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Movies to to watch/think about on the 4th of July


Tim O'Connor

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Ok a referendum is when people use the ballot box and vote, a civil war is when people kill each other with guns. The US has never had a "referendum" on a state leaving the union.

 

See that's why I recommended 1776, it explains it VERY well in the movie. The Declaration of Independence originally condemned slavery but the ONLY way to get southern colonies who's economies depended on slavery to sign was to make a deal with the Devil and remove the clause the day it was to be ratified, the choice was simple remove the passage and give birth to the United States of America or leave the passage in and let the revolution die before it ever began. We chose to create our own nation and 86 years later fought the bloodiest war in US history to bring freedom to those who had been enslaved. Sometimes the greatest enterprises require moral compromise in order to achieve a greater goal, the trick is to know when this is absolutely necessary and set right these moral compromises as soon as it is possible which we have done with blood over and over again.

 

Then what is the explanation for Americans electing Bush to a SECOND term in office? I understand that he stole the first election and got fewer votes than Gore. But how do you explain his SECOND election victory????????

 

The entire planet wants to know.

 

R,

Beats the Hell outta me, I can only compare it to handing the village idiot a gun, having him shoot you, then as you lie bleeding on the ground, handing him a box of bullets. The only thing I can figure is people were REALLY pissed off after 9/11 and Bush, to further his own personal agenda, convinced the them through flat out lies that Saddam Hussein was part of it. That A**H*le had been a pain in the ass for so long what with the invasion of Kuwait and the Gulf war and the whole Middle East situation, the Iranian hostage crisis and the Olympic murders and the problems with Kadafi and the US Marine barracks bombing in Beirut and the U.S. Embassy bombing and the final and by far the worst 9/11 that no one wanted to ask the hard questions, we just wanted payback, complete retribution, like I said we do tend to DO something when we get pissed ofeven if it's not necessarily tthe RIGHT thing,anyway, a quarter of the people were completely convinced he was doing a good job, another quarter voted against Kerry rather than for Bush, and a LOT of the reason was again because they were duped by the political machine of the most foal, underhanded, libelous, malicious, lying, scheming, repugnant bag of crap that now walks the Earth Karl Rove.

 

This dirty, slanderous, sleazy, rotten excuse for a human being used every rotten, scummy, odious double dealing trick in his Satanic Book of the Damned to not only steal the Presidency twice but also slime the Texas governorship away from perhaps one of the greatest governors we ever had here in Texas, Ann Richards. The putrid lump of dogsh*t did that by appealing to the basest and most repugnant parts of our nature by insinuating that Richardson had homosexuals in her cabinet. This walking jug of used toilet water is the reason Bush was able to wreck the country in the first place. Alfter the troops went in, no sitting president has been voted out of office during wartime in US history. BUT remember he "won" if you can truly call it that by the slimmest margin in US history. So what is the explanation for Americans electing Bush to a SECOND term in office? I'm gonna have to go with Deal with the Devil signed in blood on a parchment of human skin while drinking a goblet made from a sacrificed baby's skull filled to the brim with goat urine.

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"Please, stop the madness. The metric system taunts us. A kilometer is supposed to be so cool but it's 6/10, er 3/5, of a mile. Does that seem like an ideal system? Does that make sense?"

 

He he, one day America will join the rest of the planet and adopt the metric system.

 

Can you work out how many feet are in 3 3/4 miles in your head right now? GO!

 

How many meters are in 3 3/4 kilometers....3750. Oh that was hard :D

 

3 3/4 X 8 = 30 furlongs of 660 feet 19,800 feet. No calculator, 3 seconds of thought. That actually is one of the easier conversions to make. There are some fractions that are hard. Give me something with a fifth of a mile in it and I won't be able to do it so easily. . .

 

;)

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3 3/4 X 8 = 30 furlongs of 660 feet 19,800 feet. No calculator, 3 seconds of thought. That actually is one of the easier conversions to make. There are some fractions that are hard. Give me something with a fifth of a mile in it and I won't be able to do it so easily. . .

 

;)

 

Hello Karl,

Spending time at Thistledown?

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Ok a referendum is when people use the ballot box and vote, a civil war is when people kill each other with guns. The US has never had a "referendum" on a state leaving the union.

 

 

 

 

Then what is the explanation for Americans electing Bush to a SECOND term in office? I understand that he stole the first election and got fewer votes than Gore. But how do you explain his SECOND election victory????????

 

The entire planet wants to know.

 

R,

 

Well, all of the states that seceded from the Union cast votes to secede first, and then we fought a war to decide whether they could get away with it or not. You just have Quebec. If the United States had a bunch of Frogs amongst us, closest we have is probably Louisianna, we'd probably LET them secede :P

 

Well, the reason Bush was elected President was because more than half of the populace, particularly in my state, voted for him. I was one of them.

 

I agree that Bush is one of the worst Presidents this country has had in a long time. Hell, his father, even in his old age, would have been ten times better of a choice.

