A33Bob+Hamer

CIA Watch Your Back

Among my former associates at the FBI, New York Times bestselling novelist Vince Flynn is a favorite. His protagonist Mitch Rapp, a counter-terrorism specialist for the CIA, is the talk whenever Flynn releases a new political thriller. Possibly the highest compliment any FBI agent ever paid me was when he called me “the old, ugly, domestic version of Mitch Rapp.” I wear the accolade with pride. What makes Flynn’s novels so captivating is the authenticity of his writing. In fact, at least one novel came under scrutiny when it hit a little too close to home detailing our nation’s nuclear security efforts.

His latest novel “Extreme Measures” was released last fall but once again Flynn may end up just a little too real. I won’t give away the plot but Mitch Rapp finds himself in front of a Congressional committee explaining why he needed to employ “extreme measures” to protect this nation. Sound familiar? Attorney General Eric Holder named a federal prosecutor this week to examine the abuse of prisoners during interrogations by the CIA. I wonder if Mitch will be called as a witness.  (more…)

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Tags: "contingency operation", "Extreme Measures", "man-made disasters", "The Last Undercover", Abdul Wali
Posted Aug 28th 2009 at 9:53 am in Politics | 21244260 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bhamer/2009/08/28/cia-watch-your-back/CIA+Watch+Your+Back2009-08-28+16%3A53%3A49Bob+Hamer

Ice-breaker Questions Courtesy of the Feds

Back in the late seventies I spent four years on active duty in the Marine Corps. As my military obligation was nearing completion I began a job search in the private and public sector. I narrowed my public sector job hunt to the FBI and the CIA. The CIA responded first and the application journey was like a Robert Ludlum thriller. My first interview was in a large room with only two chairs. Seated across from me was a man with a scar from ear to ear. I envisioned him being garroted in some third world country–he had my attention. Apparently I impressed him enough to recommend me in the next step of their process. Multiple flights from California to D.C. using assumed names, paying for everything in cash, meeting in safe houses, and submitting to a variety of tests only added to the mystique.

Alas however, it was not meant to be. A major stumbling block was a personality test the Agency gave all Jack Bauer wannabes. Scoring applicants on a 0-10 scale…a zero meaning you could live on a deserted island for years, a ten meaning you had to be constantly surrounded by people…I scored a ZERO. Yep, a zero. The psychologist said in all the years of administering the test he had never seen “a zero personality.” Now, I admit I somewhat skewed my answers. I figured they were looking for paid assassins they could drop behind enemy lines and remain secreted for weeks. Wrong! The agency was looking for “threes” and “fours.” On occasion my wife still reminds me I have been rated a zero personality by the federal government. I actually think I’m up to a .5, maybe even a one, but needless to say I’m not really comfortable in public settings making small talk… unless I’m undercover (but then I’m a completely different persona and my criminal alter ego takes over). (more…)

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Tags: American Community Survey, Census, CIA, FBI, Feds
Posted Aug 12th 2009 at 5:16 am in Politics | 20354255 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bhamer/2009/08/12/ice-breaker-questions-courtesy-of-the-feds/Ice-breaker+Questions+Courtesy+of+the+Feds2009-08-12+12%3A16%3A17Bob+Hamer

Sangow Bar Village

16 July 2009
Ghor Province, Afghanistan

On a per capita basis, Afghanistan is becoming more dangerous for British and American troops than Iraq ever was. For those who fought in places like Anbar, Basra, Baghdad, Diyala and Nineveh, that’s saying a whole lot. On a per capita basis, there are strong indications that Afghanistan will prove more deadly than Iraq during 2006-2007. One can only imagine how many days and nights Secretary Robert Gates and his advisors must have agonized over troop levels here. On the one hand, we have a fraction of the troops we need, but on the other, increasing troop levels increases hostility toward us. Secretary Gates has made it clear to me that his biggest concern is that we will lose the goodwill of the people and they will turn against us. This happens to be my own biggest concern. The agony is in knowing we need more medicine and the medicine can be highly toxic here. Many people have complained that the new restrictions on air strikes will hurt us, but from my boots, General McChrystal (the new boss here) has fulfilled the intent of his boss, and that the decision, though tough, was wise; if we lose the widespread assent of the Afghan people, it’s all over but for the bleeding. (more…)

