Buy This Film and Make a Wingnut's Head Explode

My wife brought a DVD home from the library this week. It was an extraordinary gem, an indie production from Cicala Filmworks titled Arranged.

It's the story of two young women just beginning their careers in the New York City public school system. They find themselves working together in the classroom - one as the fourth grade teacher, the other assigned to a special needs student in that class - and this collaboration sets the stage for their friendship.

Arranged really takes off when it explores how each is also looking toward the next big step in their lives - finding the right man, getting married, and starting a family. But before you dismiss it as just another chick flick, and it does contain elements that could make some grossly insecure guys wince, you should know that one of the women, Rochel, is an Orthodox Jew, the other, Nasira, a Muslim.

Each comes from a religiously observant family living in a close-knit ethnic community, and in both cases 'finding the right man' is under the control of others.

Arranged is also not an attempt to turn back the clock on women's hard-fought gains. Both Rochel and Nasira are strong and insightful characters.

Arranged was released late last year. It has already picked up several film festival awards and is in limited distribution - not a surprise in the world of low-budget, high quality, independently produced films.

But it's well worth seeing, even if it does require a small, extra effort. You can buy a copy direct from the filmmakers right here. It's just $15.50, which includes shipping and handling. That's less than the cost of two tickets for the standard Hollywood dreck at your local multiplex.

And remember - every time someone buys a copy of this movie, another wingnut's head explodes. When you donate your copy to your local public library after you've watched it yourself, you make it possible to blow up even more wingnut heads.

Now, I'd pay to see that movie.

Fuck William F. Buckley, Jr.

In his public life, he was a fraud and a pig. He made hatred respectable. He was an asshole. Whether or not he was the same in private is of no concern to me. The only difference between the studied and deliberate writings of William F. Buckley, Jr. and those of any A through G-list wingnut is simply that William F. Buckley, Jr. knew how to use a thesaurus, along with his copy of Strunk & White's Elements of Style.

Fuck William F. Buckley, Jr.

Where's the Outrage??!11!??

Does anybody remember when C-list wingnut blogger, and alleged Michelle Malkin anal sex partner, "Cap'n" Ed Morrissey took a brief "hiatus" some months back? I think he claimed the purpose of the break was to 'clear his head' or 'surf the big kahuna' or something like that, I forget which, and I'm not sure if I read it somewhere or if someone told me.

Well, anywhoozle, somebody sent along this photo. I can't vouch for the source, and you never know about the veracity of these things, what with Photoshop being used as a tool to alter images and stuff.

Maybe he took the time off to study a foreign culture or something, but it doesn't look good for the "Cap'n," if'n you ask me. He might have some splainin' to do to some people, y'know?

A Break From Wingnut Bullshit

I stumbled across a terrific site the other day. It’s called “Axis of Evel Knievel,” and I promptly added it to the most honored of my blogrolls, “Fighting teh Good Fight.”

Axis’ subhead is “another day, another pointless atrocity,” and each day it commemorates the births and deaths of notable, despicable, and otherwise historically (in)significant figures, from Heinrich Himmler to William Renquist; Augusto Pinochet to Ted Nugent.

I haven’t found much information available about the site’s author, someone known only as ‘D’ who appears to be a teacher, though in a moving tribute to his father last October he noted:

If you had asked him, my father would have insisted that history was never his best subject. Nevertheless, I find it impossible to think about the second half of the 20th century without the stories and commentary I've borrowed from him. He grew up in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, where he lived down the street from Norman Rockwell. Of all things, he actually worked as a model for some of Rockwell’s Boy Scout tributes; he’s the kid in the middle of the “Ever Onward” painting, commissioned for the Scouts’ 50th anniversary in 1960. Though he shared Rockwell’s liberal values -- particularly his vision of racial equality -- I don’t think he shared Rockwell’s confidence that small-town virtues still defined the United States during the cold war. If nothing else, Dad’s experience during the Vietnam War ruined that illusion.”

