Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Pat Buchanan: Hollywood Plays With Fire
By Patrick J. Buchanan
In July of 1870, King Wilhelm sent Foreign Minister Bismarck an
account of his meeting with a French envoy who had demanded that the
king renounce any Hohenzollern claim to the Spanish throne.
Bismarck edited the report to make it appear the Frenchman had
insulted the king, and that Wilhelm rudely dismissed him. The Ems
Telegram precipitated the Franco-Prussian war Bismarck wanted.
Words matter. And if a picture is worth a thousand words, how much greater impact can a motion picture have? We are finding out.
Monday, December 29, 2014
When Hollywood Celebrated Christmas and Marriage
By Dr. Paul Kengor
A few days before Christmas, I checked the schedule for Turner Classic
Movies, one of the few TV channels I watch. I was looking for Christmas
movies, maybe the 1938 Reginald Owen version of “A Christmas Carol” or
something like that—something for the family. I was pleased to find
three favorites back-to-back that I’ve seen with my wife and daughters,
all nice Christmas romances—and all with a similar happy ending.
The first was “I’ll Be Seeing You” (1944), starring Ginger Rogers and
Joseph Cotten, with a smaller role by a charming teenage Shirley
Temple. Cotten is a World War II veteran struggling with what we would
call post-traumatic stress disorder. Rogers is on Christmas furlough
from prison (of all things), unjustly serving time for an accidental
death that was purely self-defense. Wonderful as always, Gingers Rogers
doesn’t dance or sing in this one (no Fred Astaire), but plays a
compelling role. The Rogers and Cotten characters fall in love, with
Christmas as the suitably warm and fuzzy back-drop.
Sunday, December 28, 2014
Friday, December 26, 2014
The Abolition of Christmas
WebNote: Pat Buchanan wrote this column back in December 2001. It
is one of my favorites and is posted today as as we observe this
Christmas season of 2014.
By Patrick J. Buchanan – December 21, 2001
When I was a boy, Kensington was a village half an hour north of
Chevy Chase Circle where, inside an ice-cold armory, Catholic kids
practiced basketball. Montgomery County was a bedroom suburb of D.C.
Nothing beyond existed, except for the Rockville drive-in.
This fall, both precincts became world-famous as citadels of wacko
liberalism. The Montgomery County Council voted to fine homeowners $500
who let cigarette smoke escape into neighbors’ houses. And the
Kensington council voted to purge Santa from its 30-year-old tradition
of lighting a pine tree in front of town hall.
Thursday, December 25, 2014
60 Years of Carols from King's
An amazing documentary broadcast on the BBC Christmas Day 2014.
Features rare footage from many years of the Carol broadcasts since 1954
and revealing interviews with giants of Choral composing today such as
John Rutter and Bob Chilcott, both past choral scholars at Kings. As
well as an interview with Jonathan Willcocks son of the great Sir David
Willcocks who will be 95 this year. An unbelievably good Christmas gift
and treat.
Christmas Day 'Urbi et Orbi' Message of His Holiness Pope Francis
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Happy Christmas!Jesus, the Son of God, the Saviour of the world, is born for us, born in Bethlehem of a Virgin, fulfilling the ancient prophecies. The Virgin’s name is Mary, the wife of Joseph.
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