What can you say about a day in the saddle that anyone in the world would love to experience? The icing on the cake was a dinner at Clint Eastwood’s Carmel Mission Ranch. The whole day was about as good a day as anyone could imagine. The weather was perfect, the ride less hilly than the day before, and the riders were stating to gel. Nate continued to impress everyone as he looks to become the first R2R participant to handcycle from SF to LA. (more…)
Tags: Carmel Mission Ranch, Clint Eastwood, Iraq War, r2r, Road 2 Recovery Posted Oct 6th 2009 at 3:40 pm in Military |
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So while chuckleheads like Jesse Jackson and Senator Roland Burris hilariously blame George Bush for Chicago losing the 2016 Olympics, whiny columnists like Mike Lupica are up in arms that conservatives might be gloating over President Obama’s big screw-up. Apparently laughing at all this is somehow anti-American, because Obama is our President, and he was doing this for all of us.
You know… kind of like when Bush was trying win a war in Iraq – and all those left wingers stood behind him.
And that’s my first point: The right has every right to gloat over Obama’s humiliation, because, thankfully, NO ONE DIED. Unlike, say during the Iraq war, where, whenever there was a roadside bombing, the progressives did their own special victory dance – using the consequences of war to gloat over an embattled president and an unpopular country. I didn’t hear much of the smarmy press calling them out. (more…)
The surprise discontinuation of my embedment from the British Army left my schedule in a train wreck. Until that decisive moment, I am told, that my embed with the British Army had lasted longer than anyone else’s; other than Ross Kemp’s. I’ve also been told that I’ve spent more time with the British Army in Iraq than any correspondent. So it’s fair to say, we have good history together.
In the last 12 months, I’ve embedded with the British Army in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, then over to the jungles of Brunei to attend a man-tracking school, and again back in Afghanistan. During that time, I’ve also been with U.S. forces in Iraq, the Philippines, and Afghanistan. I’ve accompanied the Lithuanians in Afghanistan and also been downrange for months without any troops or official assignment.
This dispatch, and many others, should have been about soldiers at war. But it’s not. This dispatch is being written in downtown Kandahar City and I have not seen a soldier in days. The Taliban is slowing winning this city. There have been many bombings and shootings since I arrived in disguise.
In 2006, Iraq was melting down and I had just written twelve dispatches that clearly stated we were losing in Afghanistan. Those dispatches caused a public uproar and the consequences were such that U.S. military refused to let me back into Iraq. Because of the U.S. military censorship in Iraq, I published a dispatch in the Weekly Standard titled, Censoring Iraq. General Petraeus emailed to me immediately, and if not for his intervention, there would have been Censoring Iraq II, III, IV, V…. Ultimately, dozens of dispatches about soldiers have been forever lost. (more…)
Filmmaker George Romero has had exactly one good idea in his life: the original, 1968 zombie film Night of the Living Dead. Since then, he has been coasting on a reputation as a maker of smarter than average horror films. Although he has made some good movies since Night of the Living Dead, few of his films have above par for the horror genre, and the average quality of horror films in the decades since his breakthrough movie is a very low bar to surpass.
In particular, Romero has revisited the zombie film in quite a few movies over the years, usually providing the press with some serious intellectual/social/political commentary his latest film is supposed to make. So it is once again with his new film, the Venice Film Festival entry Survival of the Dead.Reuters reports that Romero, age 69, said his new film deals with questions about when it’s right to go to war: (more…)
Until recently, Afghanistan was called “The Forgotten War.” The dramatic domestic, regional, and international politics of the Iraq war largely eclipsed the fact that our people were fighting just as hard in Afghanistan. Although we’re paying attention to AfPak now, off the radar screen an important and related fight has been unfolding in the Philippines.
At the invitation of the Philippine government, the U.S. maintains about 600 troops, including Army Green Berets, Civil Affairs, and Military Information Support teams, Navy SEALS and Seabees, along with Air Force personnel and Marines. Our military forces are deployed in six locations: Zamboanga, Mindanao, Jolo, Basilan, Tawi Tawi, and a small number of liaison staff on Luzon. Their mission is to help the Armed Forces of the Philippines eliminate terrorist groups like Jemaah Islamiyah and the Abu Sayyaf Group and to prevent them from establishing safe havens from which to train other terrorists, both internal and external. (more…)
Epigraph: a quotation set at the beginning of a literary work or one of its divisions to suggest its theme.
Epigraphs crop up occasionally in literature and film, but more frequently on the SAT exam. In fact, I am using the definition of epigraph as the epigraph for this review. If you are to the right of Bill Clinton, all you need to know about “The Hurt Locker” is its epigraph: “War is a drug.”
Incredibly, the mainstream media is trying to position “The Hurt Locker” as politically neutral. The mainstream media are dense.“War is a drug.”Drugs are bad. Thus, war is bad. This is a left-wing film. End of story. Witness the first five seconds of the movie and read the epigraph; if you still have the audacity to trumpet its neutrality, you should be committed to an insane asylum or the newsroom at MSNBC. (more…)
I just wanted to drop a quick note to all members of the extended military family: active duty personnel, veterans and those who stay behind to keep the home fires warm.
Thank you.
To those on active duty, I say thank you for your continued service. Many of you signed up knowing full well that there are two shooting wars going on. That takes a special kind of guts. Your performance in defense of freedom continues to be an inspiration to me, personally. Thank you.
To all the veterans, I remind you that your service and sacrifice have not gone forgotten. Whether you served in war or in peace, you had a hand in keeping America safe from some of largest threats in history. You also, by your very existence, kept other dangers from materializing. Thank you. (more…)
Tags: Afghanistan, courage, Iraq War, military families, Troopathon Posted Jun 25th 2009 at 3:27 pm in Military |
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I lost the biggest job I ever had as talk show host on KFI in Los Angeles largely because I called out another host on the station for flip flopping on the Iraq war in a move that I was sure was designed to pander to the audience who at the time had been duped by the media into thinking the effort was a failure.
While I have suffered greatly because of this stance I took, I have tried hard to not complain too much about what happened because I know to do so would be embarrassingly selfish and shortsighted. After all, the tiny risk I took and the price I paid is absolutely nothing in comparison the risk that every single member of our military takes on a regular basis and the real price that far too many are forced to pay every single day. (more…)
Tags: chicken hawks, Iraq War, KFI, Troopathon Posted Jun 25th 2009 at 12:35 pm in Media Criticism, Military |
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The Ride 2 Recovery kicked-off today with a ride from the National Memorial Parade to Manassas. The 50 mile journey, with about 2,000′ of climbing, would take the riders down the beautiful George Washington Parkway, past Mount Vernon and the west to the town of Manassas.
250,000 people lined the route
The Parade features many Military groups and R2R was honored to be a part of such a great event.
The riders left the Parade area and headed down the GW parkway under the usually great escort of the American Legion Riders. (more…)
Tags: gary sinise, Iraq War, Lee Greenwood, Memorial Day Challenge, Ride 2 Recovery Posted May 26th 2009 at 9:37 am in Military |
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Note: Part 1 of this 4 part interview can be found here, Part 2 here and Part 3 here.
J.R. Head: I felt that one of the most important things about the film was that it allows the folks that are left behind, the friends and loved ones, to get a glimpse of a soldier’s everyday life. I served during relative peacetime but, even for me, it was difficult to explain what my day was like to my girlfriend, to my family… They were always imagining something bad happening. And, let’s face it, peacetime or wartime, sometimes bad stuff happens. We train hard, there are accidents and sometimes people die but for the most part you’re just doing your job. I felt like “Brothers at War” gives folks a good look at what really goes on and allows them to relax a little bit. Y’know, there’s not, say, a mortar attack every five minutes.
“Brothers at War” Director, Jake Rademacher: It’s a great tool for a soldier to allow loved ones a window, a good look at what life is like for them during a deployment.(more…)
Tags: Brandon Tuley, Brothers At War, George Lucas, Iraq War, Isaac Rademacher Posted May 22nd 2009 at 6:34 am in Entertainment, Military |
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Note: Part 1 of this 4 part interview can be found here.
J.R. Head: Tell me about the time frame of the film. ”Brothers at War” was shot in 2005?
“Brothers at War” Director, Jake Rademacher: Isaac departs in 2004, I join him in August 2005, and events in Iraq and on the Home front go through 2006.
