MARK CUBAN'S CELEBRITY "CROSSHAIRS": DEADLY REDACTED_DEBACLE DOESN'T STOP BILLIONAIRE BRAT FROM MAKING MOVIES APPROVING OF ASSASSINATION

Before getting into the meat of this issue, I want to make sure you understand who the principal characters are.

Look at the photo on the left. If you're a basketball fan, you know what that trophy with its own seat in a private jet is.  And you also know whose jet it's flying in. For those who are not hoops fans: It is the Larry O'Brien Trophy, which is handed to the owner of the championship team in the National Basketball Association (NBA).  Alongside it is the owner of the recently-dethroned 2011  World Champion Dallas Mavericks, dot-com tycoon Mark Cuban.

Cuban cashed out of the insanely over-inflated
internet market at precisely the right moment.  He and his partner Todd Wagner sold the now-defunct Broadcast.com to Yahoo! for nearly $6 billion in stock. In 2000, he used a chunk of it to buy the historically unimpressive Mavs.  He persevered through many seasons dominated by star-studded powerhouse teams such as the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs, who between them won eight world titles in the first ten years of Cuban's ownership.  The one time the Mavs made it to the finals in 2006, they lost to the Miami Heat.  But led by standout forward/center Dirk Nowitzki -- who decided to stay in Texas with Cuban rather than sign as a free agent with one of the richer, higher-profile coastal clubs -- they brought a world championship to the Metroplex by avenging their loss to the highly-favored Heat.

In addition to being one of the true genius investors of the early internet era, Cuban is known throughout the nation and the world as kind of a brat.  He regularly is fined by the NBA for the angry, often profane verbal abuse he has rained upon league officials in remarks to the press as well as to game officials from his front-row seats. Over his tenure as owner, he's racked up an unprecedented estimated $1.65 million in fines for statements found to be detrimental to the league (which he always counterbalances by equal donations to charities). While even his own players have rolled their eyes at his rants, Cuban relishes his abrasive reputation. The name of the team was "Mavericks" before he bought it, but he thinks the name fits him perfectly.  Nothing says that more than the smug look in the above photo, which accompanies his Twitter feed.

Among the other businesses Cuban & Wagner have begun since their cash coup is their media conglomerate 2929 Entertainment, which includes their TV network HDNet, Landmark Movie Theaters, and their independent motion picture production companies, Magnolia Films and Magnet Releasing.

Now, let's turn our attention to Bristol Palin, the daughter of conservative firebrand Sarah Palin, 2008 Vice Presidential candidate and former Governor of Alaska. As you know unless you've been in a coma for the past three and a half years, Bristol is the young, unmarried mother of her son Tripp, whose father is her former fiancee Levi Johnston. Having acknowledged that their liaison was ill-advised, she now is heavily involved (and compensated) for being an advocate for single-mom celibacy, portraying herself as a living example of overcoming previous mistakes using the Bible as her path to stability. After her turn on Dancing With the Stars that had millions of Palin family fans keeping her on the show until the season's final night (perhaps undeservedly -- I don't watch DWTS, so I don't know), she's ever-so-slowly stretched out beyond her mother's shadow into her own celebrity.

Her new blog is in support of her first book, Not Afraid of Life; My Journey So Far, and her reality program about responsible single motherhood, Life's a Tripp, which is a sort of antidote to MTV's tabloid-fodder Teen Moms.

On that blog, Bristol reacted to the news that President Obama has now, as the MSM tells us endlessly, "evolved," and is now in favor of same-sex marriage, whereas he was not when he ran for national office (set aside the fact for now that when running for the State Senate in Illinois, he was all for it). In his explanation to the strategically selected Good Morning America co-anchor Robin Roberts, he cited conversations he's had with his teenage daughters Sasha and Malia when deciding how he felt  about the issue.

