Douglas Ernst Blog

Kal Penn: Hypocrisy of Kumar Makes NPH and Joel Stein Cry.

July 4, 2010December 25, 2014by Douglas Ernst4 Comments

A microcosm of what political correctness breeds can be found in the Kal Penn vs. Joel Stein “My Own Private India” spat. There’s nothing more entertaining than watching moral pedestal clowns cannibalize each other. When talking heads who think they’re cool because everything they say is drenched in VH1 Best Week Ever sarcasm start going at it, just sit back and enjoy.

What was it, exactly, that irked Kumar (and one-time Obama staffer)? Behold:

My town is totally unfamiliar to me. The Pizza Hut where my busboy friends stole pies for our drunken parties is now an Indian sweets shop with a completely inappropriate roof. The A&P I shoplifted from is now an Indian grocery…

Eventually, there were enough Indians in Edison to change the culture. At which point my townsfolk started calling the new Edisonians “dot heads.” One kid I knew in high school drove down an Indian-dense street yelling for its residents to “go home to India.” In retrospect, I question just how good our schools were if “dot heads” was the best racist insult we could come up with for a group of people whose gods have multiple arms and an elephant nose.

The reason why this article is so great is because it completely demolishes Kal Penn’s creative template that the “Middle America” racist, homophobic, Bible thumping “freak shows” portrayed in his Harold and Kumar flicks are all conservatives. (Kevin Smith apparently hasn’t caught on yet).

It also shows what a hypocritical whiner Penn is:

Gags about impossibly spicy food? I’d never heard those before! Multiple Gods with multiple arms? Multiple laughs! Recounting racial slurs like “dot-head”? Oh, Mr. Stein, is too good! I don’t know how he comes up with such unique bits.

I get it, Kal Penn: It’s okay for you to roll out every tired Christian, redneck, conservative joke that self-righteous Hollywood actors have been using as a crutch for decades, but someone makes the same stale jokes about your culture and Hinduism and suddenly you’re up in arms. How many millions did the “Freakshow” scene (i.e., the character you used as a vehicle to mock Christians) in Harold and Kumar net you? When you break it down, dumb joke by dumb joke at the expense of Middle America, how much did your own myopic writing fatten your wallet?

Immigration is a complex issue, and moral relativists and multi-culturalists who demonize anyone who disagrees with them only set the stage for these sorts of scenarios to happen. Joel Stein wrote a pretty sad article for Time magazine, but it’s understandable for someone to have mixed feelings about his hometown getting a cultural makeover over such a relatively short period of time.

Multi-culturalism can very well lead to large swathes of the United States being Balkanized. It means nothing if immigrants dress like Americans and listen to American music if they don’t believe in the founding principles enshrined in the Constitution. Joel Stein might think the Statue of Liberty would shed a tear “because of the amount of cologne [Indian immigrants] wear,” but I think a better litmus test would be their knowledge and appreciation of our nation’s founding.

Regardless, back to the point: Kal Penn can dish it out, but he can’t take it. Apparently, the Political Correctness Police are only allowed to act when it offends Kumar. And that makes Neil Patrick Harris cry.

NPH and a few angels are crying because Kal Penn has to run to Mommy Huffington Post when the cultural jokes are shot in his direction.

Kevin Smith’s Red State Moves Forward. Career Continues Downward Spiral.

July 4, 2010December 25, 2010by Douglas ErnstLeave a comment

It turns out that Kevin Smith, director and threat to national security, is moving forward with the long talked about project Red State:

Plot via IMDB: A horror film in which a group of misfits encounter fundamentalism gone to the extreme in Middle America.

Or, as Smith notes of his pet project to paint half the American electorate as Westboro Baptist Church fan club members:

“It’s so f***ing vicious and nasty and mean and stark, and it’s not funny … It’s this weird f***ing dark little Seventies horror movie…that nobody wants to make.”

