Western Movies

. . . “When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.” A country without such larger-than-life legends is a land without a soul. It says something sad about America that Hollywood doesn’t make many westerns nowadays. It says something hopeful that so many of us still love the ones we already have.

National Review

"My wife and I watch a lot of old movies together, and we have in common what you might call a “default position” on choosing the ones that we see: Whenever we can’t make up our minds about what to watch, we’re more than likely to put on a western. In recent weeks, for instance, we’ve watched Colorado Territory, Hondo, The Man from Laramie, Seven Men from Now, Tombstone, and The Westerner, each of which we’d seen many times before and each of which satisfied us just as much the umpteenth time around.

"What is it about westerns that keeps Mrs. T and me coming back for more? Part of the pleasure they give arises from their clarity of conception. George Balanchine, the great Russian-American choreographer, also loved westerns, a taste that puzzled his highbrow admirers, to whom he replied that he liked them because “there is nothing superfluous in them. Simple things without pretensions. . . . You watch a western and think, Ah! There’s something to this.”

"But that “something” also has to do with the moral clarity of the Hollywood western. I’m talking not about black and white hats, but about the fact that the characters in every great western are forced to make moral choices that are always clear but rarely easy, especially since they live in a world in which sheriffs and jails are few and far between. In a world without laws or lawmen, we must all choose between the moral integrity of the old-fashioned hero and the moral cannibalism of the self-willed villain. Such stark choices are the essence of the classic western, which is why the genre and its three brightest stars, Gary Cooper, Randolph Scott, and John Wayne, continue to retain their near-mythic hold on the imaginations of American moviegoers.

"I just used the words “mythic” and “American,” which brings us to the heart of the matter. Taken together, the best Hollywood westerns come as close as anything ever has to comprising America’s creation myth, a tale of brave men and women who rode toward Monument Valley to make better lives for themselves and their children. Of course we all know it wasn’t as clear-cut as that, which is what makes their story mythic: It’s what we want to believe about American history. But if it isn’t all true, neither is it all false, and there is something both beautiful and vitally important in the perfect simplicity of the story that these films collectively tell. An all-American tale, if you like — and I do.

"That’s what John Ford meant when he put these oft-quoted words into the mouth of one of the characters in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance: “When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.” A country without such larger-than-life legends is a land without a soul. It says something sad about America that Hollywood doesn’t make many westerns nowadays. It says something hopeful that so many of us still love the ones we already have." . . .

Does Joe Biden Want to Be Doing This?

ENMNEWS.COM  . . . "Mr. Biden’s campaign has been jackhammering home the premise that he is best suited to winning a general election against an incumbent who must not be re-elected.

“He doesn’t think you need a revolution here,” said Anita Dunn, a Democratic media strategist working for the Biden campaign. His enterprise is built more on a strategic bet: that given the possibility of another four years of Mr. Trump, Democrats will gravitate to the familiar and reach for this stitched-up old teddy bear of a candidate.

“There is a situation where the electability argument within the context of this primary becomes self-perpetuating,” said Dan Pfeiffer, a Democratic strategist who served as a top campaign and White House aide to Barack Obama. “Everyone thinks Biden’s the most electable, therefore voters tell pollsters that he is more electable — and therefore more people think that, and it sort of all goes around the circle.”

"Clearly, other candidates have far more identifiable “whys” attached to their enterprises. Supporters of Ms. Warren would readily point to her fight against a corrupt political system rigged in favor of moneyed interests. Supporters of Mr. Sanders have been hearing his protest against the scourge of economic inequality in America for decades. Supporters of Pete Buttigieg, the 37-year old mayor of South Bend, Ind., would extol him — as he does himself — as a force for the generational change that Washington begs for.

"Those are the rallying cries with which Mr. Biden’s “play it safe” selling point is competing. And as strong as that point might be, his superpower of perceived electability coexists with a lingering question about why, exactly, he has decided to jump back into this delirium pen.

"Asked another way: Would he be doing this if a more conventional Republican (a Mitt Romney or Jeb Bush) were in the White House?