From the ABC News transcript of the Roberts interview:

You know, Malia and Sasha, they've got friends whose parents are same-sex couples. And I -- you know, there have been times where Michelle and I have been sittin' around the dinner table. And we've been talkin' and -- about their friends and their parents. And Malia and Sasha would -- it wouldn't dawn on them that somehow their friends' parents would be treated differently. It doesn't make sense to them. And -- and frankly -- that's the kind of thing that prompts -- a change of perspective. You know, not wanting to somehow explain to your child why somebody should be treated -- differently, when it comes to -- the eyes of the law.

Bristol wrote this in a somewhat snarky entry titled "Hail to the Chiefs: - Malia and Sasha Obama":

While it’s great to listen to your kids’ ideas, there’s also a time when dads simply need to be dads.  In this case, it would’ve been helpful for him to explain to Malia and Sasha that while her friends parents are no doubt lovely people, that’s not a reason to change thousands of years of thinking about marriage.  Or that – as great as her friends may be – we know that in general kids do better growing up in a mother/father home.  Ideally, fathers help shape their kids’ worldview.

[snip]

Sometimes dads should lead their family in the right ways of thinking.  In this case, it would’ve been nice if the President would’ve been an actual leader and helped shape their thoughts instead of merely reflecting what many teenagers think after one too many episodes of Glee.

You might imagine this didn't go over well with the Leftwaffe that has already told her -- to her face -- that they despise her and her mother.  Word that she dared disagree with Obama on same-sex marriage spread like wildfire on Fire Island, and she shot to the top of topics trending worldwide on Twitter.

Dare I say, Bristol was "#1 with a bullet"?

That brings us back to Cuban's Magnet Releasing, which is in the midst of promoting God Bless America, the latest film from director Bob "Bobcat" Goldthwait (below, left). It's supposedly a satirical film, but it's so dark, it might qualify as a black hole.  Here is the description of the film on the Magnet website (bold mine):

Bobcat Goldthwait, director of GOD BLESS AMERICA, a Magnet Release. Photo courtesy of Magnet Releasing

Frank (Joel Murray) has had enough of the downward spiral of American culture, which he sees as overrun with cruelty, stupidity and intolerance. Divorced, recently fired, and possibly terminally ill, Frank truly has nothing left to live for. But instead of taking his own life, he buys a gun and decides to take out his frustration on the cruelest, stupidest, most intolerant people he can imagine—starting with some particularly odious reality television stars. Frank finds an unusual accomplice in a high-school student named Roxy (Tara Lynne Barr), who shares his sense of rage and disenfranchisement, and together they embark on a nation-wide assault on our country’s dumbest, most irritating celebrities.

Written and directed by taboo-busting filmmaker and comedian Bobcat Goldthwait (Shakes the Clown, Sleeping Dogs Lie, World's Greatest Dad), GOD BLESS AMERICA a truly dark and very funny comedy for anyone who’s had enough of the dumbing down of our society.

So, let's be clear -- "Frank," a guy who's frustrated with America being overrun with cruel, stupid, and intolerant people, goes about solving this problem by killing everyone he thinks fits that description in his estimation. Yeah, that'll just be the trick against "the dumbing down of our society." It makes perfect nonsense.

Whoever is responsible for Magnet's Facebook page took criticism of Bristol Palin's same-sex marriage stance to a deadly level this past weekend (h/t Breitbart.com's Big Hollywood):

"Get out your guns"? What's that about? If you need it to be explained, look above at the screencap of "Chloe." Now, here is the portion of the God Bless America trailer pertaining to that character.

"Awesome."

Do you get it yet?  OK, for the barely-literate holdouts: Consider this part of Goldthwait's screenplay, as transcribed on IMDB.com (bold mine):

 

Roxy: Who you're killing next? Do you take requests? Because I was thinking maybe some Kardashians, my gym coach. People who give high fives. Really, any jock. Twihards. People who talk about punk rock. Who else really rips my cock off? ... Oh, Mormons and other religious a**holes who won't let gay people be married...]

The implication of "Get out your guns..." when it comes to Bristol Palin is obvious: She ought to be killed because she's one of those "religious a**holes."

Now, Magnet Releasing is the Cuban-Wagner imprint for action and horror films, some of them produced by the company, some foreign flicks distributed in North America.  Some of them are obviously gory and violent -- many, if not most, are rated "R."  But what's shocking about publicity for a film from the Cuban camp using assassination of actual people as a hook is that one of his films is already directly linked to an assassination.

Two assassinations, in fact -- out of an attempted four murders.

I explain in my comment to a Breitbart.com Big Hollywood thread titled "Film Company Owned By Obama Supporter Promotes Violence Against Bristol Palin":

You would think that people who work in Mark Cuban's motion picture divisions would be more cautious about using film to depict assassinations in light of the fact that a Muslim terrorist has already cited a clip from one of the films he's produced as inspiration for his multi-murderous act.

Do you remember that incident in Frankfurt, Germany in March 2011 when a young Albanian man shot four American soldiers just because they were American soldiers? Likely, you don't -- that sort of thing''s not an unusual occurrence. Here's a reminder of how the murderer, 21-year-old Arid Uka, was inspired. From the Associated Press, February 10, 2012 (bold mine):

Prosecutors said Uka was an example of a lone-wolf extremist who became radicalized on his own by reading and watching jihadist propaganda on the Internet. During the trial, they introduced as evidence dozens of files containing songs and written material pulled from his cell phone, music player and computer. Uka, who worked as a temporary mail sorter at the airport, testified that he wanted to stop U.S. service personnel from going to Afghanistan after viewing a video on Facebook that purported to show American soldiers raping a teenage Muslim girl. It turned out to be a scene from the 2007 Brian De Palma anti-war film "Redacted," taken out of context....

....As they loaded their bus in front of the airport, Uka approached the soldiers and asked for a cigarette, then asked if the group was headed for Afghanistan. Told that it was, Uka pulled a pistol from his backpack and shot the unarmed Alden point blank in the back of the head.

Convicted Islamist terrorist Arid Uka's Facebook Page. Uka was convinced a scene taken from Brian DePalma's Redacted depicting the rape of a Muslim girl by U.S. troops was amateur footage of an actual event.

He then boarded the bus and fatally shot Cuddeback, the driver, before turning the gun on two more airmen, Staff Sgt. Kristoffer Schneider and Edgar Veguilla. The weapon jammed as he pointed it at Staff Sgt. Trevor Brewer, who testified that Uka had "hate in his eyes" and said "Allahu akbar" — Arabic for "God is great."

Schneider, who testified by video link from an Air Force base in Grand Forks, North Dakota, was shot in the right temple and lost the sight in one eye. The right side of his face had to be rebuilt with titanium and titanium mesh, and he testified he suffers continuing eye and head pain and has had a seizure. Part of his skull had to be removed after an infection.

Veguilla was hit in the jaw and arm and testified he has numb fingers because of nerve damage.

Four men's lives were changed because of the Mark Cuban-produced, Brian De Palma-directed Redacted, and for what? Redacted was one of the biggest bombs in the cluster of movies written and produced in protest of U.S. military action in the Middle East.  Its estimated budget was $5,000,000.00, its total U.S. gross $65,388, its worldwide gross [], $781,441.  But because it made it to celluloid, a scene was uploaded to Facebook and spurred a lunatic to maim and murder.

Somehow, those facts didn't stop people in Cuban's employ from suggesting that Bristol Palin ought to be killed "IRL" in the same manner a reality starlet is assassinated in Cuban's latest release, former spastic comedian Bobcat Goldthwait's God Bless America. 

