That is exactly what singer-songwriter-musician and owner of Guilty Dog Studios Joe Merrick is doing.

Fellow BigDawg’er Chris Ross, who we spotlighted a few months back, first introduced us to Joe’s music when he shared the video “Just In Case” at our site.  We insisted Chris talk his friend into joining us, and we’re so glad that he did!

When I approached Joe about spotlighting him, I learned that he had donated his great song, “Just In Case,” to Soldiers’ Angels, a nonprofit organization that provides aid and comfort to our military members and their families, for their Pocket Angel initiative.  How very cool.

Soldiers’ Angels wrote the following about Joe:

Boston singer-songwriter, Joe Merrick is a civilian, yet perfectly captures the thoughts and feelings of many a soldier nearing the end of a wartime deployment in his heart-rendering song, Just In Case.  Joe generously donated use of the song at the very beginning of the Borders Bookstores’ Pocket Angels campaign.

Joe’s style is generally country-rock, with a strong nod to the original rock and roll sound.  Besides singing and writing, he is also an instrumentalist and producer, and as the owner of Guilty Dog Studios he has played with and recorded with such internationally-known artists as Kevin Barry (guitarist for Paula Cole and Mary Chapin- Carpenter), Keith Harris (Drummer for Black Eyed Peas), Dan Kenny (Keyboardist for Britney Spears), and a variety of Boston-area musicians.  He has received songwriting awards from ABET, The Great American Song Contest, Song of the Year, and Billboard.  He is currently working on his fourth CD and a DVD documentary, and recently signed a deal with Pen Publishing.

Joe had this to say about his song:

No matter what your feelings are on the wars, our military should be thanked, respected, and treated like ROYALTY when they come home.  I thanked a Marine I met at Starbucks today.  When I play the song live at bars I dedicate it to the veterans and the ones serving now and I say to the patrons ‘you can now sit down and have a beer in peace because of these men and women, so take a listen…this song is for them.’

When I saw Joe’s video profile I was even more blown away by his talent.  Not only is he an amazing singer, songwriter, vocalist, and instrumentalist, but he is a highly sought-after music production professional.  I asked him how the downturn in our economy has impacted his business as owner of Guilty Dog Studios, to which he replied:

Guilty Dog Studios has luckily remained strong. I have a close knit family of repeat clients all from word of mouth. My philosophy is to do the best I can for everyone that comes through these doors. Each client reflects my passion for quality art. I love being an American and treasure my freedom to be an independent music producer. The troops provide me this privilege and I am indebted to them. We need to protect our founding fathers’ vision.  I feel BigDawg [Music Mafia] is helping to preserve FREEDOM.

For you musicians out there, we are not solely about showcasing artists with conservative, political songs; we are about promoting artists who just happen to love America and the liberties that come with being an American.  Many of the musicians at our site have non-political songs that are fantastic and are far superior to much of what we hear played on mainstream radio stations these days.  Joe’s intensely passionate Apolcalypse is a perfect example.

Thankfully, “Al Gore’s Amazing Internet” has given Joe and all the other amazingly talented artists at our site (especially those who are writing/recording songs with positive messages and a healthy dose of truth) the ability to share our craft via conservative sites like Big Hollywood and Internet radio shows.  In fact, we’ve recently partnered with Liberty Bell Radio , and on 5 November, 10AM ET, hosts Matthew & Reese will debut the all-new BigDawg’s Music Hour radio show.  Each week they will showcase five songs in the first half hour with the story behind each song and in the second hour you will get to know a featured guest artist from our site.   We will also be partnering with From the Right Radio in the near future to bring a solid hour of great music every week from some great patriots (hosted by yours truly).  Check our site regularly for more details.

One thing is certain – you will be hearing plenty of Joe’s great music on both shows.  In a review written about Joe’s Lost in Boston CD release party (which includes Just In Case and Apolcalypse), writer Tricia Nesti said the following:

I’ve heard several of his albums and this is my favorite. While starting out intending to make a country album that ended up much more like a rock album, Joe did something wonderful; he took rock and roll back to its roots. Rock evolved from Jazz and Country music (after all, Elvis and the Beatles took much of their inspiration from artists like James Brown and Chuck Berry, they were some of the artists who really started the movement called rock music), and Joe’s album takes you back to that original rock and roll sound. And it’s not just great to listen to; it’s refreshing.  Especially in a world where rock music is sounding significantly less and less like rock music everyday (since when is Kelly Clarkson rock music, Kiss 108?).