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Tags: Afghanistan, Anbar, Baghdad, Basra, Cesarean births
Posted Jul 16th 2009 at 3:43 pm in Michael Yon Dispatches, Military | 18503423 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/myon/2009/07/16/sangow-bar-village/Sangow+Bar+Village2009-07-16+22%3A43%3A38Michael+Yon

Daily Gut: Secret Plans to Kill Bad People

So according to the Wall Street Journal, the CIA had been kicking around a secret plan designed to off al-Qaeda chieftains – something the Democrats say they were never told about.

The actual program was dropped early on – either because it was a dumb idea, or it didn’t work, or maybe something better came along. What bugs me is that the plan was probably canceled because it actually could work – but having to disclose the plan would have endangered those asked to carry it out.

I mean, if your job is to sneak around the globe killing really bad people, then it should be kept secret – which is something frowned upon by people who don’t understand that beating evil means eradicating it. We call them asshats. You see them now, trying to score political points out of something that didn’t even happen (although, I wish it did).

Which brings me to a handy quiz you can take while you’re on a bus, a train, or perhaps even a plane! (more…)

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Tags: 9/11, al qaeda, CIA, sexual harassment seminars, terrorists
Posted Jul 13th 2009 at 12:44 pm in Daily Gut, Featured Story, News, Politics | 182282193 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/ggutfeld/2009/07/13/secret-plans-to-kill-bad-people/Daily+Gut%3A+Secret+Plans+to+Kill+Bad+People2009-07-13+19%3A44%3A15Greg+Gutfeld

‘NewsBusted’ 5/22/09 — Fake News from the Right

In this episode, “NewsBusted” covers: President Obama, military tribunals, Dick Cheney, C.I.A., budget deficits, robot surgery, Nancy Pelosi, Congress, CraigsList, illegal immigrants, Michelle Obama, Maxim magazine, Wanda Sykes, Mia Farrow, and Kirstie Alley.

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Tags: budget deficits, CIA, Congress, Craigslist, Dick Cheney
Posted May 22nd 2009 at 6:55 pm in Celebrity News, Media Criticism, Political Humor, Video | 141446No Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/newsbusters/2009/05/22/newsbusted%e2%80%99-52209-%e2%80%94-fake-news-from-the-right/%27NewsBusted%E2%80%99+5%2F22%2F09+%E2%80%94+Fake+News+from+the+Right2009-05-23+01%3A55%3A57NewsBusters

‘The Dark Pelosi’ (With Waterboarding!)

Sure this one’s been a long time coming, and with everything that’s been going on, how could I NOT make a video about the twitchy old bird. It isn’t enough that she’d been undermining our administration for years, now she’s got to come out and play the “victim” card. Poor Nancy, skunked again! Come on ma’am, it’s getting old.

–

Note: I know the video gets a little personal, but thanks to Wanda Sykes… That is a concern of mine no longer!

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Tags: CIA, enhanced interrogation, gitmo, Nancy Pelos, torture
Posted May 21st 2009 at 6:19 pm in Political Humor, Video | 140750One Commenthttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/scrowder/2009/05/21/the-dark-pelosi-with-waterboarding/%27The+Dark+Pelosi%27+%28With+Waterboarding%21%292009-05-22+01%3A19%3A05Steven+Crowder

Wanted: A Vaccine for Liberalism

Whenever I have suggested that left-wingers aren’t normal human beings, and have wondered if perhaps they’re some weird interplanetary life form like the pods in “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” the liberals accuse me of indulging in ad hominem attacks, and I suppose I am.  But I am honestly bewildered.  It just doesn’t seem plausible that Americans could find good things to say about tyrants like Castro, Chavez and Ahmadinejad, while at the same time reviling the likes of Dick Cheney, Rush Limbaugh and General Petraeus.

