‘Green Zone’ Trailer: Matt Damon Goes to Iraq to Fight…Americans?

Nobody liked this movie when it was called “Body of Lies.” 

This is the most revealing trailer yet and thankfully we’re given a heads up as to what the story might really be about. Hollywood will look for cover with the excuse that “Green Zone” is based on a true story, but we all know which “true stories” Leftist Hollywood cherry picks in order to fulfill the demands of an anti-American narrative. For example, the true story of 100,000-plus Americans risking their lives to liberate and protect from terrorists people they’ve  never met is one “true story” we’ll see in hell first.

Everything you’d expect from director Paul Greengrass and Damon is here, including that goddamn shaky-cam (it’s not saying the Lord’s name in vain if you mean it). Damon’s character is the protagonist and he’s there to do good but it’s not the terrorists who are the antagonists getting in his way … no, it’s The United States of America personified by the Greg Kinnear character. (more…)

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Tags: anti-American, anti-Iraq, Iraq, Matt Damon, paul greengrass
Posted Nov 17th 2009 at 12:32 pm in Film, Military, Politics | 263966137 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jjmnolte/2009/11/17/green-zone-trailer-matt-damon-goes-to-iraq/%27Green+Zone%27+Trailer%3A+Matt+Damon+Goes+to+Iraq+to+Fight...Americans%3F2009-11-17+20%3A32%3A03John+Nolte

Smithsonian Air&Space on Kopp-Etchells Effect

November 04, 2009

Helo Halo

Luminous halos twirled above a Boeing CH-47 Chinook on a recent night around 11:30 p.m. local time at Forward Operating Base Jackson in Sangin, Helmand Province, Afghanistan, as helicopters ferried casualties and supplies in and out of the base. The photographer was independent journalist Michael Yon, a former U.S. Army Special Forces soldier who has covered Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Philippines with a camera. Helicopter pilots don’t have a name for the effect, but one explained to Yon, “Basically it is a result of static electricity created by friction as…dissimilar material strike against each other. In this case, titanium/nickel blades moving through the air and dust.” Yon says, however, that a researcher studying helicopter brownout emailed him to say that scientists are not 100 percent sure what causes the effect. Depending on the viewing angle, it creates dazzling little galaxies. An even longer exposure reveals stars and another aircraft marked by a string of lights at upper left of center; Yon suspects this aircraft was a Predator or Reaper UAV, which, unlike manned military aircraft, fly with their lights on in the Afghan night to avoid collisions. Yon, who made these shots with a Canon 5D Mark II with a 50 mm lens at an ISO of 800, claims that the night was far darker than his sensitive camera conveys, as evidenced by the green chemlights on the ground to guide the pilots. He was moved to create a name, the Kopp-Etchells Effect, for the rotor phenomenon to honor a pair of fallen soldiers, U.S. Army Corporal Benjamin Kopp and British Army Corporal Joseph Etchells, who died one day apart in July after fierce fighting in Helmand (Kopp had been evacuated to the U.S. before he died). “The tent in the foreground is a medical tent,” says Yon, “so that casualties can be kept in a tent until the last minute. A substantial number of British casualties in Helmand have been lifted off of this exact spot…because this is probably either the most dangerous place in Afghanistan, or nearly the most dangerous.” (more…)

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Tags: Afghanistan, Benjamin Kopp, Boeing, Corporal Joseph Etchells, Helmand Province
Posted Nov 5th 2009 at 11:12 pm in Michael Yon Dispatches, Military | 25909410 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/myon/2009/11/05/smithsonian-airspace-on-kopp-etchells-effect/Smithsonian+Air%26Space+on+Kopp-Etchells+Effect2009-11-06+07%3A12%3A52Michael+Yon

Real Life Hero–Sergeant First Class Jared Monti

Boots on the Ground Report

As I watch Hollywood’s inexcusable defense of Roman Polanski and the White House’s indecision in Afghanistan, I’m wondering what I’ve missed. For example, if the President’s going to break a campaign promise, why would he pick one that will endanger not only the mission and the lives of so many great Americans in Afghanistan, but the security of our nation? At the same time, how come everyone knows Polanski’s name but you hear little mention of a tough guy named Sergeant First Class Jared Monti?

Sergeant First Class Jared Monti in Afghanistan

Is it possible we don’t have our priorities straight? For those that are interested, let me tell you about Jared Monti.

This spring Secretary of Defense Robert Gates made a routine visit to Fort Drum, NY, home of the 10th Mountain Division. During his circulation of the post, he chatted with several members of the rear detachment of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team whose headquarters and 4500 troops are presently serving south of Kabul, Afghanistan. (more…)

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Tags: Afghanistan, Defense Robert Gates, Iraq, Jared Monti, Obama
Posted Oct 21st 2009 at 8:31 am in Celebrity News, Military, Politics | 24909447 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/ajtata/2009/10/21/real-life-hero-sergeant-first-class-jared-monti/Real+Life+Hero--Sergeant+First+Class+Jared+Monti2009-10-21+15%3A31%3A57Brigadier+General+%28R%29+Anthony+J.+Tata

Nobel Peace Prize: At What Cost?

On Friday, America woke to the shocking news that Barack Obama had won the Nobel Peace Prize.   While there was universal agreement on both sides of the aisle that our President did not earn this award for any actual accomplishments; some have been trying to spin this as some sort of victory for America; not to mention labeling those of us on the right as terrorists for not celebrating this supposed victory.  The truth of the matter is that this award is a slap in the face to America’s history as a strong economic and international leader, and encourages behavior that will only embolden the terrorists with whom we are at war. 

The other night, Bill O’Reilly was explaining that this award meant the world would view America as a peace-loving nation.  Brent Budowsky, lectured the “talk America down” Republicans for attacking the announcement, saying ”this is good for America.”  TIm Kaine claimed that the prize was “an affirmation of the fact that the United States has returned to its longstanding role as a world leader.”  America is popular again; may we all celebrate with great enthusiasm.  If only there wasn’t that nagging question of what price President Obama has paid in order usher in this era of good will.    (more…)

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Tags: "Carrie", Afghanistan, apology tour, Barack Obama, Iraq
Posted Oct 13th 2009 at 10:14 am in Politics | 24461836 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/smitchell/2009/10/13/nobel-peace-prize-at-what-cost/Nobel+Peace+Prize%3A+At+What+Cost%3F2009-10-13+17%3A14%3A20Seth+Mitchell

EXCLUSIVE: Gene Hackman Talks Iraq, Gitmo, and Celebs Who Talk Politics

Quietly, with dignity and without fanfare, The Mighty Gene Hackman retired from acting in 2004 to live with his wife in New Mexico and tap out the occasional novel, his latest being “Escape From Andersonville,” a piece of historical fiction he co-wrote with Daniel Lenihan.

Though there were no announcements I’m aware of, almost immediately I knew he had retired … because almost immediately there was a disturbance in the force. Sometime during the early eighties, Hackman replaced John Wayne as my favorite working actor and rarely did a year pass without a new Gene Hackman movie – and sometimes there were as many as two or three. So when the movies stopped coming, something just felt off.  (more…)

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Tags: Afghanistan, gene hackman, Iraq, melanie morgan
Posted Oct 8th 2009 at 5:59 pm in Celebrity News, Politics | 243642134 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jjmnolte/2009/10/08/exclusive-gene-hackman-talks-iraq-gitmo-and-celebs-who-talk-politics/EXCLUSIVE%3A+Gene+Hackman+Talks+Iraq%2C+Gitmo%2C+and+Celebs+Who+Talk+Politics2009-10-09+00%3A59%3A18John+Nolte

Ride 2 Recovery Day 1: How Do You Know?

A therapeutic challenge: Veterans with physical, mental injuries will bike from San Francisco to Los Angeles.

To Support Our Wounded Vets.

Day one of the 2nd annual Golden State Challenge with more than 150 participants headed of from the San Francisco VA towards the seaside town of Santa Cruz. The 75-mile ride took the riders thru scenic Northern California coastline including Pacifica, Half Moon Bay, and the climb of Bonnie Doon. The weather could not have been more perfect with sunny skies and a nice 15 mph tailwind. The ride is made up of groups from the Palo Alto, San Francisco, Livermoore, Fresno, Antelope Valley, West LA, and Sepulveda VA’s. Military groups come from Walter Reed, Brooke Army MC, San Diego Naval MC, Ft Irwin, Ft. Eustice, California National Guard, and several Viet Nam vets. One of the best scenes of the day was SF VA’s Eric Downing come out on his tandem with his 5 year old son. (more…)

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Tags: Elmer Urgarte, Golden State Challenge, Half Moon Bay, Iraq, Military
Posted Oct 6th 2009 at 8:22 am in Military | 2408943 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/r2r/2009/10/06/road-2-recovery-day-1-how-do-you-know/Ride+2+Recovery+Day+1%3A+How+Do+You+Know%3F2009-10-06+15%3A22%3A42Ride+2+Recovery

Ideology of a Liberal

Since the health care debate has wound down a little as a result of President Obama’s speech on Wednesday which, by the way, was pure rhetoric and seen by the general public and pundits as a failure because of its lack of new ideas and detail, I have decided to tackle a subject other than health care reform in this article.  What makes a liberal tick?  Why are there such major differences between the two parties in this country? 

The other day I was playing on Facebook and saw a number of posts from my liberal friends regarding health care.  The comments posted were all similar.  No one should go without health care in this country and no one should go broke because they got sick.  Why only liberals would post this amazes me, because there are not too many people in the world that disagree.  However, it is just not that simple.  (more…)

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Tags: Afghanistan, Barack Obama, bush, Congress, healthcare
Posted Sep 20th 2009 at 6:54 am in Featured Story, Politics | 225042131 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/fdemartini/2009/09/20/ideology-of-a-liberal/Ideology+of+a+Liberal2009-09-20+13%3A54%3A07Frank+DeMartini

Why You Should Read and Support Michael Yon

When I saw that Michael Yon had joined us here at Big Hollywood, I was overjoyed. This is a great opportunity to expand his audience and, frankly, everyone should read his stuff. Yon has been embedding with military units in combat for the better part of the last four years and has been bringing the ground-level truth to those that care to read it.

I can’t remember exactly when I first discovered his writings but it was at a point where he was disagreeing with the spin coming from the Bush White House regarding progress in Iraq. I was disturbed to have confirmation that things were not quite as we were being told but Yon’s critiques, while serious and undiluted, were constructive in nature. I could tell that he was supportive of the effort even though he sometimes railed against the execution of it. Michael Yon pulls no punches and I checked back often to see what else he had to say. Eventually, the network news would catch up and start reporting things that Yon had written about weeks, often months, earlier. This is a pattern that continues today. (more…)

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Tags: Afghanistan, Iraq, J.R. Head, Marines, Michael Yon
Posted Sep 9th 2009 at 5:03 am in Featured Story, Michael Yon Dispatches, Military | 21700627 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jrhead/2009/09/09/michael-yon/Why+You+Should+Read+and+Support+Michael+Yon+2009-09-09+12%3A03%3A55J.R.+Head

New Afghan War: Frontline Correspondent Says Fight Has Morphed – But We Still Can’t Afford to Lose

6 September 2009

This story was published in the New York Daily News on 6 September 2009.

Photo: Jacobson/AP

Helmand, Afghanistan – The West is losing this war. This has been obvious for more than three years. Less obvious is that in 2009, we are down to the wire. Gen. Stanley McChrystal and others will soon recommend to President Obama the latest treatment for a dying patient.

Meanwhile, allies and Americans are asking themselves why we are here. Some are saying that Al Qaeda is still here or is waiting in the wings to return to its home. Yet Afghanistan was never Al Qaeda’s permanent home to begin with. Al Qaeda was just renting a little space here, just as it was renting space in places like Germany and Florida. (more…)

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Tags: Afghan war, Afghanistan, al qaeda, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, Ghor Province
Posted Sep 6th 2009 at 2:56 pm in Michael Yon Dispatches, Military | 21884651 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/myon/2009/09/06/new-afghan-war-frontline-correspondent-says-fight-has-morphed-%e2%80%93-but-we-still-cant-afford-to-lose/New+Afghan+War%3A+Frontline+Correspondent+Says+Fight+Has+Morphed+%E2%80%93+But+We+Still+Can%27t+Afford+to+Lose2009-09-06+21%3A56%3A55Michael+Yon

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

Sarah Palin: One Year Later

On August 29th, 2008, I woke up and, like almost every other American, was stunned by the news that Sarah Palin had been chosen as John McCain’s running mate. It was not that I had never heard of her or didn’t want her to be the pick (I had publicly called for her consideration numerous times), but because it was so clearly a very bold and risky maneuver and a true surprise in an era when we seemingly know everything well before it happens.

Moments after I heard the news I did a radio interview and predicted that the news media would destroy her in their transparent quest to pave the way for Barack Obama’s historic election. I had no idea just how right that “blink” calculation would be and I certainly never would have guessed that I would become a small part of that story by dedicating my life and fortune to documenting just how unbelievably bad it would get.

The last twelve months of Sarah Palin’s life truly bring new meaning to the phrase “what a difference a year makes.” I strongly believe that no public figure in modern America has ever endured more stress, pressure and unfair scrutiny in a more dignified fashion than she has over the past year (though what George W. Bush tolerated over the last three years of his presidency probably comes in a close second).

On August 28th of last year Sarah Palin was a largely unknown governor considered to be a rising star largely because of her willingness to take on Republicans in a way that had endeared her to Democrats. Today she is an ex-governor wrongly perceived by most of the country and virtually all of the news media as an erratic, unqualified, lightweight and ultra-partisan Republican who can’t even mange her own family.  (more…)

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Tags: Alaska, Barack Obama, Bill Maher, Chris Matthews, David Letterman
Posted Aug 28th 2009 at 7:55 am in Featured Story, Politics | 213110318 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jziegler/2009/08/28/sarah-palin-one-year-later/Sarah+Palin%3A+One+Year+Later2009-08-28+14%3A55%3A02John+Ziegler

Bad Medicine

On Pharmacy Road

Captain Henry Coltart on Pharmacy Road

24 August 2009
Helmand Province, Afghanistan

The British soldiers of 2 Rifles had a mission: clear and hold Pharmacy Road.

