CTFD: Right-wing Outrage Over the Casting of Jane Fonda As Nancy Reagan

According to an article in The Hollywood Reporter, two-time Oscar winner Jane Fonda will portray Nancy Reagan in the upcoming bio The Butler. The film is a biopic of Eugene Allen, a butler who served in the White House from 1952 to 1986. Because the film will cover a long time period, Fonda's role will be a supporting one.

The casting of a liberal icon to play the wife of the most popular conservative president in U.S. history has gotten some people on the right in an uproar. In various spots on the Internet, conservatives have voiced their outrage. Below are some of the comments left on Michelle Malkin's Twitter curation site Twitchy:

"What a Slap in the face to Nancy Reagan, I for one will not pay to see this Hollywood Trashing of a Great Lady How Sick."

"A Liberal playing a Conservative. How F***ed is that."

"Liberal activist???  You mean liberal traitor!  America's Tokyo Rose.  She should be in jail with her comrade kerry."

You can read more by going to the Twitchy link I included earlier.

All I can say is ctfd! Should performers only portray people who share their political beliefs?! It's called acting for a reason.

For those who are still upset over Fonda's July 1972 trip to Hanoi, she's already apologized more than once. Since Fonda can't hop into a customized DeLorean and change what she did 40 years ago, I don't know what else she can do. 

If the right-wing really wants to get revenge on those evil liberals who have the audacity to besmirch the reputation of Nancy Reagan by casting Jane Fonda to play her, they should make their own film and cast either Janine Turner or our favorite "Politichick" Victoria Jackson in the role of Hillary Clinton. I'll bet those two could use the acting gig. Here's an idea! Turner and Jackson can go head-to-head in a real-life "Celebrity Deathmatch" to determine who gets the role. However, Jackson isn't allowed to pluck her prized ukelele or sing with that golden throat of hers because doing so would give her an unfair advantage.

Please Take A Moment To Vote In the "Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman" Poll... Thank You

In addition to taking part in the poll, please feel free to explain why you voted the way you did in the comments section of this post.

Final Results of the Recent Game Change Poll

In the recent poll in which I asked people to give their thoughts on the HBO film Game Change, it was a landslide in favor of the movie. Here are the final results:

Thumbs up: 64%
Thumbs down: 0%
I plan on watching it: 7%
I have no interest in seeing it: 28%

The movie was a ratings hit as well. According to Nielsen, Game Change was watched by 2.1 million people on its debut night, which marks the highest ratings for an HBO film since 2004's Something the Lord Made (which starred Alan Rickman and Mos Def).

Thanks to all of you who participated in and commented on this poll.

Sunday Funnies: Will the Real Mitt Romney Please Stand Up?

As you probably know, Mitt Romney's tendency to flip-flop has made him a frequent target for humorous jabs. The following video, which is a parody of the Eminem song The Real Slim Shady, was posted to You Tube on 3/19. Already, it has over 2 million views!

Sign Petition to Get Justice for Trayvon Martin

By now, you have probably heard and/or read about the shooting of Trayvon Martin. If you haven't, you can click on the preceding link. As of 3/21/12, George Zimