I came across an article in Politico this morning addressed to all of us on the right on how Biden is not going anywhere. It addresses all of our “fantasies” of Biden being dropped, etc. I found it very interesting to read; I always like to see how the other side is thinking. You can tell where the writer is coming from by his statement that the administration is “totally free of scandal”….LOL.
Well, on my first cup of coffee, so far what news I have read is like drinking a coffee cup half full of grounds and some coffee
@physicsguy – That’s pretty funny. Honestly, it’s not my personal “fantasy” to see Biden drop out since he’s arguably more beatable than some other candidate who is in command of all their faculities. In poll after poll it’s become pretty clear that a huge majority of voters feel that Biden is too old and too senile to be president. Whether or not that means they’d actually vote for Trump over Biden, or even cast a vote at all, is a whole other discussion of course. But I think it’s safe to say that the author of that piece arguing that Biden staying in is somehow good for his side is the real fantasy.
On the subject of film, saw “American Fiction” over the weekend. I enjoyed it and recommend it. The premise is clever and funny and there are some great scenes of elite liberals doing absurd and hypocritical things.
We’ve heard that Hollywood has installed a quota system; so and so many minority characters must be on each production, etc… Many film and TV productions are shoe-horning people who check certain boxes into writers’ rooms and in front and behind the camera to meet those quotas. While the idea of increasing representation of sometimes overlooked groups can be noble, it’s demeaning to substitute people into jobs and roles to meet a quota.
“American Fiction” tells a new story about characters I’ve never seen on screen before. And I liked that. It’s also a very clever examination of race in America from a perspective I’ve never seen presented. The protagonist is similar to John McWhorter or Glenn Loury, and it was engaging watching him navigate life as a well educated, American black man who sometimes has to deal with stupid, pre-conceived beliefs of ill informed people, but is mostly struggling with family, finances and finding real love in the world; just as all men and women are, regardless of their skin color or ethnicity.
It probably ticked every quota category on whatever criteria currently exists in Hollywood, but it’s a good movie because that is merely coincidence. It happens to be a story about a perceived “minority” group, so the cast is almost entirely people in that group, but that is incidental to the story itself.
Give it a look if you have the time.
physicsguy and Nonapod,
I find a person’s perception of Biden and Trump a quick Rorschach test. I can understand pulling for either of them, depending on one’s politics, but to claim either is “scandal free” or playing “3D chess” indicates to me the person is so biased there’s not much point in reading or listening to what they have to say on the subject.
I keep hoping the often less than ideal behaviors of both men will convince more Americans that the problem is the size of the office, not the man who occupies it, but, unfortunately, it seems many of us want a ruler and would prefer to live a fiction that a wise, benevolent and selfless leader is caring for us.
Regarding that last sentence, I think that’s why a lot of serious, Conservative thinkers are religious. If you believe in a wise, benevolent and selfless supernatural being you aren’t concerned with expecting one to appear on Earth.
I bought that film on disk a couple of years ago, not realizing it had a regional block on it. Since I had a couple other such disks, I bought an unlocked blue-ray player and watched La Dolce Vita about 1.5 years ago.
I remembered the film had a darker ending, but not quite about how very dark it was. I suppose the early parts of the film are potentially so seductive, that it is an appropriate punctuation for the “hero’s” dissolute life.
A few years ago, I had seen the Italian film “Il Sorpasso” or The Easy Life. I discovered it because Alexander Payne used that film for the structure of his film Sideways with Giamatti and Hayden Church. Something I would have never guessed even if I had seen Il Sorpasso.
Not as famous as La Dolce Vita, but a somewhat famous film, it has many similarities to La Dolce Vita. It uses a lot of Italy as a backdrop around the same time period. And it is about a life of excess, though framed as a “buddy” story rather than a story from a single “hero.” Recommended, if you liked La Dolce Vita.
OTOH, I wouldn’t take the fellow too seriously. No doubt someone who craves challenges, he strives to take virtue signaling to the next level—perhaps even earn a spot in the Guinness Book of Records. As such, how could anyone possibly know if he really means what he’s saying…?
File under: “Anything she can do I can do BETTER!” (“She” of course being Nikole Hannah-Jones…)
Rufus T — thanks for the recommendation for the full film of American Fiction. The trailer was hilarious, I worried the whole might not stand up.
