Party hats!
Two days ago I posted about what I thought was a
Norman Lear presents...
rather dangerous organization known as BornAgainAmerican.org. As of today, I think it’s even more dangerous than I originally thought. Here’s why… I know a lot more about this organization and the reason it was created… So sit back, relax, and watch while I pull this apart with my bare teeth.
When I first wrote about BornAgainAmerican.org two days ago, (here) I was under the impression that this was just another radical left-wing anti-American organization. The difference, I felt, was that this organization had lots of money, clout and marketing brains behind it. Well, I was partially right. The money is definitely there, and the clout is there, it’s the marketing genius where I went wrong. Because the method used to attract people to their organization is so powerful, I assumed that they had some real brainiacs behind this whole born-again-american thingy. Turns out, it was just a lucky fluke of fate. For us Conservative Americans, an un-lucky fluke! That’s my way of saying… we have our work cut out for us. Please keep reading, I’m just getting started.
Ok, let’s start with the cast of characters. In no particular order, but starting with the Founder of the site, Norman Lear…
Keith Carradine
Jim Dalton
Chad Van Rys
Kevin Moore II
Xiao-Dan Zheng
Matt Thompson
Luke Buckett
Bobby Broom
Keith Sanchez
Erin Dzierwa
Harlem Gospel Choir
All Saints Episcopal
Cantor Patti Linsky
Mu’azzin Benyoucef
David Hernandez
Tarrah Reynolds
Reverend Timothy McDonald III
Reverend Davidson Loehr
This list of names will become valuable shortly. Let’s continue…
If you go to the Born Again American site, a video loads almost immediately so you have to make sure your speakers are on prior to going to the site. As you listen, you will find yourself getting sucked in by the very easy down-home folksy sound to the song. Anotherwords, you will like it. Then you read the words along with the rolling script that appears on the left and you find yourself nodding in agreement with a few of the lines. You also start to feel the intended patriotic feel as the song and the video mixing that takes place. The next thing that you notice is the not-so-soft under-tones of religiosity also in that mix. The end result of all this is…. you feel really good about the song and you are convinced that it’s your patriotic duty to join this organization because these just have to be such good upstanding American-Christian loving people… right?
Ha! Not so fast pilgrim, time for a reality check.
Ok, I’m going to give these folks some credit here, and well deserved credit at that. The song/video made with real people (not rock stars), Patriotism, and Christianity all thrown in together makes for a powerful presentation. The video is very, very well done! And in my opinion, very effective. Anotherwords, it’s an excellent propaganda piece!
Now, let’s look behind the curtain… Norman Lear is the founder of this organization, which for those in the know, should be enough to get you to run, not walk, away from this as fast as possible (Google “Norman Lear liberal activist”.) Although Mr. Lear has no problem using a two Preachers, a Muslim, a Cantor, and two different Church Choirs to help participate and promote his Organization, he has some funny ideas about religion in America.
If you go to http://www.bornagainamerican.org/about.html and then click on the video titled “Norman Lear’s Preamble at the Lincoln Memorial”. It’s less than 2 minutes long so take the time now and check it out. In it you will hear him say things like “one day I heard a preacher on TV say that a Supreme Court Justice should be taken off the bench” and he knew he had not joined the Air Force to protect that type of freedom. And he also had problems with a preacher that according to him said that you could not be a good Christian if you voted a particular political affiliation (not exact words, but close enough). According to him, this is why in 1980 he started the “People For The American Way” a very left leaning org. More on these and other Orgs later.
One of the first performers on this video is Keith Carradine, a sometimes actor and songwriter, and full time liberal. Mr. Carradine also seems to be a bit confused about the connection with religion in this video and what he thinks of the Constitution. Here’s a few words from Mr. Carradine from the ‘About Us’ page… “Why I am a Born Again American: When Norman asked me to write “Born Again American” he did so with the suggestion that the song address several timely and timeless social and political issues. He was quite specific about reinforcing what our founders envisioned when they wrote our Constitution and Bill Of Rights; (ergo ” my bible is The Bill Of Rights “). The secular ideals of Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine are what we need to remind ourselves of at this critical time in our Nation’s history.”