JRH: So, that’s pre-“Surge”. But one of the things I noticed from the film was the advancement that the Iraqi Army was making. I was encouraged by the individual efforts of people like [Marine] Staff Sergeant Allier and others to– (more…)
Tags: Brothers At War, General Petraeus, Iraq War, Iraqi Army, Isaac Rademacher Posted May 20th 2009 at 6:39 am in Entertainment, Military |
138326No Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jrhead/2009/05/20/part-2-interview-with-brothers-at-war-director-jake-rademacher/Part+2%3A+Interview+with+%27Brothers+at+War%27+Director%2C+Jake+Rademacher2009-05-20+13%3A39%3A04J.R.+Head
Not long ago, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Jake Rademacher, the director of the incredible Iraq War documentary, “Brothers at War.” What ensued was one of the more enjoyable evenings I’ve had in a while. Jake is an interesting fellow. I’ve seen him interviewed before and it seems that, when cameras are involved, he’s a much more subdued character. Sit down with him one on one and get a few cups of joe into him and all bets are off. He’s smart, funny, extremely passionate about his film and its subject matter — and the man talks fast. Very fast.
Cpt. Isaac Rademacher — Jake Rademacher
After some initial pleasantries (actor talk, a little sports, our mutual respect for Gary Sinise, etc.), we got down to it.
By the way, if you want to get a true feeling of how the interview was for me, try to read it very quickly.
–
J.R. Head: First, let me say “Brothers at War” looks fantastic. You’re an actor. What was it like to make the transition to first-time director? (more…)
Tags: Brothers At War, documentary, Iraq, Iraq War, Iraqi Army Posted May 19th 2009 at 5:01 am in Entertainment, Featured Story, Military |
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Is it me, or do the Code Pinkers reeeeeally need to get laid?
I don’t mean to judge them too harshly, but that’s what we’d say about a dude that flipped out in public like those two whack jobs at the White House Correspondence Dinner who harassed Donald Rumsfeld and his wife as they entered the building – as invited guests. I don’t know who these women are – and if they’ve lost family in Iraq or anywhere else, God Bless’em, but…damn. They’re the type of crazy that makes you realize the word crazy is overused.
Cindy Sheehan reportedly saw it and said, “That’s some crazy-ass women right there.” Roseanne Barr was heard to reply, “No sh*t Sheehan.”
Crazy women are more off-putting than crazy men. That’s why “Obsessed” was such a hit, men are scared of crazy women. Like the Rumsfeld-Code Pink video, it featured two women, one crazy from the get go. The other one was rational, but by the end, said, “I’ma show you crazy!!” (more…)
Tags: Cindy Sheehan, code pink, Donald Rumsfeld, Iraq War, Iraqi people Posted May 15th 2009 at 10:03 am in Politics |
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Kicking back listening to Bonnie Tyler belt out “Holding Out For A Hero” made me think of a recent visit to Hollywood where I had the opportunity to speak with a few producers and screenwriters, truly good people all.
Their big message: military films aren’t working. The country is weary and doesn’t want war films as entertainment. Rather, they say, the good citizens of our nation want to escape with the fictional heroes in movies such as “Transformers,” “X-Men,” and “Spider-Man.”
Military movies may not be working because Hollywood presently refuses to capitalize on the real life heroes in combat everyday. Everyone loves a good hero and for Hollywood to embrace the notion that there might be a valorous man or woman worthy of a feature film may lend creditability to the cause for which they are fighting. And we can’t have that.
Instead, their latest war films are partisan propaganda as opposed to realistic and balanced. Somewhere between the screenplay and the final edit group therapy takes place and movie houses release message films as opposed to realistic action movies. (more…)
It takes a big man to admit he screwed up and take a principled stand. It takes a phony liberal elitist to apologize for the sake of protecting his television ratings.
Jon Stewart makes Arlen Specter look principled.
Like Pee Wee Herman, Jon Stewart launched his intercontinental ballistic missile, and he could not put the missile back on the launching pad. In his case, the only thing that seeped out was stupidity.
Jon Stewart, for those who are not “trendy,” “hip,” or “cool” (brie-cheese-eating-elitist-snobs according to the Tygrrrr Express dictionary), has a nightly political television show where he presents the news with all the accuracy and fairness of the Jayson Blair Times. (more…)
What does it mean to be an Army Spouse during the War on Terror? In this edition of Profiles in Courage, we will take a look at one such Army Spouse story, that of Kim McNaughton, wife of Mike McNaughton.
You have no doubt heard about the story of Mike McNaughton but how much thought have you put into what it must be like to be Mrs. Mike McNaughton? What she must have gone through when he deployed? When she heard the news of her husband’s incident, how did effect her family? How did her life change?
