'Mad As Hell -- Not Gonna Take It Anymore!'

Here's a clip from the 1976 movie 'Network.'
If you've never seen this film (or if you haven't seen it lately) you owe it to yourself to download it or rent it and watch it promptly.
In 2000, this film was selected for preservationin the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". In 2002, it was inducted into the Producers Guild of America Hall of Fame as a film that has "set an enduring standard for U.S. American entertainment."  In 2006, Chayefsky's script was voted one of the top-ten screenplays by the Writers Guild of America, east  In 2007, the film was 64th among the Top 100 Greatest American Films as chosen by the American Film Institute, a ranking slightly higher than the one AFI had given it ten years earlier.

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The Eerie Echo Of Carter Amidst Obama's Failure

Nobody has to remind me about Carter and what a disaster he was.
I lived through it
I experienced it.
I know.
It was a low point for our nation: incompetent, innefective leadership.
It was amateur hour in the White House.
Now, I fear we're witnessing it all over again.
It's all too familiar. The scenario is all too similar. The words, the mood, many of the experiences -- all the same.
But don't take my word for it. Listen to the echos of Carter in the words of Obama -- with thanks and appreciation to Laura Ingraham and MEDIAite.

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Deneuve, Depardieu Sparkle In Potiche!

Potiche.
Freely translated from the French, it means trophy wife.
Turn the clock back to 1977 for a moment.
France is in upheaval with workers striking and unions, socialists and even communists on the march.
When her husband is taken hostage by his striking employees, a trophy wife (Catherine Deneuve) is suddenly forced to take the reins of the family business. In the process, she proves to be a remarkably effective leader. Still, business and personal complications arrive in the form of her ex-lover (Gerard Depardieu), a former union leader.
This is the premise of the new French film Potiche.
Deneuve. Depardieu. Here and now. In a new movie.
That alone is a sort of miracle. And, the whole thing is deliciously French.
Deneuve was -- and remains -- one of the most beautiful women in the world. Plus, she's an extraordinarily astute actress. And Depardieu? Well, he never was anyone's definition of a matinee idol. But he exuded burly manliness. Yes, he's hopelessly overweight now. Yet he still knows how to pull off a scene with a remarkable sense of authenticity.
Together, Deneuve and Depardieu still captivate.
And the supporting cast is excellent as well - particularly Jeremie Renier and Fabrice Luchini.
Sure, the movie runs a bit too long -- just like most movies do nowadays.
But can there ever be too many minutes or hours of Deneuve on the screen? Ever?!?
What a delight it is to see these two pros back at work again.
Potiche. Hurry, before it disappears.

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Are We Really Living In A Polarized Era?

Are we really living in polarized times?
Is it really all that bad?
Writer and commentator P. J. O'Rourke doesn't think so.
Here's part of what he has to say in an interview with Right Wing News:
People will say to me, "Oh my God, I've never seen politics so polarized!" and I'm going, "What are you talking about? Don't you remember the war in Vietnam? Don't you remember Nixon? What about the end of the Carter years? What about the early Reagan years? What about 1860? That was polarized. Half the country left." So, we're not living in the most polarized times.
Click here to read the full interview with P. J. O'Rourke.

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