Mr. Carradine does a fine job of showing his lack of forethought all by himself, so I’m going to let him slide around in his own mud-hole without any more help from me. On to other issues with Born Again American. For instance… what are the odds that Lear stole the name for his Organization from ‘born-again Christians’??? Go figure!?
Oh, by the way, did you know that Norman Lear uses “BornAgainAmerican” to help promote not only “People for the American Way“… and their blog here.
but also…
Right Wing Watch… http://www.rightwingwatch.org/ where they blame everything wrong in the world on Conservatism, Republicans, and of course… Christianity!
And last but not least…
Young People For YP4… http://www.youngpeoplefor.org/blog which is an organization to mobilize youth for all matter of activism. YP4 GLTB rights (gay,lesbian,transgendered,bi-sexual). YP4 Environment, YP4 etc, etc, etc. If there is a leftist group out there, then there is a YP4 group to help mold the minds of young people to think like good little Marxists. Just to ice the cake, all 3 of the above mentioned Organizations (Lear connected to all) were instrumental in helping Comrade Obama get elected. And that my dear friends is the kicker…
Norman Lear only started ‘BornAgainAmerican’ after Comrade Obama won the election. Why, you may ask… because he knows that over the next 4 years many more teens will be turning 18 years of age and he wants to make damn sure he has them in his pocket for 2012 so Comrade Obama can be our Comrade-in-Chief for a full 8 years. This is actually a brilliant strategy by Lear, and I suggest that someone on the Conservative side start something similar very, very, soon!
Let me very clear as I come to an end on this subject… Norman Lear is a Marxist. He uses un-ethical, and even immoral trickery by taking advantage of religion and patriotism as a front to recruit weak-minded people. While at the very same time he is neither religious nor patriotic. For the sake of our country, and for the sake of our youth, warn everyone you know about his anti-American organization.
Thank you and God Bless!
Gio-
Use Care, isn’t it amazing how different America would be on the whole right now if they’d listened to Schiff way back when?
And do we ever need another Reagan-like leader of the free world. Someone who is full of realistic optimism, instead of Doom and Gloom ;( , like Mr. Hopen’Change.
Someone who isn’t into the whole thing for power and personal gain.
Eowyn, a deep question came up at my house a while back: Star Wars or Star Trek.
We are unabashed Trekkies. The humour is far better.
Jen,
I’m a Trekkie, as well. But slightly prefer Star Wars because of the grand sweep and heroism.
You can tell by now that I’m a sucker for great Good vs. Evil battles
BTW, it is so great that you’re back regularly on Gio’s World! I’ve really missed you
Eowyn, I missed you too! It’s nice to be back.
Speaking of Star Trek:
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=30665
Jen,
Interesting article. Calling what Obomination & Geithner are doing “Trekonomics” is an insult to Star Trek. Better to call it what it is: Stalinism.
BTW, this is completely off topic: But have you looked into the Bohemian Grove annual ritual? I wandered into the topic today while reading some End Times stuff on the web. Really bizarre. The stuff that gives credence to the New World Order conspiracy theories.
Check this out & tell me what you think? http://www.prisonplanet.com/alex_jones_tells_his_story.html
I loved this line:
It’s like the old “Star Trek” series, just without the brainy, logical Vulcans.
And then the graphic shows Obama as the Vulcan. Smoking a cigarette. *smirk*
And that Bohemian Grove story? Weird. I don’t know what to think. I’ve heard about these secret societies before, and I never know whether it’s real or not.