FOB Jackson is currently home to Battlegroup headquarters for 2 Rifles. The area around the river is called the “Green Zone,” but just as appropriately could be called the Opium Zone. During season, the area is covered with colorful poppies, whose 2009 products are probably showing up by now on the streets in Europe. European money flows back here and buys fertilizer in the Sangin Market, which can be used to make bombs, produce more opium, get more money and make more bombs and grow more opium and make more money and bombs and grow more opium. Sangin is at once an ATM and weapons bazaar for the enemy. Nearly all fatalities in this unit have been caused by fertilizer bombs. The decision to mostly ignore the drug dealers has been a strategic blunder. (more…)

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Tags: "Green Zone", Afghan National Army (ANA), Afghanistan, EOD, guerrillas
Posted Aug 24th 2009 at 3:48 pm in Michael Yon Dispatches, Military | 21047018 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/myon/2009/08/24/bad-medicine/Bad+Medicine+2009-08-24+22%3A48%3A19Michael+Yon

No Oscar For You: Matt Damon’s Iraq Critique Moved to March

Why would a company interested in making money (so they say) make yet another film trashing the Iraq War? By my count (narratives and documentaries), 13 have already flopped miserably and yet Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass team up for number 14, this one a big-budget studio critique of a war that successfully liberated 25 million innocent people.

Companies truly interested in making a profit don’t behave this way, which is why there’s never been a New Coke 2, much less a New Coke 14. And yet, Universal doubles down on more anti-Americanism using the fig-leaf of “based on a true story” to hide their malicious intentions which — to anyone paying attention — are always exposed by which “true stories” they choose to drop in theaters all over the world.

Here’s the New Yorker description of the book “Green Zone” is based on: (more…)

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Tags: "Green Zone", "Wolfman", Benicio Del Toro, Iraq, Matt Damon
Posted Jul 31st 2009 at 11:11 am in Film, Politics | 195334188 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jjmnolte/2009/07/31/no-oscar-for-you-matt-damons-iraq-critique-moved-to-march/No+Oscar+For+You%3A+Matt+Damon%27s+Iraq+Critique+Moved+to+March2009-07-31+18%3A11%3A28John+Nolte

Story and the Power of Conservative Themes in Film

Boy, did I ever kick a hornet’s nest with my tongue-in-cheek Archie Bunker-on-steroids BH post, “My Secret Life as a Conservative Republican.” Lefties called it Reaffirmation With Senator Smalley, which I expected. But Righties nearly wet their pants in fear, which I did not expect in the least. Where’s the pioneering spirit, self-confidence and gutter-level humor that founded this country?

People, this is OUR Fortress Hollywood! This is OUR sanctuary! Since when the hell do we care about what demagogues like Keith Olbermann think or say? Or any other mental tinfoil hat Lefties like Garofalo for that matter? It’s like Churchill worrying about Hitler calling him a fat cigar-chomping drunk! Who won that fight, and why? And who was in the right, despite all the insipid name-calling?

Time to grow a pair, people. It’s also time to raise the stakes. Now, I’ve heard from some contributors here at BH that it is really bad in Hollywood in places. That people might even lose their jobs if they spoke up like I do here. If true, that’s McCarthyism at its worst. Fortunately, that’s not my experience. I still have great relationships with people in the biz who could care less about politics. All they care about is finding great scripts or literary works to adapt, and telling great stories on film.

And that is where the battle really needs to be fought: on their playing ground. An insurgency of ideas, if you will. Example. Just under the Big Hollywood sign today, I saw the banner “TNT’s ‘The Closer’ Thrives on Strong Moral Foundation.” That PJM-linked article describes how The Closer, a show that portrays the border, the illegals situation, and even the cops themselves in very gritty and realistic fashion, is the top-rated scripted show on ad-supported cable since its inception. (more…)

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Tags: Academy, Afghanistan, al qaeda, American Gangster, AMPAS
Posted Jul 21st 2009 at 10:22 am in Classic Hollywood, Film, Politics, Religion | 184986103 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jtsimpson/2009/07/21/taking-the-fight-to-the-left/Story+and+the+Power+of+Conservative+Themes+in+Film2009-07-21+17%3A22%3A45John+T.+Simpson

‘NewsBusted’ 7/17/09 — Fake News from the Right

(more…)

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Tags: Al Franken, C-Span, Chad Johnson, Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit
Posted Jul 17th 2009 at 6:33 pm in Political Humor, Video | 18586213 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/newsbusters/2009/07/17/%e2%80%98newsbusted%e2%80%99-71709-%e2%80%94-fake-news-from-the-right/%E2%80%98NewsBusted%E2%80%99+7%2F17%2F09+%E2%80%94+Fake+News+from+the+Right2009-07-18+01%3A33%3A19NewsBusters

Review: ‘The Hurt Locker’

The Hurt Locker is not about Iraq, why we went there, what we did when we got there, or whether we should have gone in the first place. It is not about American foreign policy or domestic disagreement over that policy; it’s not even about soldiers or their qualities or character …  it’s not about politics at all.

The Hurt Locker is about an adrenaline junkie who gets off defusing bombs.

Sgt. Will James is very good at this narrow work. He is occasionally a fool who takes unnecessary chances. Far more often he is an expert who enjoys that his wisely bold tactics occasionally make him appear a fool—because a fool’s luck has nothing to do with his success. Early in the picture and after much prodding, Sgt. James admits to a superior officer that he has defused “873 bombs, counting today.” (more…)

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Tags: bombs, Hurt Locker, Iraq, Jeremy Renner, Kathryn Bigelow
Posted Jul 15th 2009 at 11:07 am in Reviews | 18165419 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/mlong/2009/07/15/review-the-hurt-locker-3/Review%3A+%27The+Hurt+Locker%272009-07-15+18%3A07%3A42Mike+Long

‘NewsBusted’ 7/10/09 — Fake News from the Right

(more…)

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Tags: CNN, First Lady Michelle Obama, Fox News, Iraq, Michael Jackson
Posted Jul 10th 2009 at 8:12 pm in Political Humor, Video | 18073810 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/newsbusters/2009/07/10/%e2%80%98newsbusted%e2%80%99-71009-%e2%80%94-fake-news-from-the-right/%E2%80%98NewsBusted%E2%80%99+7%2F10%2F09+%E2%80%94+Fake+News+from+the+Right2009-07-11+03%3A12%3A55NewsBusters

Questioning Joe Biden’s ‘Corny’ Patriotism

For those of you who take it as an article of faith that Dan Quayle was the dumbest, most out-of-touch vice president who ever served this nation, I’m afraid I have some bad news for you. 

Yesterday, Independence Day, Vice President Joe Biden attended a naturalization ceremony at Camp Victory in Baghdad, Iraq.  During the ceremony 237 U.S. servicemen from 59 countries, including Iraq, were sworn in as citizens of the United States of America.  At the conclusion of this solemn, undoubtedly moving and inspirational occasion, and in the presence of his own son Beau (currently serving in the 261st Theater Tactical Signal Brigade, Delaware Army National Guard), this is what the Vice President of the United States had to say: ”As corny as it sounds,” he told the troops, “Damn, I’m proud to be an American!” 

Where to begin?  

OK, if you were really proud to be an American, Mr. Vice President, you wouldn’t find it necessary to preface that declaration with the words, “as corny as it sounds”.  If you were really proud to be an American those words wouldn’t sound corny to you.  Then again, if you were really proud to be an American you wouldn’t be serving under a President who spent his last trip overseas apologizing to the world on behalf of America.  You wouldn’t be serving under a President who either doesn’t recognize or simply doesn’t understand the concept of American exceptionalism.  You wouldn’t, it could be reasonably argued, be a member of the current Democrat Party.  (more…)

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Tags: american, Camp Victory, cheney, Iraq, Joe Biden
Posted Jul 5th 2009 at 7:08 am in Featured Story, Politics | 176706173 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/nrice/2009/07/05/joe-biden-unpatriotic-retard-by-ned-rice/Questioning+Joe+Biden%27s+%27Corny%27+Patriotism+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++2009-07-05+14%3A08%3A13Ned+Rice

Review: ‘The Hurt Locker’

Katherine Bigelow’s direction of “The Hurt Locker” is masterful and might very well place her back where she belongs, at the top of anyone’s list looking for a top-shelf action director. But that’s not enough to save the film from episodic plotting, jarring and unnecessary political statements, a troubling depiction of our troops and an even worse portrayal of the Iraqi people. This is a movie you want to like, but an unsettling after-taste lingers long after the thrill of the set-pieces fades.

