Fire Cloud: The Contender (2000) Lane Evans, The Church of Liberalism

Posted on November 1, 2014 by Erik Schneider

Source:The New Democrat 

Except for the part about taking every gun out of private hands and private homes, which might be a far-left Hollywood fantasy and clearly against the Second Amendment and the Right to Self-Defense, this was a very good speech by Vice Presidential nominee Senator Lane Evans in The Contender. She was talking about the women’s Right to Choose, of course referring to abortion. The constitutional amendment that gave women the right to vote. Freeing the African slaves in the civil war and using military force to fight for human rights.

If I wrote that speech, I would’ve taken out the part about the guns, left everything else in there. And also talked about Freedom of Speech for everyone, the Right to Privacy for everyone to do everything as long as innocent people aren’t hurt as a result. The right to a quality education for all, which I believe we should have for freedom to really be available to everyone. Instead of writing a speech that makes liberalism look like some form of statism, I would’ve talked about the freedom that liberalism is actually about and not statism. But this for the most part was an excellent speech.

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The New Republic: John B. Judis- Democrats Hope Battleground Texas Can Turn the State Blue

Posted on October 28, 2014 by Erik Schneider

Source:The New Democrat

Do I think Wendy Davis will be elected Governor of Texas next Tuesday or anytime soon? Of course not because I haven’t seen any polls that show that race between her and Greg Abbot is even within five points, perhaps not even ten points. Even though she did do well in the two debates against Greg Abbot and you could argue she won both debates. And she did pick up some big city paper endorsements in Texas as well. But when you are a big underdog going in, you simply can’t afford to make the big campaign mistakes that she has, including some bad commercials.

2014 won’t be the year for Texas Democrats, but 2018, 2020 we may see that state move in a different direction. And the racial and ethnic trends in that state will be a big factor. With the growing Latino population in that state and the shrinking Caucasian population as well. But that only matters if people vote and right now Republican voters in Texas are primarily Caucasian, but they are very reliable voters. Latinos aren’t right now and only vote big in presidential elections.

So a growing Latino population in Texas won’t be enough to make that state competitive in Texas for Democrats. If they have this idea that they’ll just wait until Texas looks like California, especially Los Angeles and San Francisco, or look like Seattle, or Chicago, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington politically, culturally, racially and ethnically, Texas will remain red indefinitely. Because one thing that Texans of all backgrounds prides themselves on is that they are like those big blue cities and blue states.

For Texas Democrats to succeed, they have to succeed in Texas and win Texas voters. Instead of campaigning there like they are campaigning in Los Angeles, or San Francisco or New England. They have to win voters in Texas and when the other party outnumbers you, you have to win over voters who tend to vote Republican. But perhaps aren’t as far to the right or as partisan as others Republicans and the leadership and looking for an alternative to the Republican Party in Texas.

Going into the 2014 Texas governors race, I thought Wendy Davis at least on paper before all the campaign mistakes was that type of Democrat. That if she didn’t win the election, she would at least make it a race and perhaps start moving the state in a Democratic direction. That hasn’t happened because she hasn’t run a very good campaign. But on paper she looks very Texan politically, but in a Democratic sense.

Liberal on social issues, pro-gun, pro-choice and not just as it relates to abortion, but other social issues as well, including as it relates to homosexuality. Fiscally responsible, big believer in education and opportunity so more Texans can succeed and not be dependent on public assistance. She looks like a New Democrat in the political and ideological sense, instead of someone from the Progressive Caucus or Green Party trying to convince Texans that they are wrong politically and need to be more progressive or even socialist on a whole wide range of issues.

That is how Texas Democrats can win in Texas in the future, but run effective campaigns without the big errors of the Wendy Davis campaign. Don’t treat Texas like California or New England politically, but run in Texas as if you are in Texas speaking to Texan voters who aren’t nearly as far to the Left as the big blue states. With a mainstream center-left message built around education and opportunity for all, with big government off everyone’s back, where everyone can succeed. That would be a winning message for Texas Democrats in the future and Latinos could help them win with that.
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Striker 1909: Jeff Bridges – The Contender (2000)

Posted on October 26, 2014 by Erik Schneider
Attachment-1-519

Source: Striker 1909

Source:The New Democrat

Great speech from The Contender by Jeff Bridges who played the President in this movie. Not a very realistic scene as far as how they put the U.S. House chamber together for this joint session of Congress when the House and Senate come together to hear the President speak. With the Speaker of the House and the President or Pro Tempore sitting in big chairs just above the President as the President is speaking.