Left-wingers side with the so-called Palestinians and insist that their country was stolen from them by the Jews, but when you ask them just exactly where the country was located, what their flag looked like and who their president was, they huff and they puff and they denounce you as a tool of the Jewish lobby. (more…)

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Tags: Ahmadinejad, Barbara Boxer, Castro, chavez, CIA
Posted May 21st 2009 at 9:42 am in Politics | 137590One Commenthttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bprelutsky/2009/05/21/wanted-a-vaccine-for-liberalism/Wanted%3A+A+Vaccine+for+Liberalism2009-05-21+16%3A42%3A45Burt+Prelutsky

An Open Letter to Speaker Pelosi

Ms. Pelosi: 

I’ll make this brief because I know you are busy. 

I wanted to remind you of the oath you first took in 1987 and reaffirm at the start of each new Congress. It reads:

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.

Maybe I am missing something but I read nothing about political parties, putting your interests above the nation’s, or putting your party’s interests above the nation. (more…)

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Tags: CIA, enhanced interrogation, pelosi, torture, waterboarding
Posted May 20th 2009 at 5:09 pm in Politics | 1394182 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bhamer/2009/05/20/a-letter-to-speaker-pelosi/An+Open+Letter+to+Speaker+Pelosi2009-05-21+00%3A09%3A27Bob+Hamer

Inside the Head of Nancy Pelosi

Gourmet cheese… Adolpho the world’s most expensive hair stylist… Lake Como… Van Cleef & Arpels… Tiffany… 

WATER-BLAH BLAH BLAH…. 

Armani… Cole-Haan… Private Jets with mahogany paneling…

WATER-BOOP-BOOP-BOOP….

Little Doggie sweaters… delicious, though insanely-overpriced-for-being-grown-locally California fruit… Chanel… The Galapagos Islands… AL Gore; President of the Galapagos Islands… Al Gore in big Moo-Moo whilst President of the Galapagos Islands… (more…)

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Tags: CIA, nancy pelosi, Obama, pelosi, Speaker Pelosi
Posted May 19th 2009 at 12:38 pm in Political Humor | 13613011 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/emannix/2009/05/19/inside-the-mind-of-nancy-pelosi/Inside+the+Head+of+Nancy+Pelosi2009-05-19+19%3A38%3A48Ernie+Mannix

Daily Gut: Saving Face Vs. Saving Lives

It’s always amazing listening to people who believe you must adhere to a set of standards when fighting an enemy who refuses to believe standards exist. Our enemy – who beheads the innocent, flings acid into the faces of children, and flies planes into buildings – must relish this endless opera of handwringing – for they know a worried adversary is a weakened one.

Lets get this straight: implementing enhanced interrogation techniques is not immoral. What’s immoral is not doing everything possible to prevent an enemy from killing the people you love. That one rule overrules everything – making the actions you take toward that enemy supremely moral – whether the acts involve waterboarding, sleep deprivation, playing loud music, or watching David Shuster. (more…)

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Tags: CIA, David Schuster, enhanced interrogations, Terror, terrorists
Posted May 15th 2009 at 12:02 pm in Daily Gut | 1359425 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/ggutfeld/2009/05/15/daily-gut-saving-face-vs-saving-lives/Daily+Gut%3A+Saving+Face+Vs.+Saving+Lives2009-05-15+19%3A02%3A41Greg+Gutfeld

Waterboard Pelosi — Let’s Get to the Truth!

Nancy Pelosi this morning let the floodgates open.  In a ‘frank and open’ press conference she waffled and redirected.  She explained, rationalized, dodged and obfuscated.   She bobbed and weaved.  She danced the Paso Doble.  It was a masterful exhibition of Terpsichore, with lovely grand jete’s, loop-de-loops and chicanery. 

I haven’t seen such tap dancing since last year’s So You Think Ya Can Dance auditions.

Looking and sounding very shaky and rattled, she maintained that she had no idea the Enhanced Interview Techniques used on suspected terrorists to get vital life-saving information from them included waterboarding.  Misremembering expertly, Ms. Pelosi said in her briefing, she was told that waterboarding techniques “were…not…being…employed.”  (It apparently is a useful technique with politicians interested in convincing you of the sincerity and impeccable veracity of their statements  …to…slow…down…and… …emphasize…each…word.   As in, “I…did…not…have…sex…with that woman…Miss Lewinsky….”)