Produced and scripted by Mark Boal (who embedded with a U.S. Army bomb squad operating in Baghdad), the year is 2004 and Iraq is a country under siege, thanks mainly to determined insurgents and roadside IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) that seem to be everywhere and frequently come with nearby triggermen lying in wait for the opportunity to do the most amount of damage, preferably to American servicemen and women.  Charged with the dangerous and technically complicated job of defusing these bombs is a three-man EOD (Explosive Ordinance Disposal) team led by Staff Sergeant James (an excellent Jeremy Renner) and his squad mates Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) and Eldridge (Brian Geraghty). (more…)

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Tags: Blackhawk Down, Brothers At War, Hurt Locker, Iraq, Jeremy Renner
Posted Jul 2nd 2009 at 4:20 pm in Featured Story, Reviews | 175562104 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jjmnolte/2009/07/02/review-the-hurt-locker-2/Review%3A+%27The+Hurt+Locker%272009-07-02+23%3A20%3A53John+Nolte

Gold Star Mother: Deborah Tainsh

Betrayed by Liberal Hollywood

Psychologists say that a parent’s grief over the death of a child is “the most difficult loss to endure and surely among the most difficult to integrate into one’s life” because our children are an enormous part of our legacy, and “in their deaths, a large part of our own future dies.”  The natural order of our lives has been turned upside down, bringing on an emotional chaos.

For the parents of military men and women who have died after volunteering to serve their country and walking into the face of death in the 21^st century’s war on terror, this grief and chaos has been exponentially multiplied by liberal Hollywood.  But one has to actually walk this path to understand it.  The anti-war sentiment and films that have spewed from liberal actors, producers, and directors have burdened our hearts unspeakably as they have served only to aide the greatest enemy our country has ever faced and to deface and demoralize the greatest ambassadors our country has: the men and women who wear the uniforms of the United States military. (more…)

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Tags: Betty Grable, bob hope, Charles Durning, Ed McMahon, gene hackman
Posted Jun 25th 2009 at 4:59 pm in Entertainment, Featured Story, Military | 168922No Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/gsmothers/2009/06/25/gold-star-mother-deborah-tainsh/Gold+Star+Mother%3A+Deborah+Tainsh2009-06-25+23%3A59%3A45Gold+Star+Mothers

Troopathon 2009: An All-Volunteer Military

Last year, an acquaintance named Dave, a television writer who had fallen on hard times, decided to make an economy move to South Carolina.  An indicator of his sour mood is that he now includes “The Swamp” in his e-mail address.  I have every reason to believe that this Hollywood transplant isn’t referring to the physical landscape, but to the folks who live there.  Over the past several months, he has made it perfectly clear that he feels as if he has awakened to find himself dwelling in Dogpatch. 

As we all know, a certain amount of trauma takes place anytime we pack up.  But that’s especially the case when we set down 3,000 miles away.  No longer do we know where the barbershop is or the dry cleaner or the coffee shop where they remember to drain the tuna before making your sandwich.  If you add to the mix the fact that the man is middle-aged and, thus, regarded as over-the-hill in a business that confuses youth with ability, one can readily understand a certain amount of bitterness.  (more…)

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Tags: all-volunteer military, Iraq, militants, Troopathon
Posted Jun 25th 2009 at 10:47 am in Military | 168078No Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bprelutsky/2009/06/25/168078/Troopathon+2009%3A+An+All-Volunteer+Military2009-06-25+17%3A47%3A40Burt+Prelutsky

Troopathon 2009: The Only Soldier I Ever Met

I never met a real soldier.  My family didn’t know much about the military.  We fancied ourselves more artistic and sophisticated than that.  As a boy, I lived in terror of the draft, afraid of my 18th birthday, when I would have to register with the Selective Service (or they’d come and get me).  And all I ever heard at home was how the Vietnam War was maiming and disfiguring our beautiful young men – all for nothing.

World War II was different.  Even my family remembered it almost fondly.  Soldiers back then seemed like the real thing, thanks largely to the patriotic black-and-white movies of the 1940s – still played repeatedly on our rabbit ear TV.  Hard to believe, but once upon a time, Hollywood actually pitched in to the war effort – stars like Bette Davis, John Garfield, Carole Lombard, Betty Grable, even Marlene Dietrich, all went out of their way to boost the national morale. (more…)

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Tags: 9/11, Gulf War, Iraq, Troopathon, Vietnam
Posted Jun 25th 2009 at 7:22 am in Military | 1677262 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/cwinecoff/2009/06/25/the-only-soldier-i-ever-met/Troopathon+2009%3A+The+Only+Soldier+I+Ever+Met2009-06-25+14%3A22%3A56Charles+Winecoff

Troopathon 2009: Kindness Passed Down to Each Generation Through Example

July 2006

Dear Family:

Glory is something that some men chase and others find themselves stumbling upon, not expecting it to find them. Either way it is a noble gesture that one finds bestowed upon them. My question is, when does glory fade away and become a wrongful crusade, or an unjustified means which consumes one completely?

I have seen war. I have seen death, the sorrow that encompasses your entire being as a man breathes his last. I can only pray and hope that none of you will ever have to experience some of these things I have seen and felt here. I have felt fear and have felt adrenaline pump through my veins making me seem invincible. I will be honest and say that some of the things I have seen here are unjustified and uncalled for. However, for the most part we are helping this country. It will take more years than most expect, but we will get Iraq to stand on its own feet.