But still a good speech from the President saying that he won’t let a very partisan faction from the opposition in the House of Representatives derail his Vice Presidential nominee, Senator Lane Evans who just happens to be one of their Congressional colleagues, be defeated because of what may or may not happened in Senator Evans private life before coming to Congress. That the President wasn’t going to put up with this obstruction and he was going to fight for his nominee.

This was a very important scene and movie for this if only reason. Because it was about the Right to Privacy and that even public officials and even members of Congress and even members of Congress who appU.S. Senator Lane Evans appointed to the second highest office in the country, the Vice Presidency and it raised two very important questions. Do public officials and even members of Congress and even members of Congress who are appointed to high office have a Right to Privacy. And should our public officials be judged based on how they live their private lives or not.

Striker 1909: Final Speech From The Movie The Contender

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Paramount Movies: The Contender (2000)

Posted on October 25, 2014 by Erik Schneider
U.S. Senator Lane Evans

U.S. Senator Lane Evans

Source:The Daily Press

The Contender movie from 2000 came about almost three years after the Monica Lewinsky scandal broke and two years after President Clinton was impeached in the House on a party-line vote. President Clinton was actually mentioned in this movie, and about two years after the Clinton impeachment trial in the Senate I believe The Contender at least to some degree was influenced by the Lewinsky scandal and the point that President Clinton was making.

President Clinton’s point being that his private life is just that and that even public officials elected officials president’s even have a Right to Privacy even as it relates to their sex life. And that if adultery is involved which it is in both cases that it’s between the adulterer, their family and the person the affair was with. Not 265-300M Americans as was the case back then and especially an opposition party that’s looking to embarrass the President or Vice President.

Or even bring the top leaders down, which was the case with the Lewinsky scandal as well as in this movie. And it has Jeff Bridges who’s personally one of my favorite actors, especially for his great sense of humor. But he can also act, playing a President who’s wrapping up his presidency and looking to build his legacy. His Vice President just died in office and he has to fill that vacancy and basically has a choice between a popular Democratic Governor of Virginia GOV. Jack Hathaway played by a great character actor Bill Peterson. Famous for his role in CBS CSI. And a junior Senator from Ohio played by a very good actress Joan Allen. And these are the top two contenders for the Vice Presidency.

The President has to nominate a new Vice President and appoint them to both chambers of Congress because the House has an Advise and Consent role in nominating a new Vice President. And then you throw in the cast in the movie Jeff Bridges as the President, Sam Elliot as WH Chief of Staff, Saul Rubinek as WH Press Secretary, Joan Allen as Sen. Lane Evans nominee for Vice President. Gary Oldman as Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. Bill Peterson as GOV. Jack Hathaway who wants to run for president and become vice president to help him with that.

Christian Slater who plays a freshmen Representative from Delaware who doesn’t like Sen. Evans because she used to be a Republican. And wants GOV. Hathaway to be Vice President. And actually works with the Chairman who presides over the Vice Presidential confirmation hearings for the House. To make sure that Sen. Evans does not get confirmed because the House Republicans of course see Sen. Evans as too liberal. So you have all these little side stories and motivations and everyone involved has stake in the game so to speak.

Joan Allen plays the first female nominee for Vice President in American history who has a wild history from college. And seen as someone who slept around and even had an affair with one of her friend’s husband played by Robin Thomas. Who she later marries and starts a family with. Sen. Evans is also the daughter of the former Governor of Ohio who’s a Republican, but supports his daughter’s nomination for Vice President. And the House Republicans and their special interest allies try to make the most of Sen. Evans private life to bring her down. So she doesn’t become Vice President of the United States one step away from the Presidency, great movie.

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The Guardian: Ben Child: ‘Ben Affleck: Sam Harris & Bill Maher ‘Racist’ & ‘Gross’ in Views of Islam’

Posted on October 22, 2014 by Erik Schneider

Ben Affleck_ Sam Harris and Bill Maher 'racist' and 'gross' in views of IslamSource:The Guardian– In Ben Affleck’s latest TV role, he played the hipster-leftist-radical, on Real Time With Bill Maher.

Source:The New Democrat 

“Ben Affleck has won praise for accusing TV host Bill Maher and author Sam Harris for what he called “gross” and “racist” depictions of Islam during a televised debate.

Appearing on HBO talk show Real Time with Bill Maher on Friday night, Affleck reacted furiously to claims by Maher that Islam manifested as “the only religion that acts like the mafia” and which would “fucking kill you if you say the wrong thing, draw the wrong picture or write the wrong book”.