 

But the Democrats can't just put in a candidate whose platform is "I'm John Kerry. I'm not George Bush. Vote for me!" He very nearly won with that platform, but, fundamentally, you need to have your own issues ideals.

 

There are a lot of party policies that the Democrats have that make me hate their party. Speaking of that wonderful JFK quote, he was the last Democrat that was pro space program. At the rate we're going, we'll be lucky to get back to the moon with a single Apollo astronaut who walked on the moon still living, and that is pathetic. We should have BASES there now.

 

Anyway, there are a lot of hard line policies that, if the Democrats got rid of, would make me much more inclined to vote for them.

 

But at this point, with Obama's continuation of the hard line policies belittling NASA and taking money from the rich and giving it to the poor, and mandatory paying into a national health care system, he isn't moderate enough for me.

 

I think it is important to take each election and looking at it indidividually. A lot of people seem inclined to vote a Democrat into office to punish the Republicans for George W. Bush. That mindset has gotten this country in trouble in the past. . .

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I was one of them.

 

I think you're the first person in US history to actually admit that in writing and in public. There is going to be a Wikipedia page about you :D

 

Maybe Americans should take a page from the 1993 Canadian election, the governing party went from 151 seats in parliament (a majority), down to two(2) seats. Not 22, just 2.

 

Now that party is back in power after a 12 year absence and better than ever.

 

My point is that maybe Americans should punish the GOP with such a humiliating loss that they will never govern the country the way George Bush Jr did ever again. Then in eight years they'll be back as a responsible government.

 

R,

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Hello Karl,

Spending time at Thistledown?

 

Never been there. It's a shame that the furlong seems to have been relegated to horse races and a few mentions of eighths-of-a-mile that are mostly only on inner-city Interstate Highway exit signs anymore. It's much easier to convert from 660-foot units in one's head than 528-foot or 5280-foot units.

 

 

Richard, if we had a Pro-Life, Pro-Space Democrat that was still as zealous about energy conservation, protecting the environment, and cutting down on immigration in this country, I'd vote for him in a second.

 

Unfortunately, the Democratic party makes at least two of those points impossible in its current party principles and guidelines for their presidential candidate.

 

Remember that politics are in shades of grey. They aren't like "The Lone Ranger" where the Lone Ranger rides a white horse and wears white, and the bad guy rides a black horse and wears black. It's possible to hate a candidate but like his platform more than that of the other party.

 

And if it makes you feel any better, I didn't vote for Bush the first time around. . .

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And if it makes you feel any better, I didn't vote for Bush the first time around. . .

 

Actually....this makes it worse, you had seen his performance for four years and you still voted for him!

 

Oh well, Bush will soon be a foot note in history, I doubt he'll be missed. He'll only be asked to speak in Utah and Texas after his presidency.

 

I hear his presidential library will have multiple copies of "My Pet Goat" on the shelves.

 

R,

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There are so many points in here that are so closely related to CINEMATOGRAPHY it's amazing! Maybe everyone should remember, that wherever you come from, you are going to feel passionate and patriotic about your country.

 

Stop the useless rants and talk shop! Filmmaking!

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There are so many points in here that are so closely related to CINEMATOGRAPHY it's amazing! Maybe everyone should remember, that wherever you come from, you are going to feel passionate and patriotic about your country.

 

Stop the useless rants and talk shop! Filmmaking!

 

 

Well, Jase, it's always good to be positive and offer constructive criticism. Would you like to offer a suggestion to the original question?

 

 

I'll add "Bound for Glory" which won Haskell an Oscar for cinematography. Although not directly related to the Fourth of July, it is indeed about a

man, Woody Guthrie, who cared a lot about the purported ideals of the USA and the division between the rich and poor.

 

It's right that the author of the song "This land is your land/this land is my land" has his story told up on the big screen.

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Yawn, boring.

 

R,

 

Anymore customary conversion quizzes for me Richard? Oh, sh it, I guess that isn't filmmaking. OK, OK. Hypothetical problem. Someone sent me a can of film, and it's in friggin' metrics. Give me a length in meters and I'll try my damnedest to convert it to a rational, sensible unit with some history and an interesting story behind it. . . :lol:

 

OK, I'm off to bed. Enough BS for today.

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Ok bye.

 

Odd how I lived in the USA for five years, and left with no greater understanding of the American mindset than when I first arrived.

 

Is it me? :blink:

 

R,

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Ok bye.

 

Odd how I lived in the USA for five years, and left with no greater understanding of the American mindset than when I first arrived.

 

Is it me? :blink:

 

R,

 

I would say it's not you... I've lived here since I was born and I still don't get the mindset of most of the people in this country.

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Guest Glen Alexander
Ok bye.

 

Odd how I lived in the USA for five years, and left with no greater understanding of the American mindset than when I first arrived.

 

Is it me? :blink:

 

R,

 

The US needs to realize its hegemony over the world economy is ending. The oil market is shifting/shifted towards the Euro as a basis of currency. US is essentially paying what Europe does for petrol. The Euro is backed by a higher amount of gold reserve. The USD is based on having biggest consumer market and the threat of having more nukes than anyone else. When Iraq threatened to base oil prices on the Euro instead of USD, the invasion "to get rid of Sadam" happened soon afterwards.