Rufus T – You hit the nail on the head about reducing the power of the presidency. I think that’s the root of many of our problems. The costs of losing a presidential election keep getting higher and higher. This will not end well.
Barry Meislin, I’d go see a talk like that if the title was “All Humans Are Psychopaths”. Now THAT would be fun.
Never cared for Fellini. Got nothing negative to say, just wasn’t any draw.
There is a case before the SCOTUS that deals with powers granted to the Executive branch “the Chevron doctrine.”
It is inconceivable to CC™ but during the first administration of The Great Orange Whale considerable resources of the federal and state governments, the judiciary, and the media were working to limit the power of the Presidency. Now (last three years) not at all. Don’t hear too much about this from CC™, it seems to me. A mystery.
I’ve always been a big fan of reducing the power of the Executive Branch (and every other Branch too). For one thing, it makes little sense to me that the Department of Justice is under the purview of the President. For all the other checks and balances, that seems to be one conflict of interest that escaped the founders. Maybe we need a fourth branch?
“I once saw a forklift lift a crate of forks. And it was way too literal for me.”- Mitch Hedberg
You think that “makes little sense”, just wait till “Biden” packs the court….
Actually, in defense of the Founding Fathers, whom yer’ all essentially channeling, they did their utmost to limit—hog-tie?—government, the flip side of which is ENCOURAGING those in power to govern by negotiation and ultimately arriving at some kind of consensus, that is, if they want to achieve anything, you know, the old “give ‘n take, horse-trading, whatever you want to call it. (But then you already know all this…)
They were more distrustful of power than most anyone of their era, but they never envisaged that psychopaths would actually steal the levers of power—and that they’d be supported by a rabid media successfully brainwashing half the population that their political opponents are the Devil’s spawn.
(Well, maybe Franklin did.)
They were wise men indeed, extraordinary men, but perhaps a little lacking in imagination.
Could it be that in their supreme efforts to fence off government from religion, they never believed that ideology could turn cultic…?
Fun indeed.
Bit hard to fit on a T-shirt, though.
Hmmm, how ’bout, “Psychos’ Lives Matter”…?
We already have a Fourth Branch of government, unelected and effectively unaccountable.
Who could that be?
The sundry and multitude of Executive Agency civil servants.
But they work for the Chief Executive you say.
Bless your heart.
I cant say ive watched enough fellini to judge
Let me echo Rufus T in recommending “American Fiction.” The novel’s title is better, I think, at capturing the message and the defining the controversy. But “Erasure” is probably too dated of a metaphors to reach younger audiences. (What’s an eraser?)
It tells many worthy Truths, and some needful realities. And the casting, like the writing and acting, is simply superb. Jeffrey Wright playing the protagonist will win Best Actor Oscar this year, and deservedly so.
The one weakness is our protagonist’s brother. He simply looks too physically different to be his brother. This neglect could have been mooted by simply defining him as a half-brother.
Also now playing, “The Beekeeper” is a Jason Statham action picture. It starts with revenge against internet fraud. But then reaches out and becomes an anti-government action adventure story.
Its pulse exploits the greater current ethos on the Right, where we might fantasize revenge against urban chaos and crime, as well as against state failure. Very timely entertainment.
Reviewer Christian Toto recommended it, with proviso that the plot gets unduly complex in the last third. My take, instead, is that poor editing turned action too fantastic to be believable in certain late sequences.
You are warned to just mentally ‘check out’ of taking these sequences seriously to enjoy the rest.
Again, the title resonates as a metaphor for responsible living and managing the body politik. Or, in crude terms, simply taking out the trash.
In weeks, this flick will go to paid streaming. And I guarantee that college students will turn it into a drinking game at every mention and allusion to beekeeping.
Just see to it, your tending of the hive.
There are trees that died to serve this pablum from fat man martin
Statham is an interesting character plays some of the same type of roles that michael caine played at the beginning of his career
Hes played the heavy in fast and furious several mob figures in guy ritchie not quite a hero in others well the incredibles hes almost at that type
He has a more physical presence but plays mostly working class antiheros like in the reprisal of bronsons the mechanic one might his role as operator shaw in fast and furious is upper class mercenary
The media is the 4th branch of government, the Deep State, or Admin State, or Managerial State, or Bureaucratic State is 0th floor and foundation of each branch.