I’m a Star Trek fan as well. I enjoy the original series, but my favorite is ST:The Next Generation. I have all 7 seasons in boxed sets of DVD. I also am a fan of Highlander (which also has a grand sweep of heroism) and have each season’s DVD set. Star Trek does have better overall humor than Star Wars, but the best line in the most recent SW movie was not in the actual movie. In the hardback book, where General Grevious has the four light sabers and is about to attack Obi Wan Kenobi, General Grevious states, “You do realize of course that you’re doomed? I’ve been trained in your Jedi arts by Count Dooku!” To which Obi Wan replied, “Oh really? You do realize that I trained the Jedi that killed Count Dooku?” that last line was not in the movie, but I wish it had been. It was probably removed since Jedi should be above being smug and cocky. Another great piece of hidden humor was in the opening scene of Revenge of the Sith. The Star Destroyer battle lasted around 23 minutes on the movie, and when George Lucas and his two top guys were reviewing that battle scene, one of his guys said “Everythings in there but the kitchen sink.” To which Lucas replied, “Well, let’s put it in there.” in the scene where the two Star Destroyers are passing each other, there’s a clip about five seconds long where a random piece of debris spins across the scene from left to right and hits the Star Destroyer. That debris is actually a kitchen sink.
Now that’s definitely a Star Wars geek
Use Care,
Too funny about the sink! I haven’t actually seen any of the recent Star Wars movies after Episode 1. I think I saw all of the old ones during the 70′s, but only the restored original (which my sons tell me is named Episode 4?) again since then. Not a huge fan, I guess. There’s just something about the Trek characters for me that the SW characters don’t deliver.
Eowyn,
Tis I, Use Care. I have extinguished all use of that previous name, and followed your lead in names. Being more of a SW fan, I chose the username of Anakin becuase my hearts always in the right place and I try to do right, but occassionally, I really screw it up big time. Hopefully my mistakes won’t doom an entire galaxy for a lifetime though. With my wit and snappy come-backs, Mace Windu’s name may fit, but the only real mistake he ever made in the movies was to focus on Darth Sidious and not keep his senses open to everything around him. it cost him a hand, then his life. Also similar to you, I’d be very happy as a Jedi in the SW galaxy. In all but the most extreme cases, you could sense the evil intentions of people and act as you saw fit, (since you’d been trained from birth to serve and protect others above yourself.
You said something about cultural elitests and a book “Since you are a SW fan, did you know that the “cultural elites” despise SW?”. I must confess that I cannot quite put my finger on what exactly people mean by their use of the words, “cultural elitist”. Like most profane words, it seems to be expressive more of an inner rage or hatred than an outward quality or defect. I even did some dictionary and google seraches, but their definitions were sparse and vague. How would you describe a cultural elitist? Also, what do they hate about SW? The fact that the Jedi were self-governing, and not ruled by the elite?
You also said in one of your above posts that I am very similar in my views to most people on this site. Where would that place me, left/right wing, liberal/conservative?
Also, do you know that Star Wars was based on true life political events that George Lucas saw happening in the 60′s? I may be off base, but that’s what I have heard.
I Hope you all have a great Valentine’s weekend!
Anakin (so much better than “Use Care”!),
“Culture elites” can mean: (1) Self-appointed cultural arbiters & spokesmen; and (2) Objective “elites” as measured by the power and suay exercised by these individuals.
As for what their criticisms of Star Wars, you need to read Colebatch’s book for yourself
But here’s a sample:
Today, “it often seems that every traditional Western value, system of ethics & art form is collapsing,” including notions of “chivalry, heroism, nobility and valour,” and of “dignity & modesty.” More than collapsing, “There has developed a common hostility to traditional values in virtually every area of life including art, literature, ethics, religion & personal relationships. The end of the process has frequently seemed to be sheer nihilism.” (p. 9)
But “enormously popular works of film & literature…reveal underlying attachments to traditional Western values,” of which the Lord Of The Rings, Star Wars, and Harry Potter stories are among the most notable. “The deep responsive chords they have struck tell much about the true state of culture.” (p. 9) They “symbolize & signify strong popular dissent from the perceived cultural orthodoxy & apparently strong pressure towards moral relativism that bedevils modern western society.” (p. 12) “Each…was seen as being in opposition to the spirit of its times & was attacked with considerable hostility by the cultural establishment.” (p. 13)
Jen,
Yes, the original 1977 Star Wars is actually the 4th in the series of 6. The 1977 movie is referred to as episode IV “The New Hope” I think, the 1980 is episode V, “The Empire Strikes Back” and the 1983 movie is episode VI, “The Return of the Jedi”. The first three episodes were discussed years before they came out, and written not long before movies were put together. If you remember when Luke first met Obi Wan and was in his home learning about his father (the non-Darth Vader version), Obi Wan made vague mention of fighting side by side with Lukes father in “The Clone Wars”. Lucas said that this remark about the Clone Wars was the most prevalent question from SW fans…what were the Clone Wars? I’m assuming that is why the three most recent movies revolved around the Clone Wars, because that was what the fan base was most curious about. I believe Lucas always planned on doing movies that showed Darth Vader before he fell to the Dark Side though. Since these movies were about the early Darth Vader, that made the 1977 version episode IV by default.
The fourth movie, episode I is “The Phantom Menace” and based on Qui-Gon Jinn, the Jedi Master to Padawan Obi Wan Kenobi who are on a mission to maintain peace. While on the run trying to protect a senator that could sway the vote against what Darth Sidious (Darth Vader’s master) plans, the come across the slave Anakin Skywawlker. Qui-Gon Jinn realizes the potential in Akakin and ask to train him. Anakin is 10 years old, and the Jedi Council refuse to start Jedi trainin on anyone that old. Later, against the councils wishes, Obi Wan defies the council and starts to train Anakin. In episode II, near the beginning, they show some action scenes that show just how epically powerful Anakin has become, which is 10 years later. A few things happen to show background on how a few events start to lead him towards the Dark Side, although in his heart, Anakin is doing what he thinks is right. Palpatine is also voted into power as the Grand Chancellor, the highest ranking individual in the SW universe. In episode III, Revenge of the Sith, they again show scenes to show how powerful Anakin has become since the last movie, and Anakin is a Jedi Knight, no longer a Padawan under Obi Wan Kenobi, although they still travel together 99% of the time. This movie is the darkest, and only of the six movies to have a non-PG rating. Anakin struggles to do everything that is expected of him, but the times are so dark that he grows more confused, and the line between the Light of the Jedi and the Dark of the Sith grows very grey. Palpatine has been in power much longer than he should, through manipulating the system and senators. A small handful of the senators and the Jedi are the only ones that have trepidation with Palpatine retaining his rule. Although Palpatine has not done anything overtly to cause concern, the Jedi start to feel a darkness around Palpatine and worry that the Dark Lord of the Sith has returned, and is near Palpatine, or somehow influencing him…
The movies are worth watching at least once, just to understand how Vader came to be, and understand the nature of the Jedi. These are more in line with action movies than drama, but the story line is still good. Then again, I’ve read some of the books and three of my friends are such SW geeks that they make me look sane by comparison.
I like the changes they put in on the restored copies, as they added computer graphics and cleaned up some of the scenes, but they also made changes I definitely don’t like, such as in the original movie, Han Solo fired on the bounty hunter, Greedo (the green guy) because he was threatening him, and in the restored version, they changed it where Greedo fired first and Han retaliated. Lucas said that he intended the scene to be as it was in the restored version, but I find that hard to believe myself.
I think Solo was my favourite part of any of them. I think Harrison Ford is one of the best actors around during my lifetime (though I’ve not seen all his movies).