Having not seen Mike since he deployed 7 months before, she knew that her life was about to change forever
The most emotional experience in her life was the first time she saw Mike when he arrived to Walter Reed. With no idea of what to expect and how she would react when she saw him. Would her reaction make it harder for Mike? She knew she needed to be strong for him and the kids. How was she going to deal with it all? How would it affect the kids? (more…)
Tags: Iraq War, Kim McNaughton, Mike McNaughton, President Bush, Road2Recovery Posted May 6th 2009 at 3:01 pm in Military |
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We’ve all noticed that coverage of the war in Iraq has dropped off over the last year or so. Ever since it became an incontrovertible truth that the Bush Surge worked, The New York Times and MSNBC seem to have decided that there wasn’t much worth covering anymore. Clearly, editors sitting in glass towers in New York City believe that “stories” like Korans being flushed down a toilet sell far more magazines than non-fiction accounts of hope and change in Iraq stemming from the hard work of our armed forces. Now that things are going better in Iraq and controversies are more difficult to create, it doesn’t merit the “coverage” it once did.
This phenomenon, while unfortunate, is not the most egregious failure of the mainstream media in covering the war in Iraq. Focused as they were for the last five years on finding (or inventing from whole cloth) reasons to blast President Bush for anything that happened in Iraq, the reporters tasked with covering the conflict missed some of the most incredible acts of courage and sacrifice that have ever been performed. Four soldiers, sailors, and marines have posthumously been awarded the Medal of Honor for acts of courage performed in Iraq, but few of us could name one of them. (more…)
Whatever happened to military films where American GI’s are the good guys? You know…the movies where our guys are actually wearing the white hats?
You can find them at the GI Film Festival, which is held each May in Washington DC. The GI Film Festival is the first and only film festival in the country dedicated to the American military; for five days we bring Hollywood and the military together to screen movies that portray American GIs in a positive light.
The latest film to be announced in the GI Film Festival 2009 lineup, The Dividedcomes from Director Bennett Stein in his first feature debut. Bennett was born in Paris to a CIA agent mom and an anti-Soviet, nuke-counting spy father. When his parents returned stateside and began a publishing and production company, Bennett’s life changed forever and he knew he wanted to be in the entertainment industry. Bennett began his career as a personal assistant to celebrated actor William Hurt. After acting in over 25 plays and films, Bennett turned his sights to writing and directing. (more…)
Tags: army movie, Bennett Stein, GI Film Festival, GIs, Iraq War Posted Mar 24th 2009 at 3:21 pm in Entertainment, Military, Video |
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There are many Iraq War documentaries on the market, but few are as exciting and honest as “Triangle of Death,” directed by first time filmmaker Marine CPL Folleh Tamba. Triangle of Deathshares the story of the marines of Echo Company 3rd Platoon as they endured life changing experiences, fought a war, trained a nation’s army, endured daily mortar and sniper fire, and managed to survive a year in Iraq’s deadliest zone, the triangle of death. The marines of 2/24 worked together through these hardships to create the only outcome they could imagine in their world: Mission Accomplishment. (more…)
As a Marine veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, I care a great deal about how Americans perceive the war and those of us who served in it. It is no secret that Hollywood has exclusively produced films opposing the war, portraying us as criminals, mental-cases, victims, and simpletons. By and large these movies failed to attract audiences, even as they were praised by the anti-American European fraternities and their L.A. and New York groupies. The success of HBO’s “Taking Chance” demonstrates that Americans are in fact interested in the Iraq War, are willing to watch movies about it, and want to know more about those who fought against incredible odds and proved the naysayers wrong.