D’s daily chronicles also include many well-, and perhaps even more lesser-, known historical events, often made more memorable by their quaint juxtaposition:

According to Joseph Smith, Jr. -- founder of the Latter Day Saint Movement -- the angel Moroni appeared to him on the night of 21 September, 1823, bearing important information about the location of numerous golden plates, on which the history of the extinct Nephite people had been inscribed… One hundred and fourteen years after Joseph Smith’s first encounter with Moroni, J.R.R. Tolkien published The Hobbit, an equally plausible tale involving dwarves, gnomes, wizards, and dragons, all of whom dwell in a fantastic place known as Middle Earth.

photo from Axis of Evel Knievel

'Maverick' My Ass

Y'know, I could care less about whether or not Mad Jack's been fucking some bleached blond power-hungry anorexic tart who hasn't had a stroke. It ain't my business, though there's much irony in the idea that the best buddy of the sack of shit that is Joe Lieberman (I-Lieberman) likes to get his end wet with someone other than his wife.

No, the real story to this whole thing is how it may finally puncture the absurd fallacy that Mad Jack is some kind of honest agent fighting alone against the incestuous power brokers of Washington; that he's uniquely above the fray and selflessly willing to take on the "special interests" that corrupt all others, no matter what the cost to him, personally or politically.

Fuck that shit. John McCain is just another tired old hack who not only hears voices in his head late at night when nobody's around - he actually listens to them.

Bonus

Q: Why does Cindy stay married to John McCain?
A: Because she is brain-damaged.

Hanx to Palmbeachmaven

Bonus #2

"I have no idea whether the affair story is true or not, and I don't care. What I do care about is John McCain -- and this has been well-documented -- is talking all the time about being a reformer and a maverick, and in fact, he has taken thousands of dollars from corporations, ridden on their corporate jets, and then turned around and tried to do favors for them and get projects approved. He has tons of lobbyists on his staff. This is a guy who is very close to the lobbyist community, a guy who has been documented again and again by taking contributions and then doing favors for it. This is not a guy who is a reformer. This is a guy who has been in Washington for 25 years and wants to give us four more years of the same, and I don't think we need that." - Howard Dean

Hanx to dday at dKos

Reminder - Now we can call John McCain 'That cocksucker.'

Reminder #2 - Rightwingsparkle is still full of shit

Final word - Anybody who wants to follow the sordid mess that is Mad Jack, along with the futility of his pending useless nomination, would be well-served to turn to the dogged work of the peerless blogger, emptywheel. Any other source is just half-assed, at best.

They Whom Wingnuts Serve

Your typical wingnut isn't all that smart or well-off, financially speaking. Many lack a formal education beyond high school, though some have accumulated a few credits from the local community college, while others teach at these institutions. A few have even graduated from one or another of the available christian madrassas, like here or here.

But, generally speaking, your typical wingnut is usually some poor schlub just trying to get by.

Now, you're typical authoritarian repub is another story. They've gone to school, sometimes in the finest halls of higher education if they've got that legacy-thing going for them. And they've either inherited enough scratch to live large, or have scammed their way into the most upper income brackets.

They're not stupid or without resources, and they want to either take every last penny and toy they've accumulated with them when they die, or else pass it along to their spawn completely intact. But since they can't do their own dirty work, they're always looking for new and better ways to get ever-willing wingnuts to do it for them.

Anywhoozle, here's a quick video by dday over at Fightin' Digby's that puts the whole dynamic in a nutshell. Stupid fucking wingnuts.

Digging Around

I've been poking around my usual favorite sites, as well as looking in on current and potential G-list wingnuts, but really haven't been posting too much here.

Sorry about that. I know some folks check here every day or so, looking for something new (while the little weiner with the compulsive masturbation problem checks in here several times each day, but that's another story).

I've got several half-written posts that I need to finish, along with some new blogroll buddies to highlight, and I think I'll also start doing brief notes at times, to fill in the blanks.