Hello room,
I actually found this blog while researching the BornAgainAmerican.org site. My research was interrupted when I stumbled upon a minor brawl between Gio, Anaken (The artist formerly known as Use Care), and The Doktor…with a supporting role played by the “Definitely not a he”, Eowyn. Let me say Thank You…for pulling me out of my “America is sliding into the abyss” frame of mind for that therapeutic hour. You are all obviously intelligent as well as quite passionate about your beliefs. There are several similar, yet varied trains of thought being presented in this little world. Each peppered with equally varied senses of humor. Anakin…you’re killin me! If you don’t mind, I would like to respectfully request a seat at the guest table. I’m not sure what I can offer other than the opinions of a regular guy but I always appreciate a good debate when it comes to my freedom and what the future holds for my children. I promise not to be a meanie and I’ll always use the spell-check. Thanks for the brief escape.
Boofreakinyah, you are so very welcome here. It’s always nice to hear another sane voice peppered with a great sense of humour.
Boofreakinyah,
I’m glad you found us!
Now that you have, don’t be a stranger, okay?
Thanks for the welcome Ladies but I am afraid that just like Obama, I have already broken my first promise. If you check my “inaugural” post, you will see that I spelled Anakin incorrectly in the second sentence. Anakin, it shant happen again. (Did I just use the word shant?) eeek. Not off to a good start.
OK…That damned song has been killin me since the 10th time I listened to it. Very catchy. Very well done….but deceptive. I decided to put my own little twist on it so that when I am humming the tune to myself, at least the words would not be the subversive ones presented at religious patriotism. I thought for a long while about how I would re-write it and then it came to me. He (Obama) managed to screw up from the first minute of his new job by messing up the oath of office…and with that, the “Sworn Again American” was born. Lemme know what you think. I have some musical resources and I may even have it recorded so I can post it on YouTube as a counter to the socialist version. Here it is. (Be gentle)
————————————————————-
Sworn Again American – by Boofreakinyah
Just 30 seconds into my new job
With my right hand raised, the other on some book.
An event that should be special, Go to YouTube and take a look….I am afraid…That I totally screwed up the oath I took.
I’ve never served this country that I love. But I did some organizing…in the poor community. And it’s my belief that Uncle-Sam…should give them what they need…My offer stands…Just support me in my goal to raise my hand.
I went up the steps and stood before the chief… eleven zillion people….watching on T.V…Extend your left…raise your right….then repeat after me…I (state your name)….BBBBBBBBB. (forefinger up and down at lips)
I’m a Sworn Again American, I had to do it twice…Cuz Justice Roberts went by memry…and he couldn’t get it right. I’m a Sworn Again American, lets do it one more time…but lose the bible and forget the press…and read it line for line.
The waitress washes glasses at the bar. The inauguration’s playing…on the old big screen T.V. Then the bar goes deathly quiet..as the camera pushes in…then we begin.
To destroy the oath for all the world to see.
It’s getting where there’s nowhere left to turn. Americans are thinking…that I’m really not the boss. But it truly doesn’t mater, just how I come across. When will they learn…That I’m gonna win, no matter what the cost.
I’m a Sworn Again American, I had to do it twice…Cuz Justice Roberts went by memry…and he couldn’t get it right. I’m a Sworn Again American, lets do it one more time…but lose the bible and forget the press…and read it line for line.
It’s a secret that their freedom’s on the line. But little do the sheep know, cuz they haven’t got a spine…and the principles the framers called upon us to obey…I’ll take away. Cuz it doesn’t matter what the people say.
The second time..I raised my hand and swore…that the constitution, I’d support and I’d defend…Now the enemies of freedom…well they’ve got a secret friend…and several more…It’s all legal now so let the games begin.
I’m a Sworn Again American, I had to do it twice…I completely blew the first one…I just could not get it right. I’m a Sworn Again American, lets do it one more time…but lose the bible and forget the press…and get it right this time.
OBAMACA
That’s freakin’ brilliant, Boofreakinyah!!
Yes, you must put your version on youtube! A guaranteed hit!!