Author and philosopher Sam Harris also attracted the Argo director’s ire after suggesting: “We have been sold this meme of Islamophobia, where criticism of the religion gets conflated with bigotry towards Muslims as people. It’s intellectually ridiculous.”

From The Guardian

“Ben Affleck, Bill Maher, Nicholas Kristol, Michael Steele, and author Sam Harris got into what could only be described as a tumultuous continuation of Maher’s comments on Islam from last week, with Maher and Affleck tearing into each other over the influence of fundamentalists in the Muslim community.”

The Guardian_ Ben Child_ ‘Ben Affleck_ Sam Harris & Bill Maher ‘Racist’ & ‘Gross’ in Views of Islam’Source:The Damage Report– actor Ben Affleck. Which is all you need to know when you hear or see him talk about anything outside of Hollywood.

From The Young Turks

Ben Affleck is just an actor, who really has no business being in an intellectual discussion about Islam or any these others issues, at least in real life. If he wants to play someone like that in one of his films, more power to him. If this sounds insulting, too bad, but I’m right about this.

I completely disagree with John Iadarola about what Bill Maher and Sam Harris are saying about Islam. And I guess Iadarola represents the far-left, political correctness spin here, that if you say anything negative about Islam and perhaps every other Eastern religion, you are a bigot.

Maher and Harris aren’t saying that it’s really just Islamism that’s the big problem when it comes to religious fundamentalism. They are saying that Islamism shouldn’t be left off the hook when it comes to religious fundamentalism in the world, because of it’s views on women, minorities, and gays and how Islamist regimes treat women, minorities, and gays, through their own government policies.

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CBS News: Sunday Morning- ‘Take Our Poll- Should Pete Rose be in the Hall of Fame’

Posted on October 20, 2014 by Erik Schneider

Source:The New Democrat 

The only reason why Pete Rose is not in the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame and he would’ve gone in I believe 1992 which I believe would’ve been is first year of eligibility, but the only reason he’s not there has to do with his gambling on Major League Baseball games. Which he gambled on even as manager of the Cincinnati Reds and even betted on Reds games. Pete being out of the Hall of Fame has nothing to do with his playing career and nothing to do with his playing career is keeping him out of the Hall of Fame.

I could understand banning Pete from ever being a MLB manager, coach or executive for life. Because betting on your own team’s games is a pretty bad offense. Especially if you are betting that they lose and have a say in the outcome of their games. But to keep him out of the Hall of Fame in general, when he’s arguably the best all around player of his era and generation and we are talking about a career that covers twenty-four seasons from 1963-86, makes no sense from a Hall of Fame perspective.

Keeping Pete out of the Hall of Fame also does more damage to Reds fans and the Cincinnati Reds organization that Pete. Because of all the respect and luster that comes from not just seeing one of your own players in the Hall of Fame, but having that person in the Hall of Fame. “That player was not just a great player, but he played for us and we won a lot of games with him and he’s in the Hall of Fame as one of us”. Things that the Reds organization and the Reds fans can’t say right now because they are denied of seeing Pete Rose in the Hall of Fame.

We are not talking about whether Pete Rose should be in the Hall of Fame as a manager or even as a human being. He would never make it to the Hall of Fame based on that criteria. We are talking about Pete Rose the player and based on his playing career and because of the facts that he’s the best player who’s been retired for at least five years from playing, not in the Hall of Fame. And of course what he did as a player would’ve put him in the Hall of Fame over twenty-years ago. Pete Rose should definitely be in the Hall of Fame. Just don’t allow him to manage or be an executive.

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Jamielyn Gray: The American President (1995) President Andrew Shepard’s Speech

Posted on October 19, 2014 by Erik Schneider

Andrew Shepard's Speech From The American PresidentSource:The New Democrat 

“Andrew Shepard’s Speech From The American President. Dear President Obama, PLEASE TAKE NOTES. (Originally uploaded as my response to Mr. Obama BOMBING that first debate with Mr. Romney back in 2012. –JG 5.8.17)”

From Jaimelyn Gray

Just to be serious for a minute and perhaps only a minute: I was with President Shepard the whole time during this speech, except for the part about the guns. When he said that he was going to get the guns, not just assault weapons, but handguns in general. The Federal Government can’t constitutionally outlaw handguns by statue. The U.S. Supreme Court has made that clear. So to do that, you would either have to amend the Second Amendment or repeal the Second Amendment.