Best we can plausibly do is to get term limits on the bureaucrats, like 8 years, so they have to out and work for living, most of the time.
In fact i could see him as the protagonist in michael caines attempt at a novel which i cant recommend because the twist at the end
We’ve heard that Hollywood has installed a quota system; so and so many minority characters must be on each production, etc…
Rufus:
Via Elon Musk, voilà … that hearsay made flesh:
________________________________________________
Disney General Entertainment Inclusion Standards
ON SCREEN REPRESENTATION STANDARD A
At least THREE of the following FIVE areas need to be met to fulfill Standard A:
A1 Characters: 50% or more of regular and recurring written characters come from Underrepresented Groups
•A2 Actors: 50% or more of regular and recurring actors come from Underrepresented Groups
•A3 Secondary Characters: Meaningful inclusion of Underrepresented Groups as secondary or more minor on-screen individuals, including background actors
•A4 Series Premise: Meaningful integration of Underrepresented Groups in overall themes and narratives
•A5 Episodic Storytelling: Ongoing meaningful integration of Underrepresented Groups in episodic themes and narratives\
That’s just the beginning. There are three more sections. But it all adds up to Woke people hiring more Woke people based on intersectional checkboxes — not merit.
Plus keep in mind that Disney is not just Disney, but includes LucasFilms and the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
Even if Disney and its subsidiaries wanted to go back to big box office entertainment, they couldn’t. The talented folks who knew how to do that are long gone, replaced by Woke Pod People.
Interesting, Tom Grey.
Term-limits on bureaucrats. 8 and out! That might work.
I’ve favoured a law requiring adjustment in the Federal workforce after each election to reflect party voting rates so that the bureaucracy is representative of The People. This, of course, would work to prevent single party capture — but if a competing party is utterly trashed and loses to 80%? This could be on the glide path to partisan capture.
Yet nothing has prepared us for the 95% non-Right Bureaucracy. It’s a major problem not just at the Federal level. It’s how California became a one party state.
Could a Federal law reverse and prevent this, too? I’m all ears.
well I call them zombies because brains!!! are not in evidence
they can’t find a single charismatic or even really sympathetic female character,
Rufus and huxley on Woke Capture of Hollywood via the Oscars? The new racist quota s6stem.
Fortunately, in addition to crucial box office failure (SEE Disney), there are several other ways this Top Down, centralized Wokery is getting undermined.
The biggest is the fact that Hollywood is leaving California. It first began with porn shoot regulations, and it’s continued because the econ environment has gotten worse.
Canada got much cheaper after the materials boom in the 00s ended. Atlanta, after Toronto and Vancouver, has persisted and popped bigger. As well as the Carolinas and Florida.
I’m not sure the New Academy quota system applies to anything outside of eligibility of films for Oscar awards. Few film are ever nominated, anyway. It’s elite capture, just like Harvard and Middleburg Colleges were early play grounds for Wokery.
A final trend is AI, which will increasingly make actors passé. Look at video games. They no longer an absolute need for human actors.
It is possible that this tech shift may increase the novelty factor for live theatre with the public. The star system is already on life-support, eg, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman (SEE Deadpool 3 – release late this year) may be the last ones to pull in fans and make or break a picture.
My point is this: market and tech forces may defeat Woke capture of the elite Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
When I think back to the prestige and mass appeal of the Oscars in the 60s and 70s…. Millions of people, not me, watched them and talked about them the next day. They had Oscars parties.
The collapse of the Hollywood system has been epic.
Someone oughta make a movie of it.
@sdferr, thanks for this – I’m a Racket subscriber and it’s the best $50 I’ve ever spent on journalism. Walter Kirn’s / Taibbi’s podcast every week is great – but Taibbi has been notably brave at taking on the establishment news and reporting the bare facts we ought to be getting.
I think many of the Founding Fathers expected the Federal government would grow and eventually become too powerful. When I read their writings I see a group of men who knew the human tendency to accumulate power was likely insatiable and their attempts to check it might keep it at bay for a bit, but it would eventually find a way.
TJ @ 3:22pm,
I agree. All three siblings did not look like they shared their parents, and none looked like Leslie Uggams; their mother. That was disconcerting to my wife, but I gave it a pass. It seems wrong to deny an otherwise gifted actor a role simply because his or her skin tone (or nose, or jaw line…) is out of sync with the protagonist.