Note to Kevin: Maybe the reason “nobody want[ed] to make” your film was because conservatives like horror movies just as much as the next guy, and it’s tough to promote a product that says to half the nation: “Watch my movie; it’s one big metaphor showcasing my belief that you’re a monster!”

Or, perhaps, no one was really psyched about making Kevin’s movie

ksmithred — Kevin Smith: Watch my movie because it portrays you as a monster. Is that blood splatter representative of my upcoming movie, or my hemorrhaging career?

because…he’s simply not a very good director. Fact: Kevin Smith is a witty guy who’s quick on his feet, an astute observer of the pop culture landscape, and a capable writer who can turn out gems from time to time—provided he doesn’t stray too far outside his comfort zone. If you remember Cop Out (I think it lasted a few weeks in the theaters and couldn’t even break 50 million domestically, right?), his name was nowhere near the promotional material. When you factor in Kevin’s loyal following is usually worth at least $15 million, and Bruce Willis’ awesomeness should generate another $25 million (minimum), the honest analyst will tell you Cop Out was a stink bomb (bonus points if you got the Mallrats reference).

If Kevin wants to use his talent to cast aspersions on conservatism and the states that are friendly to it, fine. But I find it a little ironic that the liberal guy who actually has what many would call a cult following is now doing a film about extremist cults in the heart of Middle America. Go on any website overrun with Kevin Smith’s fans, offer up some constructive criticism, and watch their heads spin. Even Kevin has shown that he’s so uber sensitive to online critics that he’s willing to write his frustrations into his flicks in the form of teenager and clergy beat-downs… Again, I wouldn’t mind, but this is the same guy who hosts regular pod casts, spouting off his non-expert opinions and ruminations to anyone who will listen.

Note: Liberals are just as prone to the “do as I say, not as I do,” hypocrisy as anyone else. They just don’t want you to know it, because then their racist, redneck, homophobic red herring house of cards will come crumbling down.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go watch Bruce Willis do his thing in a Gorillaz video.

Update: The teaser trailer for Red State is out. For some reason there doesn’t seem to be anyone who practices Sharia Law in it. Perhaps that’s because it would have required courage on Smith’s part…

Wonder Woman’s Duds Aren’t the Problem: “World Community Woman” Is.

July 3, 2010July 3, 2010by Douglas ErnstLeave a comment

If you’ve read this blog before you know I’m a comic nerd. And you know that I’m a fan of exposing the industry’s liberal bent, usually as it pertains to Marvel Comics. I’m also inclined to point out why certain characters embody the best of America, despite liberal writers’ uncanny ( X-Men-ish?) ability to ignore such traits.

So, although I’m not a “DC” type of guy, I feel as though the Wonder Woman costume hubbub needs to be addressed:

“The American-ness of her costume really dates from World War II, and it feels like it’s part of her roots, even if she is supposed to have come from an island full of Amazons,” Anders told FOX411.com. “I think making her look more ‘globalized’ isn’t necessarily a bad idea, but you have to be careful not to sacrifice what makes her distinctive and thrilling in the process,”…

“This new sleek and fashionable Wonder Woman will translate well to a film franchise centered on a female action hero. That wouldn’t have worked as well with the bright and flashy red, white and blue costume, and it definitely wouldn’t have played in the very lucrative international markets,” said the artist, who wished not to be named because of ties to DC. “

I think the question that needs to be asked is this: As comic books become more popular and are distributed around the globe, how will editorial decisions be affected by concerns of “international” readers?

I’ve talked about this before, but how many Captain America comics are in

lassojihad — Lasso of Truth around a jihadi nut? Naaaah. But Lynda Carter wants one around Bush. What a surprise.

existence of Black Ops in Afghanistan? During World War II Cap was punching Hitler’s lights out. Today? He’s scared of the Tea Party movement. Part of this has to do with the industry’s artists and writers liberal dominance, but over the past few years I think many editorial missteps are due to a desire not to offend the sensibilities of a more “globalized” readership.

One would think that in the wake of the September 11th attacks that Captain America could find some jihadi heads to crack overseas, possibly saving some American servicemen or innocent civilians in the process…but I guess not.

In the case of Wonder Woman’s new duds, I’m willing to cut DC some slack simply because Jim Lee was involved. Wonder Woman’s potential, for whatever reason, has never been realized, and a costume shake-up now and again is an easy way to generate interest (at least in the short term). Spider-Man sometimes dons his black costume—which happens to be very cool—but he always goes back to the classic red and blue. I’m more interested in the quality of the stories than Wonder Woman’s outward appearance…but then again, I am a writer. When the Justice League of America starts wondering if they should get the United Nations’ approval before acting to stop pure evil that threatens the world I’ll be concerned. Oh, wait, that sort of thing already happened…

Finally, the thing that’s most misleading about the Wonder Woman costume story isn’t in the analysis of the character or her history, but the lack of context for Lynda Carter’s attitude toward the controversy in the first place:

Lynda Carter, the actress who portrayed Wonder Woman on TV in the 1970s, declined to answer Fox 411.com’s question about the removal of the American flag from the Wonder Woman costume. In a previous interview, Carter said she thinks Wonder Woman would want all the upset fans to just “get over it.”

“She’s got an attitude, and if this is the new thing she wants to wear, well by God she’s going to wear it,” Carter said. “And I like that. And I hope somewhere in the story someone mentions, where’s the old one? And she says, ‘Get over it.’”

What isn’t noted is that Lynda Carter is a liberal.

Lynda Carter says she’s never used the Wonder Woman Lasso of Truth on her two children, now teens. “I don’t think it would work on them.” But, referring to President Bush, the talkative actress adds, “I’ve often thought how nice it would be during this administration if it worked,” (Heller, Billy. Kicking Heroine: 70’s Star Turns to Cabaret. New York Post.)

We all know how liberals feel about proudly displaying the flag. The ignoramuses (myself included) unabashedly displaying the Stars and Stripes on any old day of the week are a hinderance to the “international community” the Beltway intelligencia believes we should defer to as we chart out our nation’s future. (Because, who doesn’t want dysfunctional nation states essentially run by warlords on equal footing with the United States?)

Of course Lynda Carter doesn’t care about the muted-flag aspect of Wonder Woman’s new costume. Just as there are a lot of liberals who wish Captain America would simply don a smurf blue helmet and call himself Captain Appeasement, there are a lot of liberals who wish Wonder Woman was Moral Relativist Woman, substituting the Lasso of Truth for the Lasso of Whatever.

In the end, I predict the new costume will disappear. Liberal stories, however, aren’t going anywhere…unless more people take notice.

PS: Great PR move, DC, at having this story hit right before the Fourth of July weekend.

wonderwoman — Lynda wishes you would "get over it" when it comes to symbols of American strength and character. I couldn't get hold of her because she was counting the royalty checks her old (flag inspired) costume made possible.

Maniac Mansion: Barack Obama Edition

June 28, 2010July 4, 2010by Douglas ErnstLeave a comment

Growing up in the 80’s, Maniac Mansion was one of my favorite games.

Unlike most other titles out at the time, it didn’t have a predetermined outcome. You hand picked your team from a number of different characters, each with their own unique skill set. Players had to be strategic about who they chose on their team, because the outcome of the game altered depending on who came along for the mission.

The storyline went as follows:

A meteor falls to the earth behind the mansion of “Dr. Fred.”
Weird things happen in town.
A group of friends decide to investigate when their friend goes missing.

What does all of this have to do with Barack Obama? Lately, he reminds me of Dr. Fred. Many Americans (particularly independent voters) don’t know what the heck is going on inside the White House, but they know that peculiar things are happening to the country. Like Dr. Fred, some people think the President is evil, some people think he’s a genius, some wonder if his behavior is connected to weird meteors that fall from the sky (okay, well, maybe not that one), and others think there’s nothing wrong at all. The rest have no clue what’s going on…but they’re determined to get to the bottom of it.