“ 'Um, I’m not sure, to be quite honest with you,” Mr. Biden said. “I hadn’t planned on running again.' ” . . .

Here’s What People Who USED To Be TRANSGENDER Are TELLING The Supreme Court

Socio-Political Journal  "The Supreme Court will hear a pivotal case in October on sex, gender identity, and discrimination: R.G. and G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. 
As both sides build their cases, numerous influential organizations and individuals have filed amicus (friend of the court) briefs to aid the members of the Supreme Court in their understanding on this topic.
One brief in particular stands out. It’s so powerful, it should not only persuade the Supreme Court but influence people on both sides of the transgender debate, particularly the mainstream media.

Shupe and wife.

There Is No Such Thing as Gender Fluidity

"The brief examines the personal testimonies of the following people, all of whom identified as transgender at one point, then reverted to affirming their sex: Walt Heyer, Jamie Shupe, Linda Seiler, Hacsi Horvath, Clifton Francis Burleigh Jr., Laura Perry, Jeffrey Johnston, Jeffrey McCall, and Kathy Grace Duncan. While regular Federalist readers may be familiar with regular contributor Heyer, the other names may be unfamiliar. Yet their stories are just as powerful.

"For starters, each of these people now believes, due to counseling, therapy, and personal experiences, that there is no such thing as gender fluidity or transgender. They now believe it is a fantasy many people try to make real.

"Take Shupe, American’s first person to secure legal recognition of a nonbinary, transgender identity. He is a former hero of the left. His transgenderism “became the driver for over a dozen states to adopt an X marker in addition to male and female on driver licenses.” He first identified as a “transgender woman,” then as nonbinary.

"The brief reads, “Publicly acknowledging that he is male and that his sex changes were a legal fiction has led to Mr. Shupe being shamed by the LGBTQ community for his beliefs that sex is binary and that those who struggle with gender identity issues need therapy and compassion, not to identify as a third gender.”

"Laura Perry is a former female to male transgender person who underwent hormone treatment and a double mastectomy. “Ms. Perry enjoyed the transition process at first, and she entered into a relationship with another transgender individual,” says the brief. “They attended LGBT events together but stopped when the members of the community developed hatred for her partner who was conservative." . . . 

CNN on climate change; California schools will probably make it required viewing

Perhaps CNN could hold a town hall meeting to discuss whether Trump or global warming is the bigger existential threat to the planet. Bandy Lee and Joy Behar could lead the discussion.  Brian C. Joondeph

The Upcoming Democrat Climate Change Extravaganza that No One Will Watch

"Fair warning, industrious reader: You may want to request off from work now.  CNN has carved out nearly eight full hours for a climate change town hall featuring a smattering of the gajillion still declared Democratic presidential candidates.

"Scheduled for September 4, the event will run from 5 P.M. to midnight, when, presumably, viewers who tuned in for the entire spectacle will immediately commit felo de se.  That makes Senator Cory Booker's face the last many doleful viewers will see before the fatal act.  How fitting.  

"The event is called a "town hall," but it's not clear what town it refers to other than every habitable part of the planet.  It's also, by definition, supposed to take place in a "hall," despite the venue likely being a televised proscenium-lighted up with enough pin spots to illuminate a hamlet year-round.

"Let's see who the participants are.  The Latino former Cabinet official who can'tspeak Spanish; the "math" guy who can only talk in industry-manual argot about automation; Senator Kamala Harris, whose poll numbers have slid precipitously downward since everyone found out she's a trimmer with no beliefs; the Irishmanwho sees racism everywhere despite affecting his own Hispanic heritage; that lady who regularly clouts her own staff; Joe Biden, who probably thinks the climate crisis was licked when he and Martin Luther King, Jr. and Martin Van Buren marched arm in arm against the Blood Tubs.

"The Marxist twins — Grandpa Menshevik and schoolmarmish Warren — will also be on hand to remind us that for every Celsius degree the planet warms, a thousand rentiers must be euthanized.

"That CNN is even hosting what is essentially a Democrat rally focused entirely on the Earth's changing clime is thanks to Washington governor Jay Inslee, whose entire presidential campaign was dedicated to raising awareness of what, we're told, is an existential threat to all human life.  Governor Inslee, for all his effort, can now celebrate the CNN spotlight by watching from his La-Z-Boy in his living room.  Maybe Al Gore has some extra space on his sofa for Inslee to park his behind at Gore's electricity-guzzling mansion." . . .

CNN falsely pushes claims that ‘climate crisis is making hurricanes more dangerous’
"CNN’s fall from a purveyor of news to pure propaganda organ of the Left was vividly displayed yesterday. " . . .

Colts backup QB search just latest reminder Colin Kaepernick not welcome in the NFL

NY Post  "Here are some of the quarterbacks with whom the Colts, now in search of a backup quarterback to Jacoby Brissett, have visited in the week since Andrew Luck shocked the football world by retiring:

• Brock Osweiler, such a crackerjack at the position that he once got released by the Browns after they’d traded for him because they liked DeShone Kizer better than they liked him.
• Matt Cassel, who is 37, who had his best year 11 years ago with the Patriots when Tom Brady got hurt, and whose last start was with the Titans two years.
• Brandon Weeden, on the verge of turning 36, no throws in the NFL in four years, sparkling lifetime record of 6-19 as a starter. You know who’s better than him? Everyone.

"But the Colts aren’t even interested in talking, at least so far, to Colin Kaepernick, who the last time he played for the 49ers threw 16 touchdown passes against four interceptions. Kaepernick is 31 years old and hasn’t played professional football in three years because he’s being blackballed by a professional sports league for political beliefs. That’s it, and that’s all. He’s been blackballed since he began taking a knee during the playing of the national anthem during the 2016 season as his way of protesting racial injustice." . . .

And, of course, the stalking of police officers who have been victims of assaults by many whom Kaepernick and flag-stomping soccer player Rapinoe ostentatiously honor.
Kaepernick has inspired others to follow in his footsteps who were honored to be chosen as the Democrat US Secretary of State to replace Mike Pompeo.
Who would she represent the interests of, the US or the Chinese? Here she is at right in one of her frequent "look-at-me" moments. TD

Woman Arrested for Burning American Flag on I-66 Overpass: Police.  I checked and it was not Inslee's Secretary of State. 

"Kayla Caniff, 22, was charged with property destruction after police say she burned a flag attached to a chain link fence on the N. Stafford Street overpass, north of the Ballston area, at about 11:55 p.m. Thursday. An officer saw the flag burning."The next day, the county fire department placed 16 flags on I-66 overpasses to honor 9/11 victims. They unfurled a giant American flag at their Fire Training Academy." . . .

BDS compromises Christian theology

. . . The Guardian published a report on the BDS movement that suggests the Palestinian cause has suffered because the movement shifts the resolution of the conflict from a two-state solution based on negotiation to older and deeper questions like the legitimacy of Zionism, that is, the very existence of Israel.

The Guardian photo

Hesham Shehab  "Some American churches and Christian organizations are unwittingly supporting the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, even though it infringes on the Christian precedent of separation of Church and State.

"The BDS movement aims to discourage foreign investment and corporate involvement in Israel, isolate the Jewish state diplomatically, and undermine Israel’s legitimacy in the international arena. 

"In 2004, the Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA) voted to divest from companies doing business with Israel.

"The PCUSA were soon joined by other Protestant faith traditions. In 2016, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), convened and overwhelmingly approved two resolutions; calling on the U.S. government to “end all financial and military aid to Israel.”

"In addition, studies confirm that “the anti-­Zionist BDS campaign has encouraged anti-Semitism and intimidation of Jewish students on campuses in America and Europe…”

"On the other hand, according to theologians like Martin Luther, we are all citizens of two kingdoms. One is the kingdom of this world. Christian citizenship will advance the cause of movements that strengthen the guarantees of order and law while maintaining the separation of church and state.

"Commenting on the BDS movement, the Reverend Nabil Nour, Vice President of the LCMS, said:  . . ."