How…stupid…do…you…think…we…are? (more…)

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Tags: bush, Cavuto, CIA, lie, Obama
Posted May 14th 2009 at 1:59 pm in Featured Story, Politics | 1348868 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/ggraham/2009/05/14/waterboard-pelosi-let%e2%80%99s-get-to-the-truth/Waterboard+Pelosi+--+Let%27s+Get+to+the+Truth%212009-05-14+20%3A59%3A10Gary+Graham

Daily Gut: Thank the Popping Doll

If you ever needed to witness torture in action, check out Nancy Pelosi`s press conference Thursday morning. She squirmed, bulged, sweated and finally even tried to back away from the podium in a desperate attempt to escape. The best part, for me, was when one of the lapdog reporters – in an obvious strategy to gain favor from the Botoxed Barracuda – asked her about health care. It’s like during Hurricane Katrina, asking Bush if the pools will remain open.

Now I was at the gym during the press conference, where they only allow CNN on the tv. There`s no Fox News – mainly because it aggravates the yoga instructor`s rosacea. On the stair climber, I had no choice but to watch Pelosi with the sound off, and her body movements said more about what she knew than words ever could. Throughout the conference, she began to resemble one of those delightful popping dolls – those latex creatures whose eyes, ears & nose pop out when you start squeezing the torso. Pelosi, in effect, was in a tight spot, and it was delight to see the press – for once – use her like a grip strengthener. (more…)

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Tags: bush, CIA, CNN, nancy pelosi, terrorists
Posted May 14th 2009 at 12:02 pm in Daily Gut | 1349425 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/ggutfeld/2009/05/14/daily-gut-thank-the-popping-doll/Daily+Gut%3A+Thank+the+Popping+Doll2009-05-14+19%3A02%3A54Greg+Gutfeld

Terror Pictures, Torture Pictures

Declassification of the torture memos was big news a couple of weeks ago, with the glaring omission of what terror attacks were prevented by the water boarding. The news media did not seem to care though. Instead of “moving on” they enjoyed their “back to the future” moment of wallowing in the gloried past of the Bush administration’s “atrocities.” 

This week the Obama administration is going to give us another dose of the “America is evil” evidence by releasing photos and other visual evidence that shows Bush, Cheney and others allowing rogue CIA agents to do terrible things to helpless Muslims who were innocently targeted and hustled off to Guantanamo. 

This has made me think of other images of atrocity that I would actually like to see to remind me of our enemy’s brutality. 

On September 11th, 2001 numerous people plummeted 1200+ feet out of the world trade center because they determined that dying of an impact on concrete after falling about ¼ mile to earth at a speed of 32 feet per second squared (the speed of gravity for those of you who aren’t into physics) was preferable to burning to death in the stricken towers.  (more…)

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Tags: bush, CIA, gitmo, Obama, September 11th
Posted May 7th 2009 at 11:13 am in Politics | 129534One Commenthttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/adavid/2009/05/07/terror-pictures-and-torture-pictures/Terror+Pictures%2C+Torture+Pictures2009-05-07+18%3A13%3A38Ari+David

Bruce Willis: Our Die Hard Action Hero Returns

After flirting with smaller, more squishy roles in recent pictures like “The Assassination of a High School President” and “What Just Happened,” Bruce Willis is returning to action. The 54-year-old actor is interested in a slew of projects that will have him playing a former CIA agent, an FBI informant out to bust up the mob, a detective and both funny and serious cops.

Based on the Wildstorm/DC comics series, “Red” could see Willis playing a retired CIA black-ops badass who is forced to take action when an assassin threatens both he and his girlfriend. The film is being produced by Summit Entertainment, the studio responsible for the “Twilight” series. Willis’s deal has not been finalized, but it could be a sweet one since, as Summit production chief Eric Feig told me a few weeks ago, he sees “Red” as another potential franchise.

Not many fifty-something actors get those kinds of offers. (more…)

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Tags: bruce willis, CIA, cops, FBI, Inventory
Posted Apr 30th 2009 at 4:52 pm in Entertainment, News | 122354No Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/ttapp/2009/04/30/bruce-willis-die-hard-action-hero/Bruce+Willis%3A+Our+Die+Hard+Action+Hero+Returns2009-04-30+23%3A52%3A14Tom+Tapp