Larry King Live: Jesse Ventura, Actor D.L.Hughley Call Republicans ‘Nazis’
September 4, 2008 | Filed Under Democrats/Leftists, Elections, Entertainment, GOP, Media Bias, News, President, Publius Contributor, Society/Culture, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments
-By Warner Todd Huston
It always comes down to this one, doesn’t it? Leftists and fringe politicos calling Republicans “Nazis.” Well, the “N” word was once again unleashed against John McCain’s Republican Convention on September 2 during CNN’s Larry King Live show. Actor D.L. Hughley and Independent former Governor of Minnesota Jesse Ventura both went for that shopworn epithet as King discussed the Convention.
Along with Hughley and Ventura, King had on former Clinton Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers who claimed that Republicans were saying with their convention theme that “only Republicans put their country first” ridiculously saying that Independents shouldn’t vote for the GOP because they are insulted so much. “I don’t understand why any independent or Democrat would consider voting for the McCain/Palin ticket,” Myers partisanly intoned, “after being called all night that only Republicans put their country first.”
Only a true sell out, though, would see it that way. Certainly the convention was cheerleading for its own members and saying that Republicans do, indeed, put their country first. But no one was saying that no one else does. Still, isn’t this what conventions are for? To cheerlead and buck up the troops? And tell me, Dee Dee, why should anyone outside the Democrat Party go over to their side of the aisle after the Democrats so monotonously claim that only they care about people? Isn’t that just as insulting?
Anyway, that partisan foolishness aside, it was left to Hughley and Ventura to get really into stupid by calling Republicans “Nazis.”
CNN Graphics Flub: McCain ‘Officially Wins Democratic Nomination’
September 4, 2008 | Filed Under Democrats/Leftists, Elections, Entertainment, Media Bias, News, President, Publius Contributor, Society/Culture, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments
-By Warner Todd Huston
For a Thursday funny, the grown-ups at CNN must have been napping when they allowed a half informed intern to type up their screen graphic on Wednesday. As the CNN “Sky View” camera roamed the audience during the Republican Convention the screen graphic helpfully informed the viewer that McCain “Officially wins Democratic Nomination.”
Psst, CNN. It’s McCain wins the Republican nomination. Just tryin’ to help ya out, there.
Sad Passing of a Hollywood Icon
September 2, 2008 | Filed Under Entertainment, Publius Contributor, Society/Culture, Warner Todd Huston | 1 Comment
-By Warner Todd Huston
On Monday, voice artist Don LaFontaine died. You may not know his name but you absolutely have heard his work. Think of yourself settling into a movie. The theater goes dark. The trailers begin. Dramatic music fills the room and the mellifluous sound of a baritone voice emerges to coo: “In a world where…”
That’s right, the movie trailer guy. He has given the dramatic reading for over 5000 movie trailers over the decades. His voice is now stilled. By all accounts he was one of the truly nice guys in Hollywood, too. No ego trip, full of mirth and good humor.
Here is a Geico commercial he did so you can hear and see him…
And here is a nice little video about his work…
RIP, Don… In a world where there is no Don LaFontaine… will we ever enjoy movie trailers as much again?
Kid Rock: Entertainers Should ‘Keep Their Mouths Shut on Politics’
August 27, 2008 | Filed Under Democrats/Leftists, Education, Elections, Entertainment, Media Bias, News, Publius Contributor, Socialism, Society/Culture, Warner Todd Huston | 4 Comments
-By Warner Todd Huston
Read it and weep, Dixie Chicks. Shove it Bruce Springsteen. Put a sock in it Johnny Cougar Mellencamp. Because, in a refreshing change of pace for the entertainment industry, Kid Rock is telling CMT Insider via People Magazine that entertainers should stay quiet on matters political.
How many times have you seen the uninformed blather of some goof from Hollywood, or some crank from the music industry filling your TV screen or oozing from your radio? How many low brow maestros have had your eyes rolling when they imagine themselves to have some prescient insight into matters of politics? Apparently rock singer Kid Rock is signing onto your piquancy because he has said that singers should just shut up about politics.
How This Music Flew WAAAY Over my Head at First
August 21, 2008 | Filed Under Democrats/Leftists, Entertainment, Media Bias, News, Patriotism, Publius Contributor, Society/Culture, War on Terror, Warner Todd Huston | 2 Comments
-By Warner Todd Huston
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A few weeks ago, I published my first review of Tony Carey’s new Planet P album titled “Levittown.” In that review I made no bones about the fact that I hated it. I felt it was entirely anti-American, especially in context with today’s tumultuous times. I felt the political ideology underlying the lyrics was a sad, boring holdover from 1960s hippie culture, a blast from the past that seemed to have missed everything that has happened in the last 30 some years and one that certainly ignored the war that “radical” Islam had launched against America and the west since its biggest victory on 9/11. But since I wrote that review I have had cause to doubt my initial interpretation. In fact, I have realized that my reaction was based more on my own prejudices than in a closer examination of the album on its own merits.
So, here is my mea culpa. I have to admit that the true context and purpose of the album might have flown right over my head and I allowed my prejudices take over to fill in the blanks.
First of all, I have to say that I was not very proactive in linking “Levittown” with the previous album, “1931″ (from 2003). I vaguely knew they form two parts of a trilogy, but I just didn’t take enough time to study the progression from one to the next. Taken together, they present a sort of history lesson of human made misery (is there any other kind?) and, of course, a warning of human stupidity. That, I did get, but what I didn’t get is that Carey wasn’t positing that this was only a fault found in western civilization. His is a story of human failings, not solely western ones. This trilogy was also supposed to be semi-autobiographical, so it is natural that it be set in the west of his experience. I was not aware of the semi-autobiographical intention with this project until now, though.
Before I go on with my changed impression, I feel compelled to reveal the prejudices that caused me to break bad on this one the first time ’round.
Singer Randy Newman on McCain’s Music List: ‘Then Again, Hitler Liked Some Good Music, You Know?’
August 17, 2008 | Filed Under Democrats/Leftists, Elections, Entertainment, Media Bias, News, President, Publius Contributor, Society/Culture, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments
-By Warner Todd Huston
Blender Magazine, self billed as “the ultimate guide to music and more,” is famous for compiling “lists” of music for one thing or another. This month they’ve gone politics with the candidate’s top ten favorite songs as reported by the campaign offices of John McCain and Barack Obama. To make a mountain out of this mole hill, they also invited as commentators on these lists aging funnyman Randy Newman and exhibitionist Gregg Gillis who goes by the stage name “Girl Talk.”
For the most part, it is all pointless gibberish that these two “experts” are blathering concerning the two candidate’s music picks. But two things stand out… but first the Blender lists: