Let’s be honest. Movies, today, aren’t just one step away from being left wing propaganda, they just plain suck.

We’ve gone from Dirty Harry to Jason Bourne (or whatever his name ended up being; the camera was too shaky for me to ever tell what was going on). We’ve gone from Humphrey Bogart to George Clooney.  We’ve gone from John Wayne fighting Indians to Na’vi fighting Americans.

But, don’t fret. For there is an answer to our problems, fellow film buffs. I know you’re six feet from that ledge, but let me give you hope…they are called books. They are these contraptions with bindings and pages with words on the inside. Together this all creates a story one hundred times more fulfilling than today’s dim-witted liberal flavor-of-the-month films.

Hollywood has always been a liberal town. They give us anti-Iraq war movie after anti-Iraq war movie despite the fact that they all flop at the box office. But what of the literary world?  They must surely share Hollywood’s contempt for conservatives and enriching stories, right? Wrong. The publishing world seems to get it, for the most part. They like to publish what sells and what seems to sell today are right-leaning stories.

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Any novel that opens with crazy jihadists killing jolly old Saint Nick on the first page can’t be too bad.

“Soft Target,” in bookstores Dec 6th, manages to be more than just not bad; it’s a modern Western on amphetamines; it’s Tom Clancy if Clancy were a better weaver of the old fashioned good vs. evil yarn; it’s… well, it’s Stephen Hunter all the way. Semper fi and all that.

Those who are familiar with the author will understand, and those who are not–well, what are you doing reading a book review by me when there is writing out there carved by a master?

“Soft Target” is the new Hunter thriller that takes place in a thriller writer’s fantasy land: America, the Mall. Appropriately, it combines the two things America loves the most: shopping and violence. Those two ingredients are enough to carry the novel through a harsh and very quick 254 pages. You will not want to put this one down.

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In recent weeks, I have read a number of Big Hollywood articles concerning Hollywood’s and the media’s treatment of the September 11th attacks in the years since they occurred. In particular, there have been some interesting and provocative articles about the historical treatment of the attacks and the movies created so far. Prior to these articles, there was another questioning the quality of “conservative” films and why/if they should be supported by the conservative community, as though most artists on our side of the aisle shouldn’t be supported.

While I definitely respect all these points of view, I have to question why many of us are questioning Hollywood instead of questioning ourselves. And what we should be asking ourselves is why many of us complain so much about Hollywood’s output but at the same time fail to support the burgeoning artists, musicians, writers and filmmakers in our own community?

For full disclosure:  yes, I am a conservative, and yes, I am a filmmaker trying to get my art out to the greater world. For the life of me, I have never understood why we monetarily and spiritually support artists, studios and media companies while simultaneously berating them for what they offer us. If someone delivers crummy pizza that smells weird, tastes worse and gets me sick, would I still call the same pizza place every time? No. So, why do we do the same when making entertainment or artistic purchase choices? (more…)

When the story of last month’s raid on the Gibson Guitar factories and offices in Memphis and Nashville broke, the first thought that hit me was…”Were the drawn weapons really necessary?  Is this still America?”  Imagine my complete surprise when I learned Gibson’s Chairman and CEO, Henry Juszkiewicz, is a staunch Republican who does not bow at the altar of Obama; Gibson is the only major guitar manufacturer in a non-blue (read non-union) state; one of his company’s leading competitors, C.F. Martin & Company, uses the same materials in their products with impunity; and Martin’s CEO, Chris Martin IV, is a long-time Democratic supporter.

Sarcasm off.

This incident has vintage guitar owners left wondering…”What next?”  Will the Feds be busting down the doors of musicians, guns drawn, to inspect our guitars to see if we have any contraband they can confiscate?  I have a hunch if that were to happen, they’d target musicians who are openly…dare I say…conservative.

And guess where they would start.