Anywhoozle, I'm glad you're visiting, if only for a moment. Now if some of you would just leave a freaking comment from time to time, if only to say hello, it would be like hitting a small pot of gold at the bottom of a six-foot deep hole.

Meanwhile, Rightwingsparkle is still very full of shit. That girl knows how to dig her own grave.

And Now for Something Completely Different

I came across this video by Justin Gardner at Donklephant completely by chance. Be sure to check out the comment thread there, too.

As I noted:

That looked like one sweet lunch. What was it - beans? country ham? corn bread?

Anybody who can whip up a good lunch is worth talking to, IMO. Just try to stay away from any subject that doesn’t involve food or cooking.

Numero Uno Con Una Bala

Welp, it used to be said that getting the #1 position in a Google search was harder than (insert favorite wingnut joke/simile here), but as you can see I've managed to do just that with this shitty little blog.

Suck on that, G-listers!

Bonus

Wingnuts are twisting their nipples in knots ever since a Fox "news" affiliate came up with a photo that shows the Cuban flag adorned with Che Guevera's iconic portrait hanging in a field office for the Obama campaign.

But as a closer examination of the photo makes clear, that most certainly is not Che Guevera.

Stupid wingnuts.

Rightwingsparkle is Full of Shit, Part 3

Yeah, I know I just did Part 2 a few days ago, but I swear this idiot provides enough material for an hourly feature. She's the original G-lister.

Her latest is a classic piece of concern trolling about how Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are ready and willing to destroy the Democratic Party because neither is willing to drop out of the race.

Sparkie contrasts the Democratic contenders' reckless selfishness with Mitt Romney's magnanimous decision to stop spending his 5 sons' trust fund. Mitt's move, Sparkie says, let's Mad Jack McCain get "some face time on TV doing something that looks very presidential."

I guess Mad Jack's presidential-looking moves don't include winning a couple of recent repub primaries and caucuses, like Kansas and Louisiana.

Anywhoozle, Sparkie's strong points have never included cogent analysis, logic, or simple self-awareness. She's more of an 'absorb and regurgitate the latest demagoguery' kind of gal, as in:

"No one as been more hated than Bush from the left and he has been safe (from assassination)."

Bonus: It looks like Sparkie's hometown rag, the Houston Chronicle, has decided to give her a forum again. Her first new post includes her usual lack of original thought, though I have to wonder who's helping her now with such relatively clever phrasing: "There is the problem of color with Obama. Oh, not his being black. That doesn't matter. But he is green and that does matter."

That little gem is immediately followed by: "...our enemy is patient and lethal. We cannot afford to have a President who is without a background of solid foreign policy experience."

I have to give Sparkie credit for actually having some small nugget of a coherent thought here. I mean, think about how badly we've been fucked over since we 5 members of the Supreme Court chose someone who didn't know shit about shit.

Every Picture Tells a Story, Donut

I was prompted to snag a copy of this famous photo after seeing a slightly different version of it at Michael Shaw's very fine Bag News Notes. There, a black and white framed copy appears on the wall behind and above a seated Barack Obama.

I love this photo, just as I love Muhammad Ali. Yes, the photo depicts a brutal and violent act - though the act is sanctioned as 'sport.' But it also conveys a sense of pride and purpose, and it's essential to understand the story behind this fight, as well as the fight between the two boxers that preceded it, and the two boxers' individual stories.

For me, the image stands for what I hope will be the final outcome in the current battle between rightwing authoritarians and the liberal forces that oppose them - not just a battle between two people, or two groups of people, but between visions for the future and how we need to live together.

Wingnut bonus points: Shaw links to a post by our very own G-list wingnut, Dipshit Needs to Get a Job, where the Dipshit's main contribution to the discussion is: "Obama wants to be associated with a four-times-married Muslim draft dodger who made millions by beating people up inside a boxing ring."

Well played, Dipshit. Well played.

Fear and Loathing Among the Wingnuts

Mister Leonard Pierce of Sadly, No! recently endured the annual multi-day hatefest known as the Conservative something something something, or CPAC for short.

