Almodovar: Six Inches

As reported by Jo Piazza of FOX News: “Spanish director Pedro Almodovar's latest thriller, "The Skin I Live In" had filmgoers fleeing the theater Thursday night at its gala premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, due to some aggressively violent and disturbing content.”

Something similar happened on ‘The Lou Dobbs (radio talk) Show’ starting yesterday when Dobbs declared most stridently that Benjamin Netanyahu owes Barack Obama an apology for publicly speaking to him in ‘that tone’ during joint statements with the press in attendance. What followed was highly disturbing radio in which both guests and listeners were reduced to incoherence while bludgeoned by Dobbs’ highly combative beat-down style.

I have always been suspicious of Dobbs. There had at one time been talk of Dobbs throwing his hat into the ring. I truly thought he might try it. Though his words seemed tailored to serve this purpose, I felt there was always an undertone of insincerity, limitless arrogance, and touch of dementia.

It is perhaps appropriate to note that in search of ratings, those so engaged will seek ever higher realms of outrage to aspire to in an effort to garner attention in an increasingly crowded field. Almodovar no doubt has proven over and over again that he is a genius director. His latest offering, however, seems to have crossed a line, and I will not be going to see it.

Few have been more consistent in their criticism of Barack Obama’s policies than Dobbs. It has earned him a considerable following among the like-minded, some of whom had switch from brain-dead booster Hannity. To now suddenly turn on his audience, characterizing the Israeli PM as rude and downright ignorant while ignoring Obama’s own avalanche transgressions, is at the very least insensitive.

Most, but the most ardent Jew haters and Marxists, would agree that Obama had it coming. They were relieved that at least someone had finally stood up to this flame-throwing ideologue, even if it took someone from another country to do it. God knows, our own have been tip-toeing around this rogue elephant, lest they be called nasty names.

Which brings to mind the question: Why are so many, on the Republican side, so loath to run for high office, turning our roster of candidates into a virtual revolving door? Obviously, they’ve looked around and seen how others are treated, and reached the conclusion: Who needs it? Moses too was reluctant to lead.

Leadership in this country has been turned into an exercise in self-flagellation – particularly on the Republican side. I suspect that even Gingrich saw it coming and purposely torpedoed himself as to fashion a (not so) graceful way out.

We’ve reached the end of the line as a nation. Not only have our problems become so immense as to defy solution, but the media attacks have become intolerably cruel. No one in their right mind can afford to subject themselves to that – especially people who value their families first and foremost.

Looking at it another way, imagine our candidates as pole-vaulters. In order for Republicans to qualify, they must get over a bar set at 6 meters. Democrats, on the other hand, merely need to clear six inches.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

Political Pornography

In our nation, where everything to the right of extreme is labeled ‘extreme’, everything I have written on these pages is considered ‘extreme’. Simply stating a point of fact – that we are going broke – is now ‘extreme’. Stating that we are now providing air cover for AQ in Libya is ‘extreme’ as is criticizing our active support of terrorist Palestinian groups.

As such, any middle ground with regard to any issue has effectively given way. ‘It’s my way or the highway’ appears to be the rallying cry of the hard Left. They will not be satisfied until every one of their demands has been met. No wonder that they have found allies among Islamists whose uncompromising methods closely mirror their own.

I have tried to go beyond surface talking points which, taken individually, are often misleading. I have tried to project the extreme positions which we are asked to accept into what is likely to come after. Not many yet realize fully what a wholesale shift in values would actually entail; how it would affect the lives of individuals; that a fundamental emphasis away from honest work to protection would degrade our nation to the lowest common denominator.

A coalition of (albeit fickle) malcontents seems to have assumed a majority. Whether the numbers are real or not, the perception of this phantom majority nevertheless holds sway as exhibited by our leadership which appears not inclined to change course. If, as polls now indicate, a true majority has indeed had a belly full and changed its positions, it has had no impact on governance in general. The present administration has displayed no willingness to address a growing chorus of concerns. To some, this has brought the Obama administration to the brink of (il)legitimacy.