Like what you’ve heard so far?  Want to hear more?  Be sure to ”Like” Joe Merrick’s FaceBook fan page and subscribe to his YouTube channel.  And if you are a musician and need a real pro to work with on your next project, Joe Merrick is your man.  Here is what one satisfied customer had to say:

“… of studios there are really only three that matter…Abbey Road in London, Sun Studios in Memphis and Guilty Dog in Hanson.  Thanks for building a place for us to hide out and indulge our guilty pleasures”
- Bob Phillips

On the morning of 1 July 2011…that “whisper became a shout.”

What started out as a regular weekly spotlight on one of our great culture warriors at BigDawg Music Mafia – this time on the amazing music of our good friend Chip Murray, a truly gifted singer/songwriter who also happens to be a delightful, down-to-earth blogger – has turned out to be so much more.   We are reminded not only of God’s incredible Grace, but we are also reminded of the sacrifices of our fallen brothers and sisters that enable us to celebrate our freedom.   May this story–Chip’s story–lift your spirits and give you hope.

It is a pleasure and an honor to introduce our friend, Chip Murray.

Chip’s Biography:

Chip got his first guitar (a Stella) at the tender age of 13.  It may have been a cheap guitar, but he quickly found it to be a great tool of expression and a very cool way to connect with people.  Growing up in the turbulent 60’s, the guitar became his life raft and steady friend through the whitewaters of adolescence…. And while the rest of the world seemed to be finding themselves, making their marks and staking their claims, he was tasting the silent sweetness of nowhere.  And yet, by 35 he had lived everywhere from Boulder to Reseda, to Morgan City and the Houston suburb of Bacliff.  He lived, worked, loved, fought, and danced with “the people” on every coast of this great land.  He became one of them, assimilating their culture by inhaling their music and stories into his heart and soul… “Gone Wishin‘,” the debut CD from his band Cavern was his first public “exhale” and but a glimpse of what’s inside.  From “Devil in Me” to “Deja Vu Blues,” Gone Wishin’ is a metaphor for our journey from the darkness to the light….and after “we rest on the wind, we’ll come right back to our mothers again.”- Gibran.

By 2010, Chip was back in the studio again, this time with Producer/Engineer Adrian Holtz (The Bravery, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Ravonettes, Neil Dorfsman), his former Cavern bass player Peter Verutes and fellow Warwickian keyboardist Glenn John Arnowitz.  The result is a new 15 track CD, Wide Awake, released 5/1/11!  His new material from “Wonder Why” to “Home,” and “Tip Jar” is less personal and yet from a deeper and more connected place that is sure to touch you in places long forgotten…leaving you completely satisfied, wanting only a smoke!

If the world hasn’t heard of Chip Murray yet, they’re going to. With lyrics as powerful as Bob Dylan (yes, that powerful), an earthy, warm, weathered voice that sings about love and life and everything else in between, and wonderful, acoustic, honest production, “Wide Awake” is one of the best albums of this decade.~ Bobby Jo Valentine

In His Own Words:

It gets awfully lonely up here in New York for an out-of-the-closet Conservative like myself.  I recently had a liberal friend of mine passionately encourage, advise, and counsel me to actually “SHUT UP ‘n sing!”  LOL!!!

I made a promise to myself in early 2008.  I felt that if some kid could strap on body armor and leave his home, family and friends to go dodge bullets in some God-forsaken desert foxhole, then the least we could do is stand and engage the even more ruthless enemy here at home!  The Ballad of John Hall was my first politically inspired song…reflecting my experience at the first 9/12 march on Washington and my complete disgust with our local Congressman at the time, John Hall (Former front man for the 70’s band, Orleans).

I’ve never truly felt purpose in my life…until now.  At 58, I’ve always been a late bloomer, but the truth is that I didn’t become a serious musician until 8-10 years ago.  My wife saw something in me that nobody else (including me) saw.  That seeing gave birth to I Believe, and the rest is history!  Now it is clear to me that God has blessed me with a voice to sing, a pen to write, and the heart to empower both!  Everything else is just bugs on the windshield!

I wrote Independence Day on July 3^rd, 2009.  It came to me as I was putting the flag out and wondering where had all the honor gone?  “My cousin Rocky” was a helicopter crew member who was shot down and killed during his 2^nd tour in Vietnam.  The fact is that my consciousness has evolved from those turbulent years to a point where I have learned to question everything and develop the courage to stand, even if it means standing alone!

What I have come to LOVE about BigDawg Music Mafia is the fact that Independence, Courage, and Common Sense aren’t exceptions here…they are the rule here!  It has become a very cool sanctuary…a place to re-charge, re-generate and energize!  Kindred Spirit is the warm glow of candle light there…

Chip had sent a copy of his new CD Wide Awake to me shortly after it was released and there is not one song on the CD that I don’t enjoy thoroughly.  His warm, melodic lead vocals and perfectly blended harmonies, his thought-provoking and heart-warming lyrics, and his beautiful acoustic arrangements are amazingly soothing to one’s soul and need to be shared.

When I first heard Independence Day, I really had hoped to share his story in time for the Independence Day weekend.  Unfortunately (or fortunately as it turns out) he had no video for that song to include in this spotlight piece so I offered to do one for him and began scouring the internet for photos to accompany his lyrics.  When I got to this this verse…

My cousin Rocky who I never knew…Fell from the sky for me and you…Rice paddies are soft but can’t break the fall…the weight of freedom, heaviest of all.

…I decided to include a photo of the Vietnam Memorial.  While searching for one I wanted to use, I regretted that I didn’t think to try to find out Rocky’s real name early enough for me to drive to Washington, D.C., pay a visit to The Wall, look up where on the wall his name appears, snap a photo, and use it for the video.  So in lieu of that, I looked at literally hundreds of photos and selected the two I liked best.

Here is where the goosebumps come in…

On the morning of July 1, 2011, a few hours after I sent the just-completed video to Chip, he sent an email to me saying he absolutely loved it.  About an hour later, I learned that he had exchanged emails with Rocky’s brother, Steve, where he asked Steve to look carefully at the photo of the wall at 1:29-1:32 in the video…and asked if Rocky’s real name was James R. Dean, Jr.   As Chip mentions in his song, he never met Rocky…nor did he know his real name.  Yet, Chip later told me that when he watched the video for the first time, when the images of The Wall appeared, something made him pause and go back to take a closer look.  He saw the last name “Dean” upon closer scrutiny and recalled he had an Uncle with that last name, called his mother and asked if she knew Rocky’s name but she did not.  She did, however say that Rocky’s father’s name was “Jim.”  Chip told me his hands were trembling as he typed out the email to his cousin Steve.

This was Steve’s reply:

Oh my gosh!  It is!  Rocky’s real name was James R. Dean, Jr.  My dad was Sr.  I have been to the wall and looked at & touched his name. The odds of this happening are unbelievable.  A song that mentions Rocky, a friend does the video not knowing anything about Rocky, does a random wall shot on a huge wall….wow!!!!!…Makes the song even better and more meaningful and it was already incredible.

When Chip told me about this, he said we just “witnessed one of God’s miracles” and added:

God truly has us secure.  I don’t even know what to say….This is the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me…How do I sing tonight without crying???  You captured Rocky at 1:29!!!!

Yes, the tears welled up and a few spilled over…and I had chills that would not go away in spite of the very warm temperatures that day.  A mere coincidence?  I think not.

Consider this:  There are 58,272 names on The Wall and “about 4,330,000 results” that came back on a Google search for images of the Vietnam Memorial.  I looked through several of them before I found the ones I wanted to use.  I’m no mathematician but figure the odds of my using one that actually had the name of the person Chip sings about in his song.

As Chip said to me later that day…”God went from a whisper to a shout”…and he emailed the following to some of his close friends and family members:

“…there is a light in what I am about to share that transcends everything…and I want the purity in the newness of this revelation to shine directly into your deepest hearts with a nourishment that no one could appreciate as much as you…The person who made the Independence Day video for me knew NOTHING about my cousin Rocky other than what the rest of you knew from the song lyric.  She alone picked out “The Wall” footage you will notice at 1:29 to 1:32 in the video.  I DID NOT KNOW until this morning that my cousin Rocky was James R. Dean, Jr.!  Now I do know, as now do you…and we now know a whole lot more when you really think about it.”

That very evening, Chip performed several of his songs at his Wide Awake CD release party.  He shared the following with me the next day:

Our CD Release was amazing on Friday night…I chose a farm, Pennings Farm, for my release party…A big flag draping the back of the stage overlooking corn fields…kids…ice cream…it was open to the public so we had an amazing turnout…the Liberals looked like they were going to implode when we played “The Ballad of John Hall”, but there wasn’t a dry eye in the crowd when I told the “Rocky” story before playing Independence Day…

God’s timing is always…perfect.