 

If Iran tomorrow said they will no longer accept oil contracts in USD but mandated the Euro, there would be an all out attack on Iran to get of their "nuclear" capabilities. The conversion to Euro would basically destroy the US economy as inflation would skyrocket.

 

The Chinese are proping up the US economy, should they decide to start dumping the trillions of USD notes and T-bills, it would start another US depression. Chinese would become the factory of Europe and downsize. The US economy would languish until a manufacturing base could be established again. Europe would be shielded as most countries don't trade heavily with US. The Asian meltdown in 1997 would seem trivial in comparison.

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Ok bye.

 

Odd how I lived in the USA for five years, and left with no greater understanding of the American mindset than when I first arrived.

 

Is it me? :blink:

 

R,

No, it's not you, it's global communications. There's nothing you can find out by being here that you can't find out wherever you are. Let this fact be widely known, and the world will save a bunch of jet fuel.... ;-)

 

BTW, on the original topic, how about Ken Burns' " The Civil War "

 

 

-- J.S.

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Glen, cinematography related or not, I'm glad you posted that fascinating hypothesis. I've never heard such an outline of how

U.S. foreign policy and present military action could be tied to the Euro. Never heard it on any tv or radio here. I think that it

probably is, in a general but important way, related to what many of us do in that it sure sounds like it would be a good subject for

a film.

 

 

John, excellent suggestion! I might watch some of that this week if I can get it. Wouldn't have thought of it though.

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Bah, the Euro is a whimpy currency, have you seen it?

 

The bills are smaller than the USD, CDN, or UK Pound. Whimpy!

 

R,

 

PS: That said I would still take 1 million Euros about now.

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The Patriot (2000)

 

This was just a typical Hollywood flag waving piece of mumbo jumbo, come on! The bad British guy gets impaled by the American flag in the end, was that intended as a live action take on the Simpsons or Family Guy?

 

I should have turned it off when I remembered that an Australian was playing the "Patriot", no offense to Australia, but come on.

 

I did however push STOP on the DVD player when Gibson went to go sit with his dead wife's sister and the start of the conversation went something like this:

 

Gibson: Can I sit here?

Dead wife's sister: Sure, it's a free country...or at least it will be.

 

D'oh!

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The US needs to realize its hegemony over the world economy is ending. The oil market is shifting/shifted towards the Euro as a basis of currency. US is essentially paying what Europe does for petrol. The Euro is backed by a higher amount of gold reserve. The USD is based on having biggest consumer market and the threat of having more nukes than anyone else. When Iraq threatened to base oil prices on the Euro instead of USD, the invasion "to get rid of Sadam" happened soon afterwards.

 

If Iran tomorrow said they will no longer accept oil contracts in USD but mandated the Euro, there would be an all out attack on Iran to get of their "nuclear" capabilities. The conversion to Euro would basically destroy the US economy as inflation would skyrocket.

 

The Chinese are proping up the US economy, should they decide to start dumping the trillions of USD notes and T-bills, it would start another US depression. Chinese would become the factory of Europe and downsize. The US economy would languish until a manufacturing base could be established again. Europe would be shielded as most countries don't trade heavily with US. The Asian meltdown in 1997 would seem trivial in comparison.

Yeah........Riiiight, OK. You're ABSOLUTELY right! The one thing we Americans fear is the awsome power of the Euro. It's right up there with Nuclear annihilation, Global warming and a sequel to Bio-dome. :rolleyes:

Edited by James Steven Beverly
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I should have turned it off when I remembered that an Australian was playing the "Patriot", no offense to Australia, but come on.

 

Mel Gibson is as American as you are: Born, 3 January 1956, Peekskill, New York, USA

 

R,

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Man you people are the biggest group of loser butts. Stop obsessing about the U.S. and get on topic.

 

This forum is weakened every time someone draws the conversation onto issues of politics or race or ideology or religion or cultural beliefs. God, you fu**ing retards can't even spell correctly with spell-check embedded in the software.

 

Go fu** yourselves or read a book or something.

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I'll add Red Dawn to the list. It seems to be constantly shown on one cable channel or another.

 

The sad fact is that while in the movie, the Russians invade the US by parachutting into the American heatland, in the past ten years, we've allpwed an organized invasion under the guise of "religious refugee".

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Guest Glen Alexander
Bah, the Euro is a whimpy currency, have you seen it?

 

The bills are smaller than the USD, CDN, or UK Pound. Whimpy!

 

R,

 

PS: That said I would still take 1 million Euros about now.

 

 

I wouldn't mind 1 million GBP....

 

Don't people know why Nixon took the US off the gold standard? The French has so much USD, they started demanding gold for it, when/as oil prices skyrocketed. You read about it, those REALLY long gas lines? Nixon had to either devalue or stop backing USD with gold. Since then the USD is paper money, backed by nukes and consumerism.

Edited by Glen Alexander
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