Nathan Picard

It just so happens that our featured artist, conservative singer/songwriter Nathan Picard, makes his own guitars.  Here is what he had to say about the latest display of thuggery by this Administration:

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“They come from the bright light cities…They come from a one horse town…But if they’re coming for you boy…Ya better know they ain’t messin’ around” ~ Madison Rising

As we gather with loved ones this Labor Day weekend to officially bid farewell to another all-too short summer, we should take a moment to remember those who are serving overseas and unable to be with us to enjoy those BBQs, cold beers, pool parties, and such.   Here to remind us of their sacrifices, with a brand-spankin’ new rock tribute entitled Soldiers of America, is the very hot new conservative rock band, Madison Rising.

YouTube Madison Rising - "Soldiers of America"

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“Madison Rising, named in honor of James Madison, the fourth President of the United States and author of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Federalist Papers, is a new rock band best described as a conservative version of Rage Against The Machine” according to President and CEO of Purple Eagle Entertainment (and fellow BigDawg’er), Richard Mgrdechian, who formed the band.  He further states:

The band provides guitar-centric, pro-American rock music to a market completely devoid of anything similar.  The band expects to become the face of patriotic rock and roll.  Madison Rising is expected to perform at major campaign events, military bases, NASCAR events and other pro-American venues, establishing itself as a major political voice in this country during the 2012 election cycle and beyond.  The band’s first single, Soldiers of America, was released on September 1st, 2011 and the album itself will be available on September 30^th.

BigDawg Music Mafia is honored to introduce the very talented members of Madison Rising:

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“Just look at the Old Testament.  They didn’t go out with the army first.  They sent the musicians out.” ~ Michael W. Smith

One year ago my good friend & songmate, BigDawg, and I decided to launch BigDawg Music Mafia to showcase the many creative ways our fellow patriots are getting engaged in the pop culture revolution, speaking truth to power through their God-given talents (songs, art, blogs, books, photography, poems, radio shows, film, humor, acting, etc).

Today, with 565 members/artists attracting over half a million site hits from around the world in our first year, we have plenty to say and an increasing number of visitors dropping in every day to “hear” us out.  With such a diverse group of artists with a wide range of talent, it is only natural that some of us would find ourselves joining forces on some cool collaborations/projects.

vimeo Get Off The Stage (The BigDawg Patriots Featuring Jana Seantelle)

Our latest project, Get Off the Stage, written by one of our members who goes by the name “Mick”, is described in an electronic press kit he recently released and distributed.  Here are some excerpts:

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Is Harry Potter now or has he ever been a communist? Just kidding. . . he’s no Smurf. When I first read the books, I recall some conservatives screaming that Potter sends the wrong messages. Imagine my surprise to discover the exact opposite. Indeed, at its core, the Harry Potter series is a truly conservative work, and it seems to me Harry should be considered a conservative hero.

"You are charged with being an inconvenient truth."

** SPOILER-AMUS **

Let’s consider the various themes that run throughout the books and movies. Do you remember the individual v. collective thing from my prior post about what makes a film conservative (Portus)? Potter has it in spades:

• Anti-Government Themes. A common theme throughout the books is that the government not only cannot help you, but will abuse its power to harm you. The Ministry of Magic is hopelessly bureaucratic and ultra-intrusive. It regulates every trivial aspect of wizards’ lives, e.g. caldron sizes, but it cannot protect the people. Instead, it gets brutal trying to cover up its ineptitude. When Dumbledore warns the world that Voldemort has returned, the MOM tries to discredit Dumbledore and then Harry. When this proves ineffective, it tries to drive Harry from the magic world through a Soviet-style show trial. It then drums up fake charges against Dumbledore and chases him from Hogwarts, where he is replaced with a bureaucrat (Delores Umbridge) who imposes an educational agenda designed to lower all children to the lowest common denominator. The government also seizes key industries, hides behind a veil of secrecy, denies the truth, and locks up its opponents. Frankly, this sounds like something Ayn Rand or George Orwell could have written.

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Anyone who thinks conservatives can’t rock it out has clearly not come across Jeremy Dodge – a conservative activist with attitude and an abundance of talent.  When Jeremy first joined BigDawg Music Mafia and shared his Tea Party hit I Am American and Stand Up, the fans couldn’t get enough.  The demand from fans for more has Jeremy back in the studio as we “speak” working on some new songs which will, no doubt, be every bit as kickin’ as his others.