—–

His fabulous rock anthem, Don’t Forget Me, a moving tribute to our troops, is another one of my favorites and was recently aired on The Alana Burke Show.  His latest political tune, a wonderful bluesy rock number, Something For Nothing, laments about those who would take from those who work and give to those who do not.

There isn’t a song I’ve heard from Brian that I haven’t thoroughly enjoyed listening to.  It was no surprise when I learned more about this husband of 25 years, father of six, and former U.S. Army officer (HOOAH!) who has a very impressive resume of musical accomplishments including garnering the coveted title of “Memphis Songwriter of the Year” two years in a row, having swept the categories of Pop/Rock, Country and Western, and R&B.   He also served as Vice President of the Memphis Songwriter Association, and was recruited to become a full-time songwriter in Nashville for Split Publishing, where Brian wrote alongside Earl Bud Lee (Friends in Low Place  s), Marty Haggard and Jeff Pearson, and performed acoustic shows at the Bluebird Café and B.B. King’s.

His much anticipated debut CD And Then There Were Songs was released at Sweetwater Live in Duluth, GA. in February of this year, where Brian opened for Southern Ground Recording artist Levi Lowrey (Zac Brown Band) to a standing room only crowd. The record features 10 tracks of Brian’s original works, and features drumming legend Mark Zonder (Fates Warning, Animotion) and bassist Jeff Leonard (Diana Ross, Tom Grant), with Brian performing his amazing lead vocals and harmonies along with tasty lead and rhythm guitar work. The album was recorded over the past year (2010) in Portland, OR and was produced by Cass Anawaty. The album and singles are available at CD Baby, Itunes, and Amazon.

Brian Futch Performing at CPAC Liberty Fest 2011

Brian’s recent schedule includes performing at Liberty Fest at CPAC in Washington, DC., Songwriter Showcases in Memphis, TN and the Greater Atlanta area.  He  is the headlining musical guest at the upcoming Oregon Tea Party Tax Day event at Pioneer Courthouse Square on April 15th.  Brian also tours the South with his Rock and R&B project “Red Velvet Mojo” and is half-owner of “Strong Mojo Productions”, which specializes in audio production. His latest single, I Am America, is due to be released Memorial Day weekend.

I had the great privilege of meeting Brian for the first time in person at CPAC and sharing the stage with him at our Liberty Fest.  He and I were supposed to be performing at the National TEA Party Convention in Memphis this past weekend (along with several other great conservative artists you will be hearing about in the coming weeks), but it was postponed until the Fall.  Since he had already lined up a couple additional gigs in Memphis to maximize his trip, he still made the trek to his old stomping grounds.  I have no doubt that his audiences were thoroughly captivated by his soulful bluesy style.

Fans of John Mayer, Jack Johnson, and Stevie Ray Vaughn will undoubtedly love Brian’s music.  I hope you’ll drop by Brian’s page to check out some of his other great songs and show him some love by picking up his new CD, And Then There Were Songs.  I know he’d love to have your support!

(Note from the author: This is the first in a new weekly series we will be doing on the great artists at BigDawg Music Mafia who are using their gifts to spread the message of freedom and to support our men and women in our Armed Forces.  BigDawg and I thank BigHollywood for believing in what we are doing and giving us this opportunity to introduce you to these fabulous grassroots, conservative artists.  We hope you will enjoy getting to know more about them and will show them some love!)

On a bullying scale of 1 to 10, we put “electric cars are gay” at a -5, with Griffith’s cruel comments redlining.

Bristol has shown her mother’s counter-punch moxie and smarts in responding to Keith Olbermann and Margaret Cho, our guess is that she can handle this as well.

Griffin shouldn’t have been so surprised at the boos, either. No one hates a bully more than the American military.

Daniels and Hannity high five during 2009 Freedom Concert

Whether on television or the radio, Hannity frequently calls attention to our troops. And through his summers of “Freedom Concerts,” which he began in 2003, he has raised over $10 million for Oliver North’s Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund: a fund “designated for the education of children of U.S. service members who have been killed or 100% permanently disabled in an operational mission or training accident.” These concerts feature performances by Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Charlie Daniels’ Band, solo artists like Lee Greenwood and Michael W. Smith, and political commentators like Mark Levin and Oliver North, among others.