Fortunately, Mister Leonard Pierce had a fierce constitution, a finely-tuned sense of righteousness, and a bottomless stash of prescription medications to draw upon as he chronicled each painful moment spent among the certifiably insane and the hucksters who prey upon them.

Mister Leonard Pierce has named his account The Beast is Red, and it's already earned a treasured place in the hearts of its readers.

Chapter 1 - An American God
Chapter 2 - Invisible Asia
Chapter 3 - You Shan't Go Home Again
Chapter 4 - In a Mad Frenzy, Stinging Themselves to Eternal Death
Chapter 5 - Soy Un Perdidor
Chapter 6 - She Don't Like, She Don't Like, She Don't Like...McCain
Chapter 7 - Holding a Shard of Mirror Up to Nature's Throat
Chapter 8 - Twice Presented Him a Kingly Crown
Chapter 9 - Brought Me to Darkness, But Not Into Light
Chapter 10 - The Sugar and the Shit
Chapter 11 - Pestilence Goes for the Big Laff
Chapter 12 - Show Us Your Twits
Chapter 13 - Getaway

Rightwingsparkle is Full of Shit, Part 2

When my favorite G-lister isn't getting her panties all in a twist over the subject of abortion, she's getting them all damp over her latest favorite Big Daddy - Mad Jack McCain.

Sparkie has been a huge fan of the man who listens to the voices in his head ever since she realized that her current dry drunk loverboy can't run for preznit a third time. The fact that Mad Jack is, well, totally freaking insane simply adds to his irressistable appeal in Sparkie's heavily made-up eyes. She's a good submissive who, when confronted by the guy who yells the loudest and hits the hardest, simply wimpers, "More, please," while offering up a nice sandwich and a clean ashtray for that smelly cigar he insists on smoking.

Though in her most unguaded moments Sparkie, like a modern day Mayella Ewell, lets her thoughts wander briefly to that handsome young buck, he's a Democrat, and simply not of her kind. Her tingly feelings for Mad Jack, while less intense, are more socially acceptable to her, as well as more sadly familiar.

(Part 1 of our ongoing series can be found here)

Super Bowl XLII Final Score Cartoon Blogging

from Natalie & Drew at Married to the Sea

Happy Blogroll Amnesty Weekend

The inimitable Jon Swift reminds us that this weekend marks the first anniversary of Blogroll Amnesty Day. Read his piece for the full story.

When I went looking around for a picture to accompany this post, I came across hundreds of images for the fine group, Amnesty International. I didn't want to trivialize their work by including one of their images in a snarky blog post, so I ended up with the one you see here. It's from a site called Mexica Movement, and I urge you to check it out. It's serious stuff.

Now, I'll just note that I'm not trying to trivialize the positions and grievances of that site by using one of their images. I made a similar point earlier in this blog with this political commercial.

But my only other viable choice was one associated with the kind of reactionary wingnuts who're so terribly afraid of brown people, and who needs that shit? Besides, I think this pilgrim graphic is actually pretty good snark itself.

Anyway, all of this has been serious preface to a decidedly non-serious topic, namely that folks like me with shitty little blogs should link to others who also have shitty (and non-shitty) blogs for the simple purpose of boosting each others' traffic and learning about each others' points of view.

That's a good idea, and one that I incorporated when I started this blog, and even wrote about recently here. I'm particularly proud of the graphic I Photoshopped to go with that one.

Anywhoozle, I'm adding an entire new blogroll to the right called "Lefties I Love," in the spirit of Blogroll Amnesty Weekend to go along with the list of sites that directly inspired me (Fighting teh Good Fight); the ever-amazing G-list Wingnuts who've earned my scorn and ridicule; the folks I disagree with who aren't wingnuts (Surprising Myself); and the self-explanatory "Non-political Things I Like."

So, starting clicking and go exploring. And like any good whore, my proposition is simple and straightforward - I'll blogroll you if you'll blogroll me, and we'll both be happier for it.