Yet, there appears to be no one to turn to. We see ourselves as locked into four-year cycles. With the flagrant politicization of virtually every official and non-official institution - primarily media and justice - our hands are tied.

I note that inside virtually every publicly accessible establishment in our New York Metropolitan area that boasts of having TV screens – hospitals, airports, bars, restaurants and the like – these are invariably tuned to CNN or MSNBC. I have yet to see one of these tuned to the FOX channel. There seems to be a common understanding that FOX is somehow biased and ‘extreme’ – even dirty or uncivilized – and offensive to the public at large, almost like pornography. Michael Savage’s intro to his radio program contains the phrase ‘psychological nudity’. He’s doing it tongue-in-cheek, no doubt. But the libs use it as a springboard.

Also of note is that station breaks for what is commonly referred to as right-wing radio are richly peppered with sex-aid advertising. (Such ads, by the way, are inserted by the networks and not by the host of these programs.) It all works to create the overall impression that right-wing talk is not exactly wholesome.

While the ratings would suggest overwhelming interest, if not outright support for politically conservative programming, the stigma attached is clearly working to delegitimize its impact.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

Tantrums

Even one full year after taking office, the Obama administration is still in campaign mode. They still think they’re up against Republicans and, particularly, George W. Bush. It’s a disconnect that everyone is beginning to notice, especially in light of the fact that Republicans have not been doing much talking, and neither has GW. All they’ve been doing is quietly reeling out rope.

Meanwhile, the Obama administration, primarily because of its preoccupation with Bush, is also missing the signals the American people are sending. They’re spinning it so as to attribute their plummeting poll numbers to a failure to adequately explain the agenda (besides, of course, not getting it done within the timeframe predicted). They promise to re-double their effort: making more speeches; making more deals; twisting more arms; etc. They truly believe that the problems they’ve encountered are systemic: inherent in legislative protocol itself; inherent in the (unfriendly to big government) Constitution; inherent in the disinformation disseminated by FOX News and talk radio.

We can expect them to address all of this and more in the second and third year to smooth the way for Obama’s second term coronation. Senate rules will be changed; ditto, House rules. The Constitution will continue to be ignored (until someone gets it together enough to issue a formal complaint). And FOX News and talk radio will continue to be attacked, if not shut down altogether.

All this will be done in the belief that there is only one way to do things; that, because they won, it is now their turn to do shape the world to their image. Obama keeps saying that if there are any other ideas out there, he will put them on the table and consider these as well. He is lying. He is just as guilty as the next guy of ‘profiling’ – except, Obama profiles ideas. If they serve to advance the cause of socialism, he is down with it. If not, he rejects them outright. No thought is given to actually solving a problem. Problems are simply vehicles – like poverty, race, illegal immigration, and illiteracy have always been vehicles for the Democrat Party. Rather than issues to be addressed forthrightly and solved, they are to be used year after year to augment their power, grow government, and to act as a mace to bludgeon Republicans with.

BHO continues to make the mistake in thinking that he can continue to get away with performing the tricks outlined in the old Democrat playbook. He doesn’t realize that since his ascendancy to power, nearly everyone in this country has become aware of Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals” and the ‘Cloward-Piven Strategy’. To the extent that Obama himself actually believes it, is unknown. But suspicions are running high. The parallels are just too numerous. In addition, he overestimates his own (firm) support, not realizing it’s down to around 20%, which is what even a slug could expect were it elected POTUS.

No doubt, the Oval Office itself continues wield tremendous power. The man in it can still do an awful lot to affect us. Obama still has three years left to do his worst. We’ve seen that he cannot be educated and that he will not moderate. In his remaining time at the helm, we can expect to witness increasingly destructive tantrums authored by a determined and frustrated man.