But the rest of the speech about defending free speech and not just speech you agree with and not just people you like and respect, but that the opposition and other groups of Americans have just as much of a right to speech as anyone else in America, was a classical constitutional liberal argument. That all Americans have the right to speech and that there are few exceptions to that. When it comes to libel, inciting violence, or yelling fire in public spaces and causing panics.

This whole scene came about because of the fact that President Andrew Shepard played by Michael Douglas is a widower and single father of a young teenage girl and meets a Democratic lobbyist who lobbies for environmentalists and pursues her even as President and they start an affair and fall in love. And that Senate Minority Bob Rumson played by Richard Dreyfuss, who is running for President as a Republican, makes a big deal about this. And tries to make the case that the President who even though he is a widower by the way, having an affair in the White House is an example of the moral decay of America.

All this is going on as President Shepard is trying to finish the rest of his first-term agenda before running for reelection. Which is a crime bill and an energy bill and the affair that he is having with his girlfriend, Sidney Ellen Wade played by Annette Bening, even though neither one is married at the time, costs the President popularity and support in the House of Representatives.

And the President has to settle for a compromise energy bill, which is how he loses his girlfriend. The speech in the movie was about the President fighting back and saying that: “The compromise is not good enough and that we need to go further to address crime and energy”. As well the President defending liberal values.

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Rob Reiner: The American President (1995) Starring Michael Douglas & Annette Bening

Posted on October 18, 2014 by Erik Schneider

IMDB_ The American President (1995) Starring Michael Douglas and Annette BeningSource:IMDB– Michael Douglas & Annette Bening.

Source:The Daily Press

“Andrew Shepherd is approaching the end of his first term as President of the United States. He’s a widower with a young daughter and has proved to be popular with the public. His election seems assured. That is until he meets Sydney Ellen Wade, a paid political activist working for an environmental lobby group. He’s immediately smitten with her and after several amusing attempts, they finally manage to go on a date (which happens to be a State dinner for the visiting President of France). His relationship with Wade opens the door for his prime political opponent, Senator Bob Rumson, to launch an attack on the President’s character, something he could not do in the previous election as Shepherd’s wife had only recently died. Written by garykmcd.”

From IMDB

“The American President – Theatrical Trailer”

IMDB_ The American President (1995) Starring Michael Douglas and Annette Bening (1)Source:IMDB– Michael Douglas & Annette Bening.

From IMDB

“The American President – Theatrical Trailer”

IMDB_ The American President (1995) Starring Michael Douglas and Annette Bening

Source:Movie Cars JDE– The trailer for American President (1995)

From Movie Cars JDE

If you’re someone whose a political junky such as myself and you love watching political movies and political documentaries, then The American President is a very good movie. Because it’s about a President who at the beginning of the movie is pretty popular and is going into to his reelection campaign having not finished his whole agenda that he ran on, trying to finish that agenda with a crime bill and an energy bill.

The Shepard White House goes to work with Congress to get the votes to pass that agenda and how they set up the staff to do that. And how they work with special interest groups to get the support for their energy bill.

If you’re someone who like romantic comedy’s that aren’t predictable and cheesy and are clever, then The American President is a good movie, because it’s about a President whose a widower and the single parent of a daughter whose somewhat lonely.

President Andrew Shepard meets an environmental lobbyist by accident, walks in on a meeting she’s having with his Chief of Staff. And he asks her to be his date at the next state dinner and even the process he goes through to make that happen is interesting because he calls her up at home. And she thinks the President is one of her friends impersonating the President. And makes fun of him, but the President doesn’t give up and calls her back to convince her he’s the President. The American President has hardball politics, romance and political scandal in about 105 minutes. A little something for everybody.

President Andrew Shepard, with a name like that he must be from New England, but he’s the former Governor of Wisconsin played by Michael Douglas. And this is one of his best roles because you see his ability to act and I’m not a big fan of most of his movies, but I believe he’s a great actor and you see his funny side in the movie and he can be very funny as well.

Douglas is no Danny DeVito (but most comedians aren’t) but he can more than hold his own in comedy. Again plays the President who’s somewhat popular going in heading into an election year with still a big agenda to pass, and meets this environmental lobbyist played by Annette Bening who doesn’t like President Shepard’s Energy bill and they talk about it.

And the President and the lobbyist (sounds like the title of a movie) make a deal that if she can land half of the votes in the House for the bill she wants, he’ll get the other half. And at the end of the meeting he asks her on a date.

She doesn’t take him seriously, threatens the President that he has to come through, or the President will lose the support of her group. The President gets his date and they hit it off and start an affair that causes the President trouble politically as well as with his agenda.