Neither, apparently, did the fact that an unhinged idiot in Wisconsin shot his own television, threatened his own family's lives and his own, and had a 15-hour standoff with police because he didn't think Bristol should have made it to the semifinals of Dancing With The Stars.  Or the fact that -- among others -- a father and son threatened to slaughter Palin, rape her teenage  daughter Willow, and kill members of Palin's staff.  Unlike most death threats, those two did more just talk; Shawn Christy of McAdoo, PA actually flew to Anchorage, AK -- as he warned Palin he would by sending her a copy of his one-way airline ticket -- earning him an arrest and a restraining order.  Shawn's father Craig Christy was also arrested for making hundreds of profanity-filled, anti-Semitic threats via telephone from his home 4,200 miles away.

(After initially pleading "not guilty," the two pleaded "guilty" to charges of telephone harassment, facing as long as two years in Federal prison. They are still awaiting final sentencing pending psychological evaluation.)

In a September 4, 2007 email response to a request for comment after Bill O'Reilly's remarks condemning Redacted,Cuban wrote this to O'Reilly Factor producer Jesse Watters (bold mine):

"[To] pre empt some of the stupidity coming from bloggers, I am fully Pro Troops, Pro America.  I think that the concept that the enemy will see these films and use it as motivation is total nonsense..."

Cuban also said in that email that he had not read the script for Redacted, saying "I didn't read the script or know all that much about it before we greenlit it." In that, he seems to be the complete opposite of the control freak he depicts himself as in his management of the [now-dethroned World Champion] Dallas Mavericks or on one of the few reality shows that are truly educational, ABC's Shark Tank.

Unlike the 100% specious suggestion that Palin's so-called "crosshairs" election map similarly inspired Jared Loughner (who, as informed people are aware, intended to kill Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords long before Palin's emergence on the national scene), there was not only reason for believing Redacted might inspire murder, we have verification from the killer himself that it did. 

It would seem that at least one person on Cuban's payroll thinks Arid Uka is a fluke, and is willing to roll the dice on Bristol Palin's life.

It's true, this IS America. And Mark Cuban can produce just about any movie he wants. And Bobcat Goldthwait is backed by the First Amendment in saying he would like to see everyone ruining his life merely by existing get killed. But in doing so, they are being un-American.

I will explain why in my next entry.

DAVID LECHER-MAN GOES TOO FAR: Slandering the Palins, Protecting Obama, and "Humor" as a Partisan Weapon

After two decades and two networks, I stopped watching David Letterman on television on a regular basis when it became apparent to me that his Bush-bashing jokes were more than just him doing his job as the guy who makes fun of the powerful — he hated GWB with a passion, and there was nothing good-natured about the jibes during the final four years. It wasn’t that I was a huge Bush fan, because there was a lot I didn’t admire about him, and his woeful speaking skills made him ripe for lampooning. But Bush was still the President, and Letterman went out of his way to show him disrespect.

The final straw for me was the October 14, 2005 edition of Late Show with David Letterman, when announcer Alan Kalter referred to the President of the United States as a “bitch” in a pre-recorded joke. From a transcript on the Late Show website at CBS.com:

LATE SHOW WEEK IN REVIEW
Amidst everything that has gone wrong for President Bush recently, he has had some success regarding North Korea. People are optimistic about this week's negotiations. We take a look.


Announcer:

"The U.S. and North Korea have begun direct talks on nuclear weapons. The U.S. is encouraged Kim Jong Il has halted his nuclear program. In exchange, President Bush has agreed to this." (we see photo of Bush in Kim Jong Il wig and glasses) "You gotta wear this for 6 months, bitch!" Kim Jong Il - Still crazy as a loon!"

I invite you to consider the circumstances under which David Letterman would allow Barack Obama to be referred to as "bitch" even in a joking manner.



A perfect illustration of Letterman’s severe case of BDS is what happened at the 2006 Emmy Awards broadcast. As is now a custom, the nominees for Writing for a Music, Variety, or Comedy Program are not read by the presenters; they are read by announcers over a comedic snippet created by the nominated programs. Nominated along with Late Show with David Letterman were The Colbert Report, Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, and Real Time with Bill Maher. Colbert, Stewart, and especially Conan all turned in funny stuff. Maher’s bit, which used as its theme Sen. Larry Craig’s bathroom trolling, was disgusting, but at least it was original. Letterman’s crew simply sent a video collection of GWB pratfalls and funny faces, titled it “Please enjoy our favorite George W. Bush moments,” and backed it with a soundtrack of stock circus music.







The Obama Obsession didn’t just effect the news media, but the entertainment media as well, and in the late-night comedy shows, the two converge on a daily basis. In case you’ve forgotten, the New York Times noticed as early as July 15, 2008 that “The One” was getting a free pass (bold mine):

“The thing is, he’s not buffoonish in any way,” said Mike Barry, who started writing political jokes for Johnny Carson’s monologues in the waning days of the Johnson administration and has lambasted every presidential candidate since, most recently for Mr. Letterman. “He’s not a comical figure,” Mr. Barry said.

(snip)

Jay Leno, David Letterman, Conan O’Brien and others have delivered a nightly stream of jokes about the Republican running for president — each one a variant on the same theme: John McCain is old.

But there has been little humor about Mr. Obama: about his age, his speaking ability, his intelligence, his family, his physique. And within a late-night landscape dominated by white hosts, white writers, and overwhelmingly white audiences, there has been almost none about his race.

“We’re doing jokes about people in his orbit, not really about him,” said Mike Sweeney, the head writer for Mr. O’Brien on “Late Night.” The jokes will come, representatives of the late-night shows said, when Mr. Obama does or says something that defines him — in comedy terms.

(snip)

There is no doubt, several representatives of the late-night shows said, that so far their audiences (and at least some of the shows’ writers) seem to be favorably disposed toward Mr. Obama, to a degree that perhaps leaves them more resistant to jokes about him than those about most previous candidates.

“A lot of people are excited about his candidacy,” Mr. Sweeney said. “It’s almost like: ‘Hey, don’t go after this guy. He’s a fresh face; cut him some slack.’ ”

Justin Stangel, who is a head writer for “Late Show With David Letterman,” disputed that, saying, “We always have to make jokes about everybody. We’re not trying to lay off the new guy.”


But Mr. Barry said, “I think some of us were maybe too quick to caricature Al Gore and John Kerry and there’s maybe some reluctance to do the same thing to him.”

(snip)

[Stephen] Colbert said he had been freer to poke fun at Mr. Obama than other late-night hosts because “my character on the show doesn’t like him. I’m expected to be hostile to him.”

(snip)

Mr. Burnett of the Letterman show said, “We can’t manufacture a perception. If the perception isn’t true, no one will laugh at it.”

Obama’s rise to the Presidency is commonly compared to that of John F. Kennedy, whose fans were also over-the-top at times. But back then, that didn’t stop the comedy. Kennedy satirist Vaughn Meader sold an astonishing seven and a half million copies of his LP The First Family, released in 1962.







Nixon was needled by (among many) David Frye and Rich Little. Then, Ford by Chevy Chase. Carter by Dan Aykroyd. Reagan by John Roarke (of Fridays — that’s when SNL totally sucked). H.W. Bush by Dana Carvey. Clinton by the late great Phil Hartman, and later by Darrell Hammond. W. Bush by Will Ferrell.

Fred Armisen’s Obama?





That’s not needling, that’s a deep tissue massage.


ABC's Jimmy Kimmel, also quoted in the article as reluctant to take on Obama due to racial sensitivity concerns, at least acknowledged the issue directly on his show. Here's Kimmel going to a barber shop in South Central Los Angeles to survey the African-American staff about what's acceptable when joking about Obama:






On the other hand, Letterman's response to those who have noticed his aversion to joking about Obama was to reach back and bash Bush yet again. From the May 8, 2009 edition of Late Show:






Take special note of what Letterman’s writer Mike Barry was quoted as saying: “I think some of us were maybe too quick to caricature Al Gore and John Kerry and there’s maybe some reluctance to do the same thing to [Barack Obama].”