In a word, they are top-notch events aimed at one thing: raising money and awareness for our troops.

Country music legend Charlie Daniels has been so impressed with Hannity’s work for the troops that he recently wrote a “Personal Tribute to Sean Hannity,” wherein he told the world: “Each week Sean does five three-hour radio shows and five one-hour television shows, each one requiring research and preparation, not to mention the numerous speeches and other public appearances he makes. Yet [even] with…this hectic schedule, Sean Hannity devotes his summer family vacation time to do the…coast to coast…Freedom Concert Tour.”

Perhaps the most poignant line of Daniels’s tribute was his assertion that Hannity “realizes that without our military there would be no America.” In other words, Hannity understands that freedom isn’t free, so he lives his life in such a way as to say thanks to those who have (and do) pay the price to keep us free.

Because of these things, Daniels refers to Hannity as “a straight ahead patriot” whom “troops and their families love.”

That Hannity has honored the troops to the point that they honor him with their affection in return is very telling. It seems to prove what millions have suspected for years now: that when Hannity supports the troops he speaks from his heart, not from a teleprompter.

Thank you Sean Hannity for being “a Great American,” and for reminding us again and again that our freedom is purchased anew every day on battlefields around the world.

Flash forward to today and The Trews boasts two gold records, 10 top-10 singles and opening gigs for the likes of Robert Plant and The Rolling Stones.

—–

The hard-rocking quartet – lead vocalist Colin MacDonald; brother John-Angus, cousin, drummer Sean Dalton, and long-time pal bassist Jack Syperek – delivers uncomplicated rock that flies in the face of today’s electronica-saturated age.

The ascent has been gradual, the lead guitarist tells Big Hollywood, but with sign markers along the way.

“Hearing yourself on the radio for the first time … the tip of the hat from some of the older guard, like The Rolling Stones … selling out our own tours,” he says. “It’s an extremely special thing.”

The Stones tour revealed the pragmatic side of classic rock.

“They’d invited us to play in an unannounced show in Toronto,” he recalls. “We spent about 15 minutes hanging out with them. Everything with them is orchestrated down to the minute.”

His rock ‘n’ roll dreams were better fulfilled by opening up for Plant.

“There were plenty of opportunities for [Plant] to give us old Led Zeppelin stories,” he says.

The Trews find inspiration from the usual sources, but their most recent single sprung from the loss of a very brave soul.

“Highway Of Heroes” mourns the 2006 death of Capt. Nichola Goddard, the first Canadian female soldier killed in Afghanistan.

Goddard was from Nova Scotia, where three of the four band members grew up. The more the band members learned of her life – and heroism – the more inspired they became.

“It’s a daunting thing to voluntary sign up for something that like,” he says.

The song took on a life of its own, becoming a fan favorite at live events. Proceeds from the single go to the Canadian Hero Fund which provides scholarships to the spouses and children of soldiers killed in combat.

“We’ve been blown away by how people have connected to [the song],“ he says. “We’ve received notes from soldiers all over the world, soldiers in general showing their appreciation for us writing [about it].“

The band always keeps tabs on its fan base, either through live performances or via the web.

“I think we’d be fools to ignore the tidal wave of Internet technology that swamped the industry,” he says of the band’s Internet savvy fan base. “It’s an integral part of the fan experience. They’ve come to expect it … you can‘t stop,” he says with a chuckle.

It‘s why the band will post video blog entries up on its main site and Facebook page.

MacDonald describes The Trews’ music as “good time rock ‘n’ roll that sounds great in a bar, or with a beer in your hand.”

The prolific band is deep into the recording sessions for an upcoming album, a process he describes as different approach from their 2008 disc “No Time For Later.”

That release “lacked the organic feel we bring to the table when we play live,” he says.

“It’s taking elements of what we learned touring with the [2009] acoustic album ['Friends & Total Strangers'], but it’s a return to some of our heavier stuff as well,” he says.

People.com [emphasis added]:

There to accept the “Troops Choice” Award for Entertainer of the Year, from presenter Robert Downey, Jr. — the honor was bestowed by members of the military — the “Blind Side” Oscar winner, looking stunning in form-fitting black, leather mini-dress, received a standing ovation from the audience inside the Sony Pictures Studios in Los Angeles.