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As with the majority of the conservative artists in the Tea Party movement, Jeremy has been traveling around the country performing on his own dime and as many fellow musicians know, studio time costs a pretty penny.  Jeremy has set up a project page where fans can participate in the production of his new songs by helping defray some of his costs, getting a few “thank you” goodies in return, and even a shout-out in his video.

Here’s what Jeremy has to say about how he got started in music and how he ended up using his talents to wake his fellow Americans up:

Sarah Palin IS The Undefeated.

 By the time you finish watching this superbly scripted and produced two-hour documentary about the former Alaskan Governor, if you don’t come to that conclusion, you were either asleep during the film or you still  believe that “Community Organizer” trumps true executive experience and success as qualification to serve as America’s Commander-In-Chief.

Dim the house lights…

It is 2008 and Republican Presidential candidate John McCain introduces Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate to a crowd of thousands of enthusiastic supporters.  The beautiful, poised, confident Governor takes the stage at the Republican National Convention to thunderous applause and delivers an electrifying speech with a level of charisma, wit, and passion not seen since Ronald Reagan, that catapulted this relatively unknown Alaskan Governor onto the National political stage making her almost instantly and simultaneously one of the most revered and one of the most reviled politicians in recent memory.

In stark contrast, the film then cuts over to a dramatic 3-minute montage of pure, unadulterated hatred from the left for this VP candidate which history will record as one of the most vicious campaigns to annihilate a public figure.  It was vulgar.  It was brutal.  It was violent.  It was main stream.  It was textbook Alinsky.  And yet, she is still standing…undefeated.

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You’ve heard about it, now you get to see it first-hand. Here we have a senior producer at The Daily Show with Jon Stewart shutting somebody out specifically for being right-of-center. The person…? Yours truly.

Listen, I’m not one of those folks who yells “free speech” every time I don’t get my way. Jon Stewart’s program is a private entity and they can do whatever they damn well please. Just know this from here on out; if you have a different point of view than Jon Stewart… you don’t get to work with Jon Stewart.

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Despite the insistence of clueless reporters like Patrick Goldstein, there is a Hollywood blacklist. Discrimination does exist. Goldstein doesn’t live the day-to-day life inside the studios, although he probably wishes he did. I’m sure he just takes the word of his sources — which are likely Liberals.

Simply put, if you are a Conservative, you are at the very least derided and, in some cases, prevented from being hired. I’ve heard and seen enough stories in my time to know this blacklist exists. The trouble with Hollywood, however, is that it does not do business the way the rest of the world does. It is much easier to prove discrimination in the real world because various employment protocols must be followed. In Hollywood, however, business is done in loosey-goosey fashion for a simple reason: nobody wants to be held accountable. If you are held accountable, you may lose your job, and you may never work again.

With Hollywood discrimination, it’s easy to avoid being held to account. You just say, “He was fired because he was unprofessional”. You say, “Her writing wasn’t good enough for the show”. You say, “He didn’t mesh with the other writers”. You say, “She was a disruptive presence on the set.” Because there are no codified standards, the reason for one’s employment or lack thereof are simply left to the whims of those in charge.

And those in charge are Liberals. And Liberals, as we know, despise Conservatives.

That is why Conservatives in Hollywood live in even greater fear than any other employee. In Hollywood, anyone can perform their job perfectly and still get fired. However, if one Liberal and one Conservative each performs their job perfectly, and one must be fired, the Conservative is the one who will be shown the door.

It’s time to expose the discrimination that exists in Hollywood, and shine the cold light of reality on the Liberals who pay lip service to tolerating all points of view.

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A few months ago, I noticed that we had a new artist at our site (BigDawg Music Mafia) named Toots Sweet from New York, New York.  My first thought was, “Wow…a conservative musician from ‘America’s most liberal city,’ with a cool name.  Can’t wait to see what he brings to the table.’”

It usually takes our new members a few days to figure out how to navigate their way around our site (hosted on the NING platform), so I went about my business and made a mental note to check back in a day or two.

My good friend/songmate/partner-in-crime, Drew (a.k.a. BigDawg), sent an email to me saying, “You have got to check out this new guy, Toots Sweet…he’s great!”

So I did…and I smiled…big.

We have such a wide range of musical genres at our site, but this man is a true original with a great message and a cool vibe.  His tribute to our troops, “Soldier Boy,” is one of my favorites. (more…)

Actor Rob Lowe appeared on Fox News’ “Hannity” program last night to discuss his new book “Stories I Only Tell My Friends.”  The actor discussed how his  political leanings have drifted right-ward.

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Correction:  The quote referring to Common’s music as “very positive” was mistakenly attributed to Media Matters in the originally published version of this piece.  We regret the error.

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Have you heard about “Poetry Night” at the White House?  I find it appalling and very inappropriate (yet not at all that surprising) that the Obamas have invited “Common”, a rapper who grew up in the pews of America-hating “Reverend” Wright’s church, who he describes as an “intelligent, strong individual…a great man…a conduit of love.”   He denigrates women with his misogynistic lyrics, promotes killing cops, and burning (President) Bush. Isn’t that special?  His lyrics have been praised by a Fox News reporter as being “very positive.”  Are you kidding me?

Hi Caliber

This is just another tactic this administration is using to convince young Americans that Barrack Obama is just that “cool” and that these are the kinds of artists your kids should be listening to.

Please.

In the New York Times Bestseller Obama Zombies:  How the Liberal Machine Brainwashed My Generation, author Jason Mattera describes how liberals successfully launched their highly successful technology-based campaign to take advantage of and brain-wash his generation into becoming “zombies” for Team Obama.  They used every facet of new media to reach our youth through their computers, iPods, and cell phones via new media venues and services like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and text messaging and “rocked the vote” in favor of “That One.”

Thankfully, we conservative keyboard warriors are fighting back with those very same tactics to reach our young voters using every weapon in our arsenal (e.g., conservative websites, blogs, video rants, music, books, artwork, and the list goes on).   In less than two years (since the 2008 elections), through the effective use of  new media, the TEA Party movement managed to rise up and put a major hurtin’ on the Democrats in the House and Senate in the mid-term elections.  It was interesting to note that younger voters seemed less than enthusiastic about voting in 2010.  Perhaps voter’s remorse is setting in?

Good.

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Who is Chris Ross?

Chris Ross is a great American, an amazingly gifted musician/singer-songwriter, and a superb conservative voice in the fight to save this great country.  Upon hearing the first few bars of his song Freedom, I knew I was going to really dig his music.  I was right.  I was instantly hooked.  His songs and vocal style remind me of the music of the band America  which I loved back in the day (and still do).  How very apropos.  When he recently posted one of his newest songs, Restoring Honor, featured on the WatchGlennBeck.com site, I just knew this song would resonate with so many Americans.  And it is doing just that.

After I contacted Chris and told him I wanted to do a BigDawg Spotlight piece on him and asked him for his bio, what he sent me turned out to be so much more that I decided to let him answer the opening question himself. (more…)

The first time I heard the song See, Hear, Pray, by Debbie K and The Freedom Band, which has been featured on Glenn Beck’s 8/28 Restoring Honor Rally website and the national Support Our Troops website as well as other conservative blogs and patriotic sites, I was very moved by the message, the music, and her beautiful voice.  When speaking about this song, Debbie said:

I wrote this song over a weekend with me and my guitar sitting at our cottage in Indiana.   I could feel it bubbling up inside of me.  We were just about to have our first Tea Party and wanted to share a song that inspired Americans to Pray for their country and to honor those that fought for our Freedom.   This was one of those songs that just happened – you knew that you were just being used to inspire others.  I remember finishing the last line and saying to myself ….’wow…. thanks Lord’!