While you’ll never hear me call the President evil (read Natan Sharansky’s The Case for Democracy if you want to know why), I do think his policies are downright scary and destructive. Liberals treat the United States as their own special science experiment by throwing billions of taxpayer dollars into social engineering schemes thought up by the “equal outcome trumps equal opportunity” crowd.

no9 — Politicians who try to play God usually just do a great job of making life Hell for the rest of us.

Like the run-of-the-mill mad scientist that isn’t much interested in anyone’s opinion but his own, Barack Obama spent years holed up with like-minded liberal academics. The occasional input by hunchbacked, hobbling assistants generally only echos long held beliefs; they rarely offer dissent. And, while it would be nice to believe that Barack Obama was the kind of guy who could create No.9, I’m more inclined to believe his policies will create the kind of post apocalyptic world the characters of the movie 9 inhabit.

“We had such potential,such promise…but we squandered our gifts,” (Allan Oppenheimer as “The Scientist”).

The next time you get the urge to vote for someone who’s narcissistic enough to think they can plan a 12 trillion dollar economy, dust off your favorite old NES games when the polls open and hope you don’t solve them until after they close.

mmtent — I don't think Barack Obama is being controlled by evil tentacle space aliens, but he's making a strong case for game developers to pursue Maniac Mansion: Hopeandchange Edition

Garafalo: I’m like Churchill…If He Was a Whiner and a Quitter.

June 27, 2010June 27, 2010by Douglas Ernst2 Comments

Janeane Garofalo refuses to go away. It really doesn’t matter how many times she’s given the Magnum PI treatment, because liberal media outlets will keep anyone with a modicum of “celebrity” status on career life support if they’re willing to spew partisan spittle on cue:

AVC Interviewer: Do you feel like you’ve become better known for the non-funny things you say about politics than for your comedy?

Garafalo: I don’t know. I don’t know how well known, really, I am at all at this point. And I’m not saying that as a “poor me” thing. I’m just saying, you know, I have no web presence, and I don’t know that there’s many people who really do know me that much anymore…

Janeane is partially right. Most people today don’t really know

church — Janeane Garafalo feels as though she's a "statesmen." She's kind of like Winston Churchill...if he was a perpetual whiner and a quitter.

her for any sort of cinematic or comedic flashes of brilliance, but for her Pavlovian partisan yip yaps at the behest of producers and editors hoping to snag the lowest common denominator of liberal true believers. Case in point:

AVC Interviewer: …I suppose the presence of minorities in [Tea Party] videos and such is their way of showing that they aren’t racist.

Garofalo: And I would say those people suffer from Stockholm syndrome.

In Garafalo’s mind, people who disagree with her don’t do so because they have legitimate public policy alternatives that might be more beneficial to the country’s long term economic health—they have Stockholm Syndrome! And in Garafalo’s mind, if it gets under your skin listening to someone with no discernible qualifications to offer public policy pronouncements (other than a bottomless quiver of flimsy intellectual arrows), it’s because you’re a misogynist:

Garofalo: The teabagger thing and the right-wing thing—they pick easy targets, and a female in the entertainment industry is low-hanging fruit. It’s very easy to mock and marginalize people in general who are in the entertainment industry, for some reason. But then definitely there’s the double standard and the misogyny that goes through it as well. They’ve got no problem with Will Ferrell or Alec Baldwin or Viggo Mortensen, but they tend to take issue when a female says something.

Actually, Janeane, I’ve mentioned the Funny or Die Liberalism of Will Ferrell before, but he gets less attention because he’s not on Keith Olbermann’s rolodex of reliable liberal guest appearances. And perhaps that’s because, unlike you, he still has the ability to make people laugh:

AVC Interviewer: How do you deal with situations like what happened at last year’s Latitude Festival while staying sober? [After a poor reception from the audience, Garofalo left the stage 10 minutes into her set. —ed.]

