On “A modest pay”
Robert Gibbs shouldn’t even get minimum wage!
This statement of “modest pay” by Obama ranks right up there with the statement of George W. Bush made years ago at an event attended by the elites, in which he said, “Thank you all very much. This is an impressive crowd— the haves and the have-mores. Some people call you the elite. I call you my base.”
If there is any doubt at this period of time about who Obama is aligned with, this “modest pay” statement should be a big clue.
Thanks Mr. Walsh!
Edward E
7 January 2011
***
Dear David,
Exposing the contradictions of these people’s statements is invaluable. I have seen how an audience becomes receptive as I start showing these things.
By the way, nice new forum for 2011 conferences!
Best,
Thushara
6 January 2011
On “The media and the man with the ‘golden voice’”
And what if Mr. Williams didn’t happen to have a “golden voice”? Why he’d still be homeless and unknown, of course. And—according to the implications of our current economic system—this would be completely just and morally correct. After all, human beings only have rights if they can help the wealthy become wealthier, right?
Greg S
New Hampshire, USA
8 January 2011
On “‘Land of Hope and bloody Glory, eh?’: Pete Postlethwaite (1946-2011) ”
Thank you for this very comprehensive and detailed obituary of a very beloved actor. I’m really pleased to read for the first time out of all the other obituaries I’ve read that somebody has finally mentioned Pete’s important role as the tormented father in Distant Voices/Still Lives. Although a brutal authoritarian figure, Terence Davies did not depict him as a 100 percent Hollywood monster but someone who could show tenderness despite being trapped in a socio-economic world where potentials could not be positively realized for those trapped within the British class system. Pete played many other roles but this one will remain firmly embedded in my mind as one of his many sincere efforts as a great actor. He will be sadly missed.
Tony W
8 January 2011
On “Blake Edwards, director of classic Hollywood comedies, dies at 88”
Hiram Lee deserves the thanks of all your readers for this excellent and positive assessment of the career of one of the greatest modern Hollywood directors, Blake Edwards, a major talent from the mid-1950s to the late 1980s. A number of important movies still tend to be underrated: The Great Race, Darling Lili, 10, and Sunset.
Of particular importance in the article is the reference to The Party (suggested alternative title: Inspector Clouseau Goes to Hollywood) which, as Hiram Lee points out, contains frontal attacks on racism and sexism. In this context it is interesting to note that in the seemingly completely forgotten The Carey Treatment (1972) the doctor hero (played by James Coburn, a political progressisve like Edwards himself) denounces a policeman for arrogant and brutal behaviour, stating that his uniform does not give him such rights. It is the sort of scene that seems to belong to another and now distant period of Hollywood film-making. Primarily a director of comedies, Edwards was ultimately close in spirit and concerns to the work of his exact contemporary Arthur Penn.
Sincerely,
Reynold H
Paris, France
10 January 2011
On “US national security insider found dead in trash dump”
It begins ... federal judge killed, congresswoman with bullet in head (likely some tea party nut, but no matter), and this ...
No matter how crazy the wing-nut who carries out these acts, these violent eruptions are not without of deep cause, no matter how misdirected and confused the offender and vector, symptoms of the underlying pathology of a very sick society ... seething anger ...
This scenario with this guy, though—whoever whacked the wonk—this could’ve been different, an insider job.
Rob M
9 January 2011