Marc Alan Lee

Most of what I have seen here I will never really mention or speak of, only due to the nature of those involved. I have seen a man give his food to a hungry child and family. Today I saw a hospital that most of us would refuse to receive treatment from. The filth and smell would allow most of us to not be able to stand to enter, let alone get medicine from. However, you will be relieved to know that coalition forces have started to provide security for and supply medicine and equipment to help aid in the cause.

I have seen amazing things happen here; however I have seen the sad part of war, too. I have seen the morals of a man who cares nothing of human life. . .  (more…)

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Tags: Debbie Lee, Glory Letter, Iraq, Marc Lee, Navy SEAL
Posted Jun 25th 2009 at 5:05 am in Featured Story, Military | 168942No Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/malee/2009/06/25/gold-star-mother-marc-lees-glory-letter/Troopathon+2009%3A+Kindness+Passed+Down+to+Each+Generation+Through+Example2009-06-25+12%3A05%3A02U.S.+Navy+Petty+Officer+2nd+Class+Marc+A.+Lee

The Stoning Of Team Hollywood

The crime is complete. Judgment has been passed. The killing stones are in hand. As per the harsh stoning penal code of Iran’s Islamist thugocracy (for however long that lasts) where the crime took place, my stones are not so big as to kill right away, not so small you can’t call them stones. And I’m winding up like Nolan Ryan. Feel free to pick up a stone of your own. But wait for it!

And let me make this perfectly clear, even if they do say Jehovah!

Sentence must be read before being carried out. And unlike Soraya M., the board members of the Asylum of Motion Picture Airheads and Stooges will deserve every rock that’s thrown their way. I also believe that, in light of events in Iran today, the following commentary will stand out in much starker prominence than it did when I first started reporting on them in early March, when Team Oscar first set off for the Unfriendly Skies of Islamist Iran. (more…)

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Tags: Academy of Motion Picture arts and Sciences, Ahmadinejad, Al Franken, Alireza Davudnejad, Ambush Bay
Posted Jun 19th 2009 at 5:45 pm in Entertainment, News, Politics | 1641062 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jtsimpson/2009/06/19/the-stoning-of-team-hollywood/The+Stoning+Of+Team+Hollywood2009-06-20+00%3A45%3A26John+T.+Simpson

‘The Hurt Locker’: Hollywood’s Idea of ‘Not Political’

I jumped at the opportunity to join “The Hurt Locker” press junket. The film’s director, Kathryn Bigelow (”Point Break,” “Strange Days,” “Blue Steel”), has been a favorite of mine since catching a 3 a.m. Cinemax screening of “Near Dark” some twenty-five years ago. No director — not the Scott brothers, not Michael Bay or even Clint Eastwood understand or are able to get inside the skin of driven men of action like Bigelow. This makes even her rare misstep like “K:19 The Widowmaker” much more watchable than it deserves to be (actually, I watch it all the time).

The junkets are simple. You sit in a hotel room with other writers and one by one the film’s participants stop by for a few minutes. So, in no particular order, as a group we had the chance to interview Bigelow, screenwriter Mark Boal (”In the Valley of Elah”), who researched the film in Iraq, and actors Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty.

All were charming and personable to be sure, but whenever politics or previous Iraq War films came up, things would get a little tense and surreal as each responded by assuring us they weren’t worried because “Hurt Locker” wasn’t at all political. Again and again, the film was described as a straight-forward war picture that just happened to be set in Iraq. (more…)

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Tags: Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, David Morse, Iraq, Jeremy Renner
Posted Jun 12th 2009 at 5:03 pm in Entertainment, Featured Story, Politics | 159446One Commenthttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jjmnolte/2009/06/12/%e2%80%98the-hurt-locker-hollywoods-idea-of-%e2%80%98not-political/%E2%80%98The+Hurt+Locker%27%3A+Hollywood%27s+Idea+of+%E2%80%98Not+Political%272009-06-13+00%3A03%3A20John+Nolte

Examining Leftist Thinking

The question that’s been preying on my mind is who is best suited to study those strange beings known as liberals.  It strikes me that they’d be fit subjects for psychiatrists, who might be in a position to figure out why they revere the people they do — people such as Hugo Chavez, Fidel Castro, Al Gore and Ted Kennedy — men who haven’t a single notable accomplishment to their name, aside from either winning elections or eliminating them altogether.  Or perhaps it would be more appropriate for biologists to delve into the left-wing organism, and determine how it is possible that creatures without brains could have survived so long in an often hostile environment.

If you don’t believe that liberalism is a serious malady, consider that Paul Krugman of the New York Times, when addressing Sonia Sotomayor’s remark about an Hispanic woman being better qualified than a white man to be a judge, said that she was merely being entertaining.  Even if Mr. Krugman is, as his comment suggests, more easily entertained than a backward three-year-old, I have a feeling that he wasn’t nearly as forgiving when Trent Lott, on the occasion of Strom Thurmond’s 100th birthday in 2002, said it was a shame that the old Dixiecrat hadn’t been elected president in 1948. (more…)

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Tags: 57 states, Afghanistan, Al Gore, Barack Hussein Obama, Barney Frank
Posted Jun 11th 2009 at 5:03 am in Politics | 15668213 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bprelutsky/2009/06/11/notes-from-the-liberal-front/Examining+Leftist+Thinking2009-06-11+12%3A03%3A57Burt+Prelutsky

What’s President Obama’s Script For Iran?

You know, people, I really wish I knew what the story was regarding President Obama’s puzzling diplomatic approach to Islamist Iran. Inquiring Minds Want To Know. This ain’t no movie, and I really don’t like the storyline to date. Haven’t since 1979. So what’s the script? White House Productions seems to be holding the storyline in blackout mode, and at this point I’m ready to put former FOX reporter Roger Friedman on the job of rooting it out. He sure did a bang-up job on “Wolverine.”

To be fair, I actually gave the President credit in this March 26th opinion piece entitled “Is President Obama Turning The Tables on Iran?” See, it occurred to me that the President might be undertaking a very brilliant strategy toward the Islamic Republic. If the President offers the Iranian regime nothing but carrots and gets nothing but sticks in return, then the regime is exposed as the hard case it really is. Nobody could say the President hadn’t tried every means at his disposal to make peace. (more…)

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Tags: al qaeda, Ali Khamenei, AMPAS, anti-gay pogrom, Argentina
Posted Jun 8th 2009 at 8:15 am in News, Politics | 1515784 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jtsimpson/2009/06/08/whats-president-obamas-script-for-iran/What%27s+President+Obama%27s+Script+For+Iran%3F2009-06-08+15%3A15%3A14John+T.+Simpson

On the Record, Off the QT and Not Very Hush-Hush

Dear Big Hollywood readers, it gives me great satisfaction to report to you that BH has been out on point not only on compelling film industry issues, which will never be covered in promo rags like Variety and the Hollywood Reporter (but then again, AMPAS and the studios aren’t buying us off), but on many controversial issues being played out in America and the greater world at large as well.

I know this to be true. Being a news junkie myself, I have found time after time as I was reading about a supposedly breaking subject, like ABC’s recent coverage of the targeted LGBT murders in Iraq, that it had already been on display for all to see in Big Hollywood posts for months.

Not to toot my own horn, but…well, okay, I’m tooting my own horn. And those of Andy Breitbart and John Nolte, who have given I, and so many other wonderful and insightful Hollywood right-wing fringe types, a magnificent bullhorn we otherwise would not have. We appear to be doing the dirty jobs our media just refuses to do. It’s a labor Hercules would completely sympathize with. (more…)

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Tags: abc, Academy of Motion Picture arts and Sciences, Adrianne Curry, Ali al-Sistani, AMPAS
Posted Jun 3rd 2009 at 5:20 pm in Entertainment, Politics | 1476823 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jtsimpson/2009/06/03/on-the-record-off-the-qt-and-not-very-hush-hush/On+the+Record%2C+Off+the+QT+and+Not+Very+Hush-Hush2009-06-04+00%3A20%3A57John+T.+Simpson

The Captivating Glare of ‘Friday Night Lights’

In the pilot episode of NBC’s “Friday Night Lights,” after a star football player suffers an injury on the field, the new coach in town, Coach Taylor, narrates the end of the episode while members of the football community visit the hospital where that player has been moved. In a voiceover, he states, “Life is so very fragile…We must carry this in our hearts: that what we have is special–that it can be taken from us. And that when it is taken from us, we will be tested. We will be tested to our very souls.” Several weeks ago, the third season of “FNL” was released on DVD and if you have not seen this program, this summer is a great time to catch up on this phenomenal show which showcases the daily tests that the characters in the community of Dillon, Texas face on and off the football field.

I only started watching the critically acclaimed program last year and since then I have purchased all three seasons on DVD. Readers and viewers might be familiar with the overall idea of the show because before there was a television show, there was a popular book and a feature film (with Billy Bob Thornton as the coach) with the same name. Even if you have not read the book or watched the film (and even if you do not like football), the show is well worth seeing. (more…)

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Tags: Connie Britton, DirecTV, Friday night lights, Iraq, Kyle Chandler
Posted Jun 3rd 2009 at 4:04 pm in Reviews | 149438No Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jhanlon/2009/06/03/the-captivating-glare-of-%e2%80%9cfriday-night-lights%e2%80%9d/The+Captivating+Glare+of+%27Friday+Night+Lights%272009-06-03+23%3A04%3A49John+P.+Hanlon