Garafolo: It’s terrible! It’s honestly mortifying. It’s just personal failure. I’ve no one but myself to blame. There is no way around that. I failed, and it wouldn’t have helped to be drinking. Or maybe it actually would have, if I drank beforehand. I might have been like, “Oh, I can do this.” I might have had false confidence…And I am very sorry about it, and I wish that did not happen. I wish that I had had the confidence to do it, and been more mature, and powered through my sense of dread.

I find it interesting that the same person who bailed ten minutes into her failing gig also applied that same mindset to the Iraq War not too long ago…and yet, she’s still perfectly at ease referring to herself as a “statesman”:

AVC Interviewer: There’ s a whole younger generation now that’s been raised on and inspired by your comedy. Do you get that sense that you’ve become an elder statesman? Do you recognize your own impact?

Garafalo: I definitely get the sense that I’m an elder statesman, but I don’t know if there’s an impact—and I’m not saying that in a naïve way. I don’t know. I think anybody who’s been doing it for 25 years is going to be considered an elder statesman. But I don’t know if I’ve impacted anyone.

The last time I checked, most people who are elevated to the level of a “statesman” are also recognized as having some sort of influence over how events unfolded during their tenure. One might say that in this instance Janeane was simply being humble, but I think deep down she knows that she’s a contributor to chattering class white noise and little else. She wants to be considered a statesman of…something…in some field, but the same person who burst on the scene with Ben Stiller has more in common in terms of career-trajectory with liberal guys like Andy Dick. And what do liberal artists turn to when their career heads south? Political pot shots at conservatives. There’s always an opportunity to make waves as long as the ladies of The View and liberal media outlets exist. They’ll give anyone a shot at resuscitating their career if they’ll liken conservatives to dim-witted, racist, homophobic, bigoted boobs. The problems liberals are facing now are little things like the internet, talk radio, social media platforms, and emerging technologies that allow the rest of us to point out how bitter, sad, angry and (most importantly) wrong people like Janeane are.

Janeane Garafalo: a “statesman” in the vein of Winston Churchill…if Winston Churchill was a whiner and a quitter.

Winston Churchill: “We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.”

Garafalo: “…Teabaggers.”

You rock, Janeane!

Pakistan Calls for Mark Zuckerberg’s Head. De-Friendings Expected.

June 20, 2010June 20, 2010by Douglas Ernst1 Comment

Apparently, Pakistan is intent on winning the “Allies” Who Want to Kill You Award. They’re backing up their “holy war against websites” threats by calling for the head of Mark Zuckerberg:

“Muhammad Azhar Siddique filed an application for a First Information Report (FIR), claiming that the owners of Facebook had committed a heinous and serious crime under Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code. In essence, an FIR launches a criminal investigation. But no charges have been filed.

According to the paper, Section 295-C of the penal code reads: ‘Use of derogatory remark etc, in respect of the Holy Prophet, whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by visible representation, or by any imputation, innuendo, or insinuation, directly or indirectly, defiles the sacred name of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) shall be punished with death, or imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable for fine.’

…The site also says that the Deputy Attorney General told the High Court that Pakistan’s United Nations representative has asked to escalate the issue in the UN General Assembly. (emphasis added)

Remember: this is a country that is an “essential” ally in our fight against

Facebook Ads — Mark Zuckerberg: I'd continue my presentation, but these angry Pakistani guys keep trying to kill me. Can you guys issue a fatwa for someone else's head so I can finish?

worldwide terrorism (or “man-made disasters” if you work in the State Department). However, it might be worth looking into a Plan B when a key ally seems to draft their penal code after the voiceover material provided by jihadi head-chopper snuff videos. One might conclude that Pakistan’s ruling body isn’t so much against the worldview the permeates terrorist training camps in its ungovernable tribal regions as much as it’s against not controlling when and how insane Islamic radical edicts are doled out.