Think about that for a moment.

Barry openly admits he has regrets about helping Letterman sock it to Gore and Kerry. He seems to be implying caricaturing both of those Democrats played a role in Bush being elected to two terms, and that was a mistake he wasn’t going to allow this go-around. To that end, having already cast John McCain as The Cranky Old Guy, Dave and his writers had no such qualms about caricaturing Governor Palin, as is evidenced by Dave's regularly rattling off a list of gravitas-free women to compare her with in back in September 2008:

I kind of like that Sarah Palin. You know, she reminds me, she looks like the flight attendant who won't give you a second can of Pepsi. No, you've had enough. We're landing. Looks like the waitress at the coffee shop who draws a little smiley face on your check. Have a nice day.

[...]


I like that Sarah Palin. She looks like the lady in the dental office who gives you the keys to the restroom.

Sarah Palin looks like the weekend anchor on Channel 9. She looks like the hygienist who makes you feel guilty about not flossing. She looks like the relieved mom in a Tide commercial.

She looks like the lady at the bakery who yells out, “44! 44! 45!”

Sarah Palin looks like a real estate agent whose picture you see on the bus stop bench.

Sarah Palin looks like the lady who has a chain of cupcake stores.

Sarah Palin looks like the mayor of a small town that’s banned dancing.

This eventually culminated in Letterman’s June 8, 2009 Top Ten list in which he amended his previous flight attendant remark to say she has a “slutty flight attendant look.” That on top of the implications that (taking him at his word) Palin's 18-year-old daughter is either a tramp or a whore.







Eight months have passed since McCain & Palin were defeated by Late Show’s new idol, and Letterman still can’t let Palin go for a second.


Perhaps Letterman, Barry, Burnett, Stanger, and their gag-writing brethren are taking seriously what proudly ill-informed ABC sports reporter Suzy Shuster (I never heard of her either, before this) wrote on the Huffington Post on September 23, 2008 (bold mine):

[...] From the Friday before the skit on SNL aired to the following Tuesday, Palin’s approval rating dropped ten points. Coincidence? I think not. After all, people in this country are tending to be more influenced by who or what they see on entertainment television, more so than on broadcast news or in print. Americans tune into Jon Stewart for their political appetites more than ever ( and why not). So when you, Ms. Fey, don your Palin wig, you influence millions of voters more than Charles (”Charlie”) Gibson or Brian Williams, Paul Begala or that anorexic blond McCain spokeswoman ever could.

And I think its your responsibility to do so, or else we face the consequence of a woman in the White House who would strive to take away your daughter Alice’s right to choose along with every other woman’s in this country.


Most of us who read the Post are already scared out of our wits of what this woman could “accomplish,” should she reach the Vice Presidency or beyond. Abortion outlawed even in the case of incest or rape. Global warming research dismissed. Polar bears left unprotected, not to mention moose murder celebrated. But you, Ms. Fey, have the ability, with just a wink and a smirk, to change the minds of millions of casual viewers and even more casual voters, to educate them. [...M]any swing-state voters get their information and cue from you, Ms. Fey, and you need to provide as much of it as one woman possibly can, before the election is upon us and it is too late.

Comedy can cure and comedy can enlighten, but it must be a constant to reach enough ears to change the hearts and minds of this country, Ms. Fey, and not a minute more can afford to be wasted. So smear on your lipstick, get that slightly crazy look on your face, sharpen your No. 2 shotgun and get to work…

I once had a civics teacher who had escaped the Soviet Union. I never forgot his stories of how risky it was to joke about Stalin, Khrushchev, or Brezhnev. What above-ground humor there was that wasn’t folksy and benign had to be aimed at the correct targets; in other words, it was used as a political weapon by supporters of the government. Here, in the United States of America, “the land of the free and the home of the brave,” I never had a thought that such cowardly thinking could possibly take hold. But, it seems like we’re heading in Moscow’s direction — humor-wise, and otherwise.