Blogcritics Author: Al Barger

Barack Obama, The New Yorker, and the Inoculation of Satire

Al Barger — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 11:16:47 EDT

So here I am, the goat again. (Hey, that could be my epitaph.)
For starters, I'm obviously a racist. You can tell it because I used B. Hussein Obama's middle name.That's pretty much evidence enough in some quarters. But if pronouncing his whole legal name is racist, then what about this image from The New Yorker and cartoonist Barry Blitt?First, that's a beautiful image. Mr Blitt boiled a...

Movie Review: WALL-E, The Wicked Scare Tactics Of A Cute Robot

Al Barger — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 18:14:18 EDT

It's wicked when Pentecostals or Disney indoctrinate children through apocalyptic fear...
WALL-E is an ugly movie on multiple levels. It is literally ugly to look at. It is ugly in its philosophical vision, and it's worse than ugly in the heavy-handed way that it seeks to propagandize young children through fear.But first things first. WALL-E is a cute but very lonesome animated robot, an intergalactic trash compactor all alone on...

Heller, Eugene Robinson, and Dred Scott

Al Barger — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 15:38:40 EDT

the people have to have a right to keep guns exactly in order to keep the military regulated
Thank Rand for the SCOTUS decision in Heller this week, in which for the first time in two centuries plus, the Supreme Court specifically recognized that the Second Amendment "right of the people to keep and bear arms" in fact recognizes keeping and bearing guns to be an individual right of the people. This is a pretty obvious point by,...

My Libertarian Blues and Ron Paul in Disgrace (or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Hillary Clinton)

Al Barger — Tue, 6 May 2008 08:17:26 EDT

Ann Coulter, Al Barger and Richard Mellon Scaife can't ALL be wrong in supporting Hillary.
There's always trouble in the land, but all in all I personally feel pretty good about the future of America and the world at large. The country's doing okay, and we'll muddle through well enough whether we elect the giant douche or the turd sandwich.But I'm not feeling near so good about my Libertarian Party, Ron Paul and the...

Jeremiah Wright Ain't Much of a Christian

Al Barger — Thu, 1 May 2008 20:19:22 EDT

Only in God damn America
First off, you really shouldn't speculate about other people's true inner feelings. How could you know? But then, when you get to running for POTUS and wanting keys to the nukes, we all need to understand you as best we can inside and out. Plus, Barack Hussein Obama is some kind of piece of work. Only in God damn America. This brings us...

DVD Review: The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus

Al Barger — Sun, 9 Mar 2008 01:48:57 EST

Monty Python's Flying Circus is pretty much the comedy equivalent of Elvis Presley's Sun sessions, where the old suddenly became the new.
Like many, I've casually watched some Monty Python over the years. It's always good to run into it on cable when you're getting high. I was actually hearing them as audio on Dr Demento's radio show for several years in the late 1970s before I ever actually saw the TV show. Thus, I've been known to carry on about how...

Jonah Goldberg vs. Jon Stewart

Al Barger — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 01:06:07 EST

It'll take more than a smirk and a bluff to win an argument with Darth Jonah Goldberg
Granted that Jon Stewart now and again accidentally says something funny. But he and his supporters think that he's a high holy fool, speaking truth to power under comedic cover. In fact, he's not all that exalted or bright, and he really has no kind of perspective or thoughtful point of view on politics. He can be counted on to hold to...

DVD Review: The States - A History Channel Documentary Series

Al Barger — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 07:01:18 EST

This documentary series on The States is all random and scatter-shot, but it's all good.
I've been boning up on a History Channel three-DVD set on The States originally broadcast as ten hour-long programs. This is not the History Channel's best product. It has a lot of interesting little facts. Most interesting little thing I learned is that San Francisco became a gay place because the WWII-era US military had a processing...

Federal Judges Make Poor Film Critics: Hillary - The Movie

Al Barger — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 10:35:00 EST

I wouldn't give even Roger Ebert's movie reviews force of law, much less some federal judge's.
Federal judges have a lot of education and training, and a great deal of legitimate authority and responsibility. However, I am somewhat confused over their training or authority as film critics.The conservative advocacy group Citizens United has made a film called Hillary: The Movie which is apparently quite critical of the good senator. They...

DVD Review: The Presidents - A History Channel Documentary Series

Al Barger — Wed, 9 Jan 2008 06:43:56 EST

Studying on Teddy or Eleanor Roosevelt is far more interesting than imitators like John McCain or Hillary Clinton.
I'm a major geek for politics. I could tell you considerably more about which candidate came in third in what primary of 1996 than any sensible person would want to know. But I've come up with a considerably more interesting and worthwhile point of attention recently. I spent a good part of the couple of days around the 2008 Iowa...