Again, The American President is a movie that has hardball politics, romance, and political scandal. With the romance and with Senate Minority Leader Bob Rumson whose also running for President making everything he can out of this affair even calling Sydney Ellen Wade a whore on national TV. And running as the Religious Right candidate for President, the Champion of Traditional Values. Running against a Liberal Democrat and a card caring member of the ACLU.

And the scene towards the end of the movie, the press conference makes the whole thing worth watching where he sums up the whole movie in about five minutes

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Kristen Cherye: America’s Hardest Prisons- National Geographic Documentary

Posted on October 14, 2014 by Erik Schneider

 

Attachment-1-315

Source: Kristen Cherye

Source:The New Democrat 

This is what happens when you house the worst of the worst together. You have these violent criminal inmates who see their time in prison as nothing, but survival. And making their lives as comfortable as possible. And I do not have a problem housing these people together to isolate them from inmates in other prisons who simply want to do their time and go home. Or make their life sentence or long-term prison sentence as comfortable as possible. As long as these prisons are doing whatever they can to improve the behavior of these inmates. And showing them what life can be like if they behave in prison and give them opportunities and incentives to improve their behavior so they can prepare themselves for life on the outside. Or have a productive life in prison if they are doing life sentences. But if prison is nothing more than a zoo or warehouse for the worst among us and it just becomes about survival for the staff there, you are going to continue to see violent outbursts.

Kristen Cherye: America’s Hardest Prisons- National Geographic Documentary

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Horror Ny Mphs: The Hillside Strangler (2004) Angelo Buono & Kenneth Bianchi

Posted on October 13, 2014 by Erik Schneider
Attachment-1-468

Source:Horror My Myths– From the 2004 trailer of The Hillside Stranglers.

Source:The Daily Press 

“In the end of the 70’s, the dysfunctional KENNETH BIANCHI lives with his mother and is obsessed to join the police force. When his application is refused, his mother sends him to Los Angeles to live with his sadistic cousin Angelo Buono. Kenneth unsuccessfully tries to join LAPD, and Angelo convinces him to start a prostitution business with him. They force two girls from Tucson to work for them, but their competitors destroy their business and steals their money. The frustrated Kenneth and Angelo decide to revenge against a prostitute, and Kenneth strangles her, feeling a great pleasure with her death. The two cousins become addicted in death, initially killing prostitutes and then attacking single women, dumping their bodies on the hill.

Released on 2004
Starring: C. Thomas Howell, Nicholas Turturro, Allison Lange, Marisol Padilla Sánchez, Aimee Brooks.”

From Horror Ny Mphs

The Hillside Stranglers are two of the saddest people that this country has ever produced, because they were basically a couple of losers. Who didn’t know right from wrong or didn’t care and somewhat nuts in the sense, that they would be willing to do just about anything to get their pleasure. One of them was a Serial Murderer and the other was a Serial Rapist.

The Buono-Bianchi victims would get raped and then murdered or the other way around, so these two losers could get their pleasure. With no sense of a conscience or should they even doing this, what are the consequences that could come from this. Or they simply didn’t understand the concepts of these things, which made them even more dangerous. Because they could pretty much do anything, because they weren’t worried about the results.

Buono and Bianchi wouldn’t care who would get hurt from it, even themselves and what would happen to them because of their actions. The only benefit from their stupidity, was they weren’t very good at being criminals, in the sense that yes they could pull off their crimes, but were horrible at covering them up. So when they would murder and rape a woman, and they would get tied to these crimes fairly early on.

Angelo Bono was a fairly intelligent man who could’ve been fairly successful in life and could’ve lived on his own. And been self-sufficient and he wouldn’t of had to be a criminal to make it in life. But Kenneth Bianchi his cousin, was basically a born loser who barely learned how to read and write and was an outcast since childhood. And is one of these people if someone could’ve gotten to him early on in life and realized that this guy had some serious issues who needed help.

Maybe Kenneth Bianchi’s life turns out differently with an early intervention. And had his cousin Angelo not of hooked up with him, not had brought him into his home in Los Angeles, this murderous team probably never comes together, but of course we’ll never know this and Ken Bianchi represents a typical prison Inmate. A criminal who enters prison as an ignorant man who couldn’t make it in the free world, without the skills to survive as a non-criminal.

What gets me is how long the Hillside Stranglers were able to stay in business, for basically two years, from late 1977 to 1979. Because of who this team was, with one of them essentially being a moron. Which tells me that Angelo Bono being the intelligent member of this team, was probably the leader of it and perhaps the only one that had any control of Ken Bianchi before they were arrested.

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