I was recently privileged to attend a pre-screening of a film that shows Americans exactly what we’ve been missing. “Brothers At War” dares to give viewers an honest and intimate look at a family that supports two brothers on the front lines, from the perspective of a sibling who decided not to serve in the military. Freshman filmmaker Jake Rademacher follows his brothers to Iraq to try and understand their commitment, and to see for himself what they experience when they deploy “over there” for so many months at a time. Throughout the film we witness the tensions between the brothers as they try to discover a way to communicate with each other despite the ideological divisions. There are moments of frustration, anger, and skepticism as they confront each other, and there are moments of love, tenderness, and genuine respect as they come to understand one another through these shared experiences. (more…)
Tags: Brothers At War, documentary, Iraq War, Jake Rademacher, Taking Chance Posted Mar 9th 2009 at 9:57 am in Military, Reviews |
7416620 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/gledeen/2009/03/09/%e2%80%9cbrothers-at-war%e2%80%9d-an-iraq-movieworth-seeing/%27Brothers+at+War%27%3A+An+Iraq+Movie+Worth+Seeing2009-03-09+17%3A57%3A49Gabe+Ledeen
With ”Brothers at War” set for release this Friday, over the course of the coming week Big Hollywood will feature a full review of the documentary along with an interview with the film’s creator, Jake Rademacher. I attended one of the advance screenings, and worried it would be nothing more than a right-wing response to Hollywood’s punishing series of anti-war films, “Brothers at War” ended up being one the most pleasant experiences of last year. Here’s a little of what I wrote at the time: (more…)
Welcome to PROFILES IN COURAGE, a series of articles profiling the courage and honor from some of the many Wounded Heroes that Road 2 Recovery has come in contact with. It is an honor and privilege to have worked with these brave men and women who have been severely wounded and had to overcame both mental and physical injuries. They have sacrificed so much to defend our freedom.
Any resemblance?
This week’s special edition profile features someone who took part in the first ever Road 2 Recovery event and is the exact image of what you would hope your son or daughter could grow up to be, We hope you read this story and remember what makes America great.
One of the greatest characters in the comics is Captain America. Captain America had superhuman power and saved the US from any evil. Meet a real life version: Kent Solheim. (more…)
HBO premiered “Taking Chance,” starring Kevin Bacon, on Saturday night. If you haven’t seen it yet, make time to watch it. ”Taking Chance” is unlike any Iraq War movie we’ve seen, thus far, in that it steers clear of any political message. I don’t mind telling you that I find that to be incredibly refreshing.
By the way, I realize that I’m a little late on this but, being just a regular schmo, I don’t get advance screeners of things. Consider this to be like talking to the buddy you haven’t seen since Friday.
Based on true events, the movie follows the experiences of Lieutenant Colonel Mike Strobl and is a moving tribute to PFC Chance Phelps, a 19-year-old Marine who was killed in battle in 2004. Even though the story follows LtCol Strobl as he escorts the body of this fallen Marine back to his family, it does not victimize Phelps. Further, it shows a side of America that I rarely see, living in Los Angeles. At every opportunity the movie takes the time to demonstrate the honor shown by fellow members of the military, as well as civilians raising hand to heart to offer respect. Not even the camera is disrespectful to PFC Phelps – he is more a symbol of all the brave men and women that we’ve lost in Iraq. (more…)
Tags: hbo, Iraq War, kevin bacon, Marines, Taking Chance Posted Feb 24th 2009 at 4:21 pm in Entertainment, Politics, Reviews |
6525074 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jrhead/2009/02/24/taking-chance-delivers-a-moving-tribute/%27Taking+Chance%27+Delivers+Moving+Tribute2009-02-25+00%3A21%3A02J.R.+Head
Please go to this link first – click here – to understand what I’m about to rant about and why I’m so pissed.
Almost 90% of Americans believe the war in Iraq is and was a waste. The Hollywood media feeds the public wasteful, depressing, and horribly fabricated stories. When did the U.S. military become the bad-guys? We are stereotyped “Generation Kill.” I guess that is all we do. All we do is go to Iraq, hunt innocents and slaughter them. I guess that is what I did for eight months while I was there.
I guess I really didn’t save Iraqi families from being tortured by foreign jihadis. I didn’t set up the first ever Iraqi elections. Or see my brothers blown up, shot, maimed, and killed. Getting attacked from Mosques and hospitals–and you know what? We just took it, day after day we took it and we kept going. An IED blowing up underneath me each day. We couldn’t fight back; we were ordered not to. No matter how much vengeful, pent up aggression I felt, or how much I wanted to kill, I didn’t act on it. We have a code, Rules of Engagement. “RULES,” rules that are followed.
But according to then Senator and now President Obama, all I did was air-raid villages and kill innocent civilians. This is a video I will never forget:
by
Carl Kozlowski
As much as I love writing about film and politics, my first and biggest love lies in writing humor pieces of all types: jokes for my own and others’ stand-up acts, screenplays and TV scripts that admittedly haven’t sold yet, plus “SNL”-style sketches for Chicago’s legendary...
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