“Let’s be honest here, just for a moment. We’re all going to be honest, right?” Bullock, 45, told the crowd. “Did I win this for being entertainer of the year, or did I win this because of the spectacular I.E.D. [improvised explosive device] explosion that became my personal life?!”

Once the laughter subsided, she added, “No, it’s okay. Because I would do it over again if it was to entertain our troops , and our extraordinary troops deserve something much more than some actress in a tight dress talking about herself.” …

Members of the military stationed throughout the world were the only ones permitted to vote in the “Troops Choice” category, and did so via the Spike Web site. The crowd at the ceremony Saturday was made up of members of the U.S. Army, the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Coast Guard[.]

Full story here.

—–

With respect to “The Family Guy,” Robert Davi is referring to this.

[Rosie] O’Donnell said she wanted to “build on what Oprah began and excelled at for 25 years, in my own style and with new adaptations and ideas.”

Rosie O’Donnell will return to daytime television with new show.

Rosie O’Donnell has confirmed that she wants to return to daytime television with a new talk show in the fall of 2011. The timing is considered significant because that’s also the time The Oprah Winfrey Show is scheduled to end.

That’s pro-troop? Well, a lot of people said so and argued with my review – even some conservatives. But one day before Oscar ballots are due, some Iraq veterans are speaking up:

Sunday’s Washington Post:

But to those who were there, Iraq is real life. And they’re very sensitive — some would say overly so — when their war is portrayed via a central character who is a reckless rogue.

Hence a rising backlash from people in uniform, such as this response on Rieckhoff’s Facebook page from a self-identified Army Airborne Ranger:

“[I]f this movie was based on a war that never existed, I would have nothing to comment about. This movie is not based on a true story, but on a true war, a war in which I have seen my friends killed, a war in which I witnessed my ranger buddy get both his legs blown off. So for Hollywood to glorify this crap is a huge slap in the face to every soldier who’s been on the front line.”

In an interview, [Paul Rieckhoff, founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America] said the anger about “Hurt Locker” stems not so much from such small inaccuracies — for example, the uniforms the soldiers wear in the film weren’t available until well after the time the story took place — but rather from the depiction of the main character, Sgt. 1st Class William James.

Portrayed by Jeremy Renner, who’s nominated for Best Actor, James is a daredevil who in one scene takes off his protective armor while disarming a bomb because, as he says, “If I’m going to die, I’m going to be comfortable.” He runs alone through the streets of Baghdad with his sweat shirt hood up like a gangster. Later, he takes two soldiers hunting for insurgents in Baghdad’s back alleys without any backup.

James’s fellow soldiers are, or try to be, by-the-book professionals. They call James “rowdy” and “reckless,” and one worries out loud that his leader’s crazy antics are “going to get me killed.” James is as much cowboy as soldier, and vets fear he could become an iconic figure in the American imagination should the movie win a bunch of statues.

“Films, almost more than anything, will be the way Americans understand our war,” Rieckhoff said. “So we feel that there is a responsibility for filmmakers to portray our war accurately. We see ourselves as watchdogs. . . . When he puts a hood on like Eminem and starts roving outside the wire, it’s ridiculous.”

Gallucci, a former sergeant who served in Iraq from 2003 to 2004, says he kept hoping James would get “blown up throughout the entire movie. I wanted to see his poor teammates get another team leader, who was actually concerned about their safety.”

Money quote:

“Films, almost more than anything, will be the way Americans understand our war[.]“

Rieckhoff gets it.

After all, how many millions of men went to Vietnam only to return and settle back into their normal lives? That’s not to say the war had no effect on them. But how many were able to re-integrate into our society and resume their roles as productive citizens and family men? How about almost all of them. But how do we see the Vietnam Vet today? We see him as alternately troubled, angry, bitter, disillusioned, homeless…

This is Leftist Hollywood at work, forever and intentionally stereotyping these brave men. And if you watch the latest slew of war films — including “Hurt Locker” – you’ll see a proactive campaign to stereotype today’s warriors as either victims, monsters or cowboys. Anything but the brave and selfless professionals they are.

To portray our service men and women with the nobility they deserve undercuts leftist Hollywood’s agenda to trash American foreign policy. Noble people only serve and believe in noble causes, and when it comes to George Bush’s war that simply can’t be allowed. So the victim-monster-cowboy playbook is opened and the arc of Renner’s “Hurt Locker” character moves quite obviously from cowboy to victim.

And what’s the best way to tell what a film is “about?”

The arc of the main character.