I’ve written about the Dawn of the Dead nature of a citizenry that goes ballistic over “any imputation, innuendo, or insinuation,” but I can’t help but revisit the topic on a regular basis because a.) Pakistan keeps proving a certified jihad-crazy club card is hidden in its back pocket, and b.) The average American doesn’t know how many billions of dollars we’ve supplied our “allies”. Allies who only deliver big fish terrorist bottom feeders when their back is against the wall.

It says quite a bit about any culture, country, religion, or political party that would execute people over an insinuation. The next time your liberal friend tells you that all cultures are the same and need to be embraced, ask them to touch down in Pakistan and break out a collection of South Park videos. If they make it out alive after the feeding frenzy for infidel flesh, ask them if they still feel the same way. My guess is…they won’t.

Obama’s Michael Jackson Problem Highlighted at White Sox Game.

June 19, 2010June 19, 2010by Douglas Ernst2 Comments

I don’t want to go too hard on President Obama for not taking part in the wave at a White Sox game today. Being the

President is a stressful job. Take a look at a picture of almost any president on Inauguration Day and at the end of their time in office and it looks like they’ve went on a Crusade with Indiana Jones and didn’t choose wisely…

However, I will say this: the picture of him at the game, detached from the crowd, eerily plays into a meme that has been around about for a long time (it just took awhile for independents and Peggy Noonan to realize it). Personally, I’m not a huge fan of “the wave,” and I can understand how doing so would also subject him to some goofy picture juxtaposed against an oil-drenched animal corpse…but one can’t

zommjbo — Looks are deceiving. Just ask the poor girl who went out on a date with Michael Jackson in Thriller and found herself surrounded by dancing zombies. America's (short lived) love affair with Barack Obama is the same way.

escape the fact that the weirdness quotient is beginning to fill the void created by the disappearance of his popularity. Barack Obama is now an interesting mix of Milli Vanilli and Michael Jackson. I’ve covered the Milli Vanilli angle before, but I think the Jackson analogy needs to be explored a bit more:

First of all, everyone loved Michael Jackson at the height of his popularity. Everyone. And if you don’t think Thriller is a classic album you have problems. Like Barack Obama, people of all ages, races, and religions went gaga over his skills (until it turned into a bad romance). However, deep down I think everyone knew early on that Michael had some serious issues connecting with everyday people. President Obama has a very similar dynamic. A quick Google search will turn up countless articles on the subject, whether it’s conservative ire over the “bitter clingers” debacle, liberal filmmaker Spike Lee’s frustration at the robotic handling of the Gulf oil spill, The White House’s handling of the health care debate, the lack of a timely response to the attempted terrorist attack over Christmas, and so on and so forth.

Right now conservatives think he’s a Smooth Criminal. Liberals want to Scream over his handling of any number of public policy issues. The people of Louisiana and Florida are saying They Don’t Care About Us. And independent voters can’t quite put their finger on it, but they sense something’s amiss—just as the rest of us did when Michael Jackson started casting Macaulay Culkin in his music videos.

Barack Obama: it’s time to look at the Man In the Mirror, because right now you’re treating the United States as if it was Michael Jackon’s Never Never Land Ranch. And we all know how, financially, that turned out…

billiejean — MIchael Jackson said it right in Billie Jean: "Be careful what you do, because the lie becomes the truth." Sage advice for American voters and the President.

Peggy Noonan Missed War for Western Civilization Start Date.

June 19, 2010June 19, 2010by Douglas Ernst3 Comments

Peggy Noonan was wrong when she joined a number of elitist conservatives in the I-might-vote-Obama-because-of-his-first-class temperament voting block.

Chris Matthews: I don’t know who you’re going to vote for, by the way. I’m absolutely convinced I don’t know who you’re going to vote for. I can’t tell.

Peggy Noonan: I’m thinking it through…it has been a long and winding year.

She’s also wrong in her analysis regarding the “relative peace” of Bill Clinton’s time in office:

Mr. Carter’s opposite was Bill Clinton, on whom fortune smiled with eight years of relative peace and a worldwide economic boom. What misfortune Mr. Clinton experienced he mostly created himself. History didn’t impose it.

There wasn’t a “relative peace.” It was all an illusion. Someone can correct me if I’m wrong, but a truck laden with explosives was used in an attempt to bring down the World Trade Center in 1993. One of the opening salvos in the War for Western Civilization occurred on February 26, 1993 and the President of the United States

noonan — The same person lulled by "hopeandchange" (one word) also thinks there was "relative peace" in the 90's. Wrong. The War for Western Civilization began. You just didn't realize it.

treated it as a simple law enforcement matter. History called on President Bill Clinton to address the growing threat of Islamic terrorism as it began morphing into a whole new monster in the void created by the collapse of the Soviet Union, and he forwarded that call to a future administration.

I highly suggest people look into the 1998 US embassy bombings in Tanzania, or perhaps the USS Cole bombing in Yemen as well. The fact of the matter is this: The size, scope, and complexity of terrorist organizations and their operations grew throughout the 1990’s. It culminated in the horrific images we saw on 9/11, with people hurling themselves out the windows of the World Trade Center towers. The choice that day: free fall for a few harrowing seconds to your death, or burn alive in an inferno of jet fuel and twisted metal.

War was declared on Western Civilization years ago. Our political leaders just decided to ignore it. The federal government’s primary job is to protect its people. When a threat exists worthy of preparing for war footing, it is our elected officials job to educate the citizenry of the nature of the threat, and to mobilize the country for the task at hand. Do I blame President Clinton for 9/11? Of course not. But I refuse to accept the premise that “relative peace” existed in the 90’s because…it did not.

History will judge George Bush much more kindly than the know-it-all academics, cultural elites, and talking heads on cable news because he realized the threat Islamic terrorism posed—not just to the nation—but to the pillars of Western Civilization. As a nation, liberalism allows societies to slowly sink into a morass of moral relativism and a quick sand pit of multi-culturalism. By the time the danger of those who seek to undermine freedom of speech, individual liberties, and the rule of law makes itself clear…it’s often too late. Ask most of Europe. Or read Mark Steyn’s book, America Alone.

Peggy Noonan is a gifted writer, but she has proven she is susceptible to the foibles of Elitist Conservative circles. There’s a small part of me that thinks errors of “relative peace” are not errors at all because the cultural elite—those who attend cocktail parties with a mix of environmentalists eating foi gras and “conservatives” who distain the “small people” when the cameras aren’t rolling— should have recognized emerging threats in the 1990’s…but didn’t. If they mention that our elected officials were asleep at the wheel (or partying it up inside The Beltway) during a decade of plotting, planning, and terrorist attacks by new enemies, it’s hard not to conclude our investigative journalists, newsmen, and “experts” were just as negligent.

Kim Jong Il Crazy for Robert Rodriguez: Fandango for Dictators on Fire.

June 16, 2010by Douglas Ernst1 Comment

One of the reasons why the United States Kicks Ass is because it’s habitually in the position of having to control its border to stop millions of people who want to enter the country, while

kjongdamon — Kim Jong Il is probably a huge fan of Matt Damon's national self flagellation flicks for self loathing liberal Americans.

countries like North Korea have troops at the border to stop people from leaving. The United States has actors and directors who go around the world bashing the freest country in the world, while North Korea hires actors to put a happy face on a regime that runs gulags like a successful fast food chain restaurant.

That’s why I find it interesting that Robert Rodriguez and his liberal Hollywood friends spend more time stoking cultural fires within their own country instead of pointing to the dysfunctional dictators who really pose a threat to the freedom, liberty, and civilized societies throughout the world.

Likewise, it’s very telling that satirists and comedians around the world feel perfectly at ease mocking Christians when they’re desperate for an easy laugh, and yet they now openly acknowledge that “speaking truth to power” doesn’t include mocking Islamic terrorists because…that might actually require some inner fortitude. Today’s liberal “thinkers” (or wannabe “thinkers”) talk tough to talk show hosts…but clam up when it comes to the guy who wants to chop your head off, brunoise the First Amendment, and serve it to his jihad buddies for dinner.