Beautiful things happen when we allow our faith to lead us…like this song:

I am so glad Debbie found our site, BigDawg Music Mafia, through our mutual friend, Reese Ccup (one of our wonderful site volunteers on the “BigDawg Brigade”).  When I read her bio I knew I’d met a kindred spirit.  We both share a love of God, we both love music, we are both using it to promote our conservative messages, and most importantly, we are both “Mama Grizzlies” who love our families and are determined to do all we can to help fight the “transformation” taking place in our country.  We don’t let any grass grow under our feet and I don’t think either of us gets much sleep.

So many songs to write, so little time. (more…)

One of the pitfalls of conservative media is “me too!”-ism, the idea that taking a successful mainstream concept and blatantly injecting conservative proselytizing into it is a winning strategy.  Thankfully, the new cable channel RightNetwork strives to create original content that doesn’t fall into a predictable formula, easily apparent from their new series “Whaddya Know, Joe?” starring Joe Wurzelbacher, the man who single-handedly derailed Obama’s centrist, middle-class-tax-cut image in the 2008 Presidential campaign (note to leftist hair-splitters: yes, his first name is “Samuel”).  Joe’s aim is simple:  find people, hear their stories and opinions, get a better idea about the state of our nation.

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“Whaddya Know” describes itself as “part 60 Minutes, part Oprah, and 100% like nothing you’ve ever seen before,” but there is a crucial difference between Joe and the hosts of those other shows.  Whereas Oprah and others fought tooth-and-nail to get where they want to be and thus try to make their shows all about themselves, Joe is an accidental celebrity.  He’s quietly taken on the role of a household name without adorning any of the ego that normally comes along with it, and that completely flavors the tone of the show.

Instead of taking place in a bright TV studio with a trained-seal audience, the set for the talk show-esque portion of the show looks like it was built inside a barn; the tone is folksy, intimate, humble.  Instead of hogging the spotlight in every conversation and interview, Joe is completely content to give guests his full attention and let them speak at length.  It’s a refreshing respite from the all-but-scripted, pandering-for-applause fake style of conventional talk shows.

However, those worried about Joe not having the chops or charisma to carry an entire show, rest your troubled hearts; he’s got plenty of backup.  Like Ed to his Johnny, like Andy to his Conan, like Garth to his Wayne, co-host Rodney Lee Conover is a quirky, energetic counter to Joe’s laid-back, dry humor. Their interplay with each other and guests such as Nick Searcy from the show Justified finds all parties comfortable and casual yet lively.

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Oh, “Glee”… the show that zips us right back to high school, full of all of its angst, drama, social awareness issues, and random outbursts of song.  It’s no wonder America eats it up like Mercedes chows down on tots.  Next Tuesday Gleeks everywhere will unite in front of their televisions to catch the newest episode, “Night of Neglect,” after the series took a short hiatus leaving us with four agonizing weeks of reruns.

In the two seasons “Glee” has been dancing into our homes, Mr. Schuester and the New Directions have brought much-needed attention to serious teen-related problems like bullying, underage drinking, and teenage pregnancy.  With an 11-million member primetime audience as diverse as the glee club itself, the show seems to be doing American culture a favor.  Except when it comes to the gays.

There are some on the Right in this country that would do well with a lesson in accepting the gay community and “Glee” is just the teacher for them.  After all, what’s more wholesome than teenagers exploring their emotions through something as harmless as song and dance?  Never mind they devoted a whole episode to the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Kurt Hummel is arguably the most lovable, well-developed character in the cast and Chris Colfer rightfully earned himself a Golden Globe for his portrayal of the bullied gay teen.  Fans everywhere have pulled for Kurt from day one and for reasons totally outside of his sexual orientation; whether it’s cultivating a relationship with his father, standing up to homophobic bully Karofsky, or hitting that high F in “Defying Gravity’s” wicked aria (no pun intended – okay, maybe just a little one) we’ve wanted him to thrive.  Yup, everyone was on the Kurt Train until he and Blaine sucked face.  Then lots of conservative audience members located their nearest exit noting it may be behind them and jumped right off, without even waiting for a slow down. (more…)