Re: Oscars,
It certainly was a huge, national event. Betting pools, red carpet shows, and, as huxley mentioned, viewing parties.
America used to have a lot of shared, annual entertainment events watched by 30% or more of the country; Oscars, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Wizard of Oz, Charlie Brown Christmas, World Series, Superbowl, NBA finals, The Wonderful World of Disney, Gunsmoke, Bonanza, I Love Lucy, The Honeymooners, Lawrence Welk, Ed Sullivan, The Tonight Show, The Wide, Wide, World of Sports, The Olympics, Dick Clark Rockin’ New Years Eve…
Of those that still exist I think the Superbowl is the only one that still gets a plurality of viewers.
Re: Hollywood / Pod People / Someone oughta make a movie of it
Seriously. Those Who Are No Longer Our Countrymen (TWANLOC) doesn’t cut it. Those Who Are No Longer Human (TWANLH).
We are dealing with alien beings out to subvert our Way of Life in fundamental ways. Person by person we are being taken over by the Collective Alienness (CA).
Those of us remaining humans live in fear of being cancelled as our nonhuman adversaries come at us, SHRIEKING!
_______________________________
Swear allegiance to the flag
Whatever flag they offer
Never hint at what you really feel
Teach the children quietly
For some day sons and daughters
Will rise up and fight while we stood still
what the zombie people in hollywood don’t understand take marvel I was never much into the comics, but from spiderman to endgame they understood good and evil, then they lost the plot the characters were not perfect by any means, some were very earnest like steve rogers, some were cynical, like tony stark, who knew the value of everything, but when called to serve, they did, Star Wars had a similar vibe, the latest iterations of star trek, omg they are terrible,
Yes I’ve wondered about that song, which seemed like a throw away in 1988, gosh was it that long ago, i didn’t know much about rutherfords dynamics with original genesis
BTW, today is Mardi Gras. Fat Tuesday.
My old New Orleans roommate is still there and sent me some pictures. He’s a professional photographer and filmmaker. He has such a good eye. I’m always so jealous.
Here’s Professor Longhair bringing it home. He was a god in New Orleans, though not so much elsewhere. However, even the Rolling Stones acknowledged him as an influence. I got to see him at a Jazz & Heritage Festival in the 70s.
Not sure if “Biden” found a way. More like he stole a way….
}}} I bought that film on disk a couple of years ago, not realizing it had a regional block on it. Since I had a couple other such disks, I bought an unlocked blue-ray player and watched La Dolce Vita about 1.5 years ago.
FWIW, and yes, while it can be less convenient, I will note that the DVD/BR player in almost all computers is region-free, and can play discs that are region-locked on your internal player. If your internal player refuses this, you can also usually find a free alternative, such as VLC Media Player, which will tell Microsoft where they can stuff that sh**. Also, if you have media files which complain that there is “no codec” for that (including alternative moribund formats, such as .flv, etc.), there is a tool called “K-Lite Codec Pack” which can be found on some reputable shareware sites which can remedy most such issues.
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I came across an article in Politico this morning addressed to all of us on the right on how Biden is not going anywhere. It addresses all of our “fantasies” of Biden being dropped, etc. I found it very interesting to read; I always like to see how the other side is thinking. You can tell where the writer is coming from by his statement that the administration is “totally free of scandal”….LOL.
Anyway, have a look if you wish:
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/02/13/get-used-to-it-biden-isnt-going-anywhere-00141047
Well, on my first cup of coffee, so far what news I have read is like drinking a coffee cup half full of grounds and some coffee
@physicsguy – That’s pretty funny. Honestly, it’s not my personal “fantasy” to see Biden drop out since he’s arguably more beatable than some other candidate who is in command of all their faculities. In poll after poll it’s become pretty clear that a huge majority of voters feel that Biden is too old and too senile to be president. Whether or not that means they’d actually vote for Trump over Biden, or even cast a vote at all, is a whole other discussion of course. But I think it’s safe to say that the author of that piece arguing that Biden staying in is somehow good for his side is the real fantasy.
On the subject of film, saw “American Fiction” over the weekend. I enjoyed it and recommend it. The premise is clever and funny and there are some great scenes of elite liberals doing absurd and hypocritical things.
We’ve heard that Hollywood has installed a quota system; so and so many minority characters must be on each production, etc… Many film and TV productions are shoe-horning people who check certain boxes into writers’ rooms and in front and behind the camera to meet those quotas. While the idea of increasing representation of sometimes overlooked groups can be noble, it’s demeaning to substitute people into jobs and roles to meet a quota.
“American Fiction” tells a new story about characters I’ve never seen on screen before. And I liked that. It’s also a very clever examination of race in America from a perspective I’ve never seen presented. The protagonist is similar to John McWhorter or Glenn Loury, and it was engaging watching him navigate life as a well educated, American black man who sometimes has to deal with stupid, pre-conceived beliefs of ill informed people, but is mostly struggling with family, finances and finding real love in the world; just as all men and women are, regardless of their skin color or ethnicity.
It probably ticked every quota category on whatever criteria currently exists in Hollywood, but it’s a good movie because that is merely coincidence. It happens to be a story about a perceived “minority” group, so the cast is almost entirely people in that group, but that is incidental to the story itself.
Give it a look if you have the time.
physicsguy and Nonapod,
I find a person’s perception of Biden and Trump a quick Rorschach test. I can understand pulling for either of them, depending on one’s politics, but to claim either is “scandal free” or playing “3D chess” indicates to me the person is so biased there’s not much point in reading or listening to what they have to say on the subject.
I keep hoping the often less than ideal behaviors of both men will convince more Americans that the problem is the size of the office, not the man who occupies it, but, unfortunately, it seems many of us want a ruler and would prefer to live a fiction that a wise, benevolent and selfless leader is caring for us.
Regarding that last sentence, I think that’s why a lot of serious, Conservative thinkers are religious. If you believe in a wise, benevolent and selfless supernatural being you aren’t concerned with expecting one to appear on Earth.
I bought that film on disk a couple of years ago, not realizing it had a regional block on it. Since I had a couple other such disks, I bought an unlocked blue-ray player and watched La Dolce Vita about 1.5 years ago.
I remembered the film had a darker ending, but not quite about how very dark it was. I suppose the early parts of the film are potentially so seductive, that it is an appropriate punctuation for the “hero’s” dissolute life.
A few years ago, I had seen the Italian film “Il Sorpasso” or The Easy Life. I discovered it because Alexander Payne used that film for the structure of his film Sideways with Giamatti and Hayden Church. Something I would have never guessed even if I had seen Il Sorpasso.
Not as famous as La Dolce Vita, but a somewhat famous film, it has many similarities to La Dolce Vita. It uses a lot of Italy as a backdrop around the same time period. And it is about a life of excess, though framed as a “buddy” story rather than a story from a single “hero.” Recommended, if you liked La Dolce Vita.
Related:
“Biden’s Upcoming Physical Exam Won’t Include Cognitive Test: White House”—
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/bidens-upcoming-physical-exam-wont-include-cognitive-test-white-house
I should think it obvious that giving Decent Joe a cognitive test is TOTALLY UNNECESSARY…and a huge waste of taxpayer dollars….
+ Bonus (for earnest fans of Black History Month)….
‘ “Whites Are Psychopathic”: UC Speaker Uses Black History Month To Launch Into Racist Attacks’—
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/whites-are-psychopathic-uc-speaker-uses-black-history-monthto-launch-racist-attacks
Makes sense to me….
Sing along now, everyone!
“We are PSYCHOS, WEEEEE!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyGY2NfYpeE
OTOH, I wouldn’t take the fellow too seriously. No doubt someone who craves challenges, he strives to take virtue signaling to the next level—perhaps even earn a spot in the Guinness Book of Records. As such, how could anyone possibly know if he really means what he’s saying…?
File under: “Anything she can do I can do BETTER!” (“She” of course being Nikole Hannah-Jones…)
…but neither of ’em can compete with this!
“BLACK HISTORY READING MONTH”—
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2024/02/black-history-reading-month.php
File under: Marx and Bojangles….
Rufus T — thanks for the recommendation for the full film of American Fiction. The trailer was hilarious, I worried the whole might not stand up.
Rufus T – You hit the nail on the head about reducing the power of the presidency. I think that’s the root of many of our problems. The costs of losing a presidential election keep getting higher and higher. This will not end well.
Barry Meislin, I’d go see a talk like that if the title was “All Humans Are Psychopaths”. Now THAT would be fun.
Never cared for Fellini. Got nothing negative to say, just wasn’t any draw.
There is a case before the SCOTUS that deals with powers granted to the Executive branch “the Chevron doctrine.”
It is inconceivable to CC™ but during the first administration of The Great Orange Whale considerable resources of the federal and state governments, the judiciary, and the media were working to limit the power of the Presidency. Now (last three years) not at all. Don’t hear too much about this from CC™, it seems to me. A mystery.
I’ve always been a big fan of reducing the power of the Executive Branch (and every other Branch too). For one thing, it makes little sense to me that the Department of Justice is under the purview of the President. For all the other checks and balances, that seems to be one conflict of interest that escaped the founders. Maybe we need a fourth branch?
“I once saw a forklift lift a crate of forks. And it was way too literal for me.”- Mitch Hedberg
You think that “makes little sense”, just wait till “Biden” packs the court….
Actually, in defense of the Founding Fathers, whom yer’ all essentially channeling, they did their utmost to limit—hog-tie?—government, the flip side of which is ENCOURAGING those in power to govern by negotiation and ultimately arriving at some kind of consensus, that is, if they want to achieve anything, you know, the old “give ‘n take, horse-trading, whatever you want to call it. (But then you already know all this…)
They were more distrustful of power than most anyone of their era, but they never envisaged that psychopaths would actually steal the levers of power—and that they’d be supported by a rabid media successfully brainwashing half the population that their political opponents are the Devil’s spawn.
(Well, maybe Franklin did.)
They were wise men indeed, extraordinary men, but perhaps a little lacking in imagination.
Could it be that in their supreme efforts to fence off government from religion, they never believed that ideology could turn cultic…?
Fun indeed.
Bit hard to fit on a T-shirt, though.
Hmmm, how ’bout, “Psychos’ Lives Matter”…?
We already have a Fourth Branch of government, unelected and effectively unaccountable.
Who could that be?
The sundry and multitude of Executive Agency civil servants.
But they work for the Chief Executive you say.
Bless your heart.
I cant say ive watched enough fellini to judge
Let me echo Rufus T in recommending “American Fiction.” The novel’s title is better, I think, at capturing the message and the defining the controversy. But “Erasure” is probably too dated of a metaphors to reach younger audiences. (What’s an eraser?)
It tells many worthy Truths, and some needful realities. And the casting, like the writing and acting, is simply superb. Jeffrey Wright playing the protagonist will win Best Actor Oscar this year, and deservedly so.
The one weakness is our protagonist’s brother. He simply looks too physically different to be his brother. This neglect could have been mooted by simply defining him as a half-brother.
Also now playing, “The Beekeeper” is a Jason Statham action picture. It starts with revenge against internet fraud. But then reaches out and becomes an anti-government action adventure story.
Its pulse exploits the greater current ethos on the Right, where we might fantasize revenge against urban chaos and crime, as well as against state failure. Very timely entertainment.
Reviewer Christian Toto recommended it, with proviso that the plot gets unduly complex in the last third. My take, instead, is that poor editing turned action too fantastic to be believable in certain late sequences.
You are warned to just mentally ‘check out’ of taking these sequences seriously to enjoy the rest.
Again, the title resonates as a metaphor for responsible living and managing the body politik. Or, in crude terms, simply taking out the trash.
In weeks, this flick will go to paid streaming. And I guarantee that college students will turn it into a drinking game at every mention and allusion to beekeeping.
Just see to it, your tending of the hive.
There are trees that died to serve this pablum from fat man martin
Statham is an interesting character plays some of the same type of roles that michael caine played at the beginning of his career
Hes played the heavy in fast and furious several mob figures in guy ritchie not quite a hero in others well the incredibles hes almost at that type
He has a more physical presence but plays mostly working class antiheros like in the reprisal of bronsons the mechanic one might his role as operator shaw in fast and furious is upper class mercenary
The media is the 4th branch of government, the Deep State, or Admin State, or Managerial State, or Bureaucratic State is 0th floor and foundation of each branch.
Best we can plausibly do is to get term limits on the bureaucrats, like 8 years, so they have to out and work for living, most of the time.
In fact i could see him as the protagonist in michael caines attempt at a novel which i cant recommend because the twist at the end
We’ve heard that Hollywood has installed a quota system; so and so many minority characters must be on each production, etc…
Rufus:
Via Elon Musk, voilà … that hearsay made flesh:
________________________________________________
Disney General Entertainment Inclusion Standards
ON SCREEN REPRESENTATION STANDARD A
At least THREE of the following FIVE areas need to be met to fulfill Standard A:
A1 Characters: 50% or more of regular and recurring written characters come from Underrepresented Groups
•A2 Actors: 50% or more of regular and recurring actors come from Underrepresented Groups
•A3 Secondary Characters: Meaningful inclusion of Underrepresented Groups as secondary or more minor on-screen individuals, including background actors
•A4 Series Premise: Meaningful integration of Underrepresented Groups in overall themes and narratives
•A5 Episodic Storytelling: Ongoing meaningful integration of Underrepresented Groups in episodic themes and narratives\
https://reimaginetomorrow.disney.com/assets/DGE-INCLUSION-STANDARDS-ONE-PAGER-6-16-2119.pdf
https://flvoicenews.com/disneys-inclusion-standards-spark-outrage-after-elon-musk-post-institutionalized-racism/
________________________________________________
That’s just the beginning. There are three more sections. But it all adds up to Woke people hiring more Woke people based on intersectional checkboxes — not merit.
Plus keep in mind that Disney is not just Disney, but includes LucasFilms and the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
Even if Disney and its subsidiaries wanted to go back to big box office entertainment, they couldn’t. The talented folks who knew how to do that are long gone, replaced by Woke Pod People.
Interesting, Tom Grey.
Term-limits on bureaucrats. 8 and out! That might work.
I’ve favoured a law requiring adjustment in the Federal workforce after each election to reflect party voting rates so that the bureaucracy is representative of The People. This, of course, would work to prevent single party capture — but if a competing party is utterly trashed and loses to 80%? This could be on the glide path to partisan capture.
Yet nothing has prepared us for the 95% non-Right Bureaucracy. It’s a major problem not just at the Federal level. It’s how California became a one party state.
Could a Federal law reverse and prevent this, too? I’m all ears.
well I call them zombies because brains!!! are not in evidence
well Sony can compete for the wurst
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVCBw9NLg0I
they can’t find a single charismatic or even really sympathetic female character,
Rufus and huxley on Woke Capture of Hollywood via the Oscars? The new racist quota s6stem.
Fortunately, in addition to crucial box office failure (SEE Disney), there are several other ways this Top Down, centralized Wokery is getting undermined.
The biggest is the fact that Hollywood is leaving California. It first began with porn shoot regulations, and it’s continued because the econ environment has gotten worse.
Canada got much cheaper after the materials boom in the 00s ended. Atlanta, after Toronto and Vancouver, has persisted and popped bigger. As well as the Carolinas and Florida.
I’m not sure the New Academy quota system applies to anything outside of eligibility of films for Oscar awards. Few film are ever nominated, anyway. It’s elite capture, just like Harvard and Middleburg Colleges were early play grounds for Wokery.
A final trend is AI, which will increasingly make actors passé. Look at video games. They no longer an absolute need for human actors.
It is possible that this tech shift may increase the novelty factor for live theatre with the public. The star system is already on life-support, eg, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman (SEE Deadpool 3 – release late this year) may be the last ones to pull in fans and make or break a picture.
My point is this: market and tech forces may defeat Woke capture of the elite Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Taibbi and Shellenburger break important story on CIA inducing “Five-eyes” agencies to spy on 26 Trump associates in early 2016: https://www.youtube.com/live/ZSRszPj1WKA?si=ZVO8wDvni4dudywq
https://thefederalist.com/2024/02/13/report-cia-started-russia-collusion-hoax-by-asking-foreign-governments-to-spy-on-trump-campaign/
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1757486508570030462.html
Re: Oscars
TJ:
When I think back to the prestige and mass appeal of the Oscars in the 60s and 70s…. Millions of people, not me, watched them and talked about them the next day. They had Oscars parties.
The collapse of the Hollywood system has been epic.
Someone oughta make a movie of it.
@sdferr, thanks for this – I’m a Racket subscriber and it’s the best $50 I’ve ever spent on journalism. Walter Kirn’s / Taibbi’s podcast every week is great – but Taibbi has been notably brave at taking on the establishment news and reporting the bare facts we ought to be getting.
About 1½ hours, you can speed it up.
The live cast tonight is public, not subscription; Here is the Rumble link for those interested: https://rumble.com/v4d6ulh-explaining-russiagate-expos.html
Barry Meislin @ 2:29pm,
I think many of the Founding Fathers expected the Federal government would grow and eventually become too powerful. When I read their writings I see a group of men who knew the human tendency to accumulate power was likely insatiable and their attempts to check it might keep it at bay for a bit, but it would eventually find a way.
TJ @ 3:22pm,
I agree. All three siblings did not look like they shared their parents, and none looked like Leslie Uggams; their mother. That was disconcerting to my wife, but I gave it a pass. It seems wrong to deny an otherwise gifted actor a role simply because his or her skin tone (or nose, or jaw line…) is out of sync with the protagonist.
Re: Oscars,
It certainly was a huge, national event. Betting pools, red carpet shows, and, as huxley mentioned, viewing parties.
America used to have a lot of shared, annual entertainment events watched by 30% or more of the country; Oscars, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Wizard of Oz, Charlie Brown Christmas, World Series, Superbowl, NBA finals, The Wonderful World of Disney, Gunsmoke, Bonanza, I Love Lucy, The Honeymooners, Lawrence Welk, Ed Sullivan, The Tonight Show, The Wide, Wide, World of Sports, The Olympics, Dick Clark Rockin’ New Years Eve…
Of those that still exist I think the Superbowl is the only one that still gets a plurality of viewers.
Re: Hollywood / Pod People / Someone oughta make a movie of it
Come to think of it they did:
INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS | “Pods” Clip
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZDq6ZxGuYE
Seriously. Those Who Are No Longer Our Countrymen (TWANLOC) doesn’t cut it. Those Who Are No Longer Human (TWANLH).
We are dealing with alien beings out to subvert our Way of Life in fundamental ways. Person by person we are being taken over by the Collective Alienness (CA).
Those of us remaining humans live in fear of being cancelled as our nonhuman adversaries come at us, SHRIEKING!
_______________________________
Swear allegiance to the flag
Whatever flag they offer
Never hint at what you really feel
Teach the children quietly
For some day sons and daughters
Will rise up and fight while we stood still
–Mike + The Mechanics, “Silent Running”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i17mgRK3GX8
what the zombie people in hollywood don’t understand take marvel I was never much into the comics, but from spiderman to endgame they understood good and evil, then they lost the plot the characters were not perfect by any means, some were very earnest like steve rogers, some were cynical, like tony stark, who knew the value of everything, but when called to serve, they did, Star Wars had a similar vibe, the latest iterations of star trek, omg they are terrible,
Yes I’ve wondered about that song, which seemed like a throw away in 1988, gosh was it that long ago, i didn’t know much about rutherfords dynamics with original genesis
BTW, today is Mardi Gras. Fat Tuesday.
My old New Orleans roommate is still there and sent me some pictures. He’s a professional photographer and filmmaker. He has such a good eye. I’m always so jealous.
Here’s Professor Longhair bringing it home. He was a god in New Orleans, though not so much elsewhere. However, even the Rolling Stones acknowledged him as an influence. I got to see him at a Jazz & Heritage Festival in the 70s.
–Professor Longhair, “Go To The Mardi Gras”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9zYM1D3cLk
With fair winds I’ll be in New Orleans this spring.
most of these reviews are better than the films
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7f9zaf3W48
“…eventually find a way.”
Not sure if “Biden” found a way. More like he stole a way….
}}} I bought that film on disk a couple of years ago, not realizing it had a regional block on it. Since I had a couple other such disks, I bought an unlocked blue-ray player and watched La Dolce Vita about 1.5 years ago.
FWIW, and yes, while it can be less convenient, I will note that the DVD/BR player in almost all computers is region-free, and can play discs that are region-locked on your internal player. If your internal player refuses this, you can also usually find a free alternative, such as VLC Media Player, which will tell Microsoft where they can stuff that sh**. Also, if you have media files which complain that there is “no codec” for that (including alternative moribund formats, such as .flv, etc.), there is a tool called “K-Lite Codec Pack” which can be found on some reputable shareware sites which can remedy most such issues.