While I’ve already let it be known how I feel about Robert Rodriguez, I still can’t let the issue go. I want so badly to believe that I’m not living in The Twilight Zone, but every day I’m reminded how Hollywood shuns real life American stories of Audie Murphy-type heroism in favor of filmic self flagellation on a national scale.

Am I suggesting we pay filmmakers to make American versions of creepy North Korean propaganda pieces? Of course not. But, personally, I think America is a pretty cool place with quite a bit to be proud of. And I just wish that the Matt Damon-standing-up-against-corrupt-U.S.-government cinematic skid marks were exposed for the self-righteous Ashtonian idiocy they are.

When someone with Robert Rodriguez’s skills finally decides to highlight how great this nation is within the confines of an awesome action flick…they’re going to make a lot of money.

machetetrl — I wonder if Machete will ever work his way into North Korean gulags to kill the Commie caretakers of the closest thing to hell on earth. Oh...wait...Robert Rodriguez is too busy stoking cultural fires in the freest country the world has ever known. You rock, Robert!

Pakistan’s ISI Drinking Jihad Slurpees? You Be the Judge.

June 13, 2010June 13, 2010by Douglas ErnstLeave a comment

I thought I was going to go to bed early tonight, but right when I was going to turn in for the night I found out that another “ISI not-so-secretly smitten with the Taliban” story has popped up:

Insurgent commanders confirmed that the ISI are even represented, as participants or observers, on the Taliban supreme leadership council, known as the Quetta Shura, and the Haqqani command council.

Commanders also described how they received training and medical care in Pakistan. Some said border guards had turned a blind eye to fighters as they crossed back and forth.

Here’s all you really need to know about Pakistan: these are the same guys

zombiepak — Pakistan's ungovernable tribal region: teeming with jihad-friendly clowns that resemble Dawn of the Dead zombies when worked up into a frenzy over Facebook groups, infidel cartoons, and a little thing called...freedom of speech.

who just went bonkers over inconsequential Facebook groups, going so far as to call for holy war against websites… They can’t control their borders, which are teeming with jihadi nut cases that eerily remind me of Dawn of the Dead remake zombies when they get worked up into a frenzy (or if you listen to them talk about how they favor death more than life…), and yet they regularly complain about respecting their “sovereignty.” Newsflash: If you have zero control over ideological moon-bats with Ottoman Empire-at-any-cost machinations (e.g., blowing up women, children, and anyone else who gets in their way), then you have no sovereignty.

I almost feel bad for the Obama administration. They’re between a rock and a jihadi place. The United States needs Pakistan’s cooperation, and yet significant portions of the population—and by extension the government and its intelligence apparatus—drinks intellectual Slurpees laced with jihad juice on the way home from work. However, as I said before, liberals didn’t cut George Bush much slack for the bizarro world he had to deal with, so muted criticism is the best I muster for the current administration.

Before I fall asleep tonight I’m sure I’ll ruminate a bit on what the kids are thinking about all of this. Those same moral relativist MGMT fans I talked about in an earlier post must find themselves in a conundrum: How can you be non-judgemental about a culture that is openly hostile toward your socialistpeacelove circle of happiness? How do you “live fast and die young” when Pakistani madrassas are churning out jihadi warriors who want to kill you before you pump yourself up with hallucinogens? If alQaeda and Co. at least waited until after the kids dropped some quality acid, their heads would feel as though they were floating away painlessly instead of being chopped off Daniel Pearl dull-knife style (i.e., bringing the hurt).

Moral Relativism mixed with a multi-culturalism, a horrid education system that churns out Sean Penn ignorance, and the me-me-me “we are the ones we’ve been waiting for” mindset is going to kill Western Civilization if we don’t wake up—NOW.

While I have little in common with the Rubik’s Cube headed liberal kids of this generation…I’d still like them to have a head. Let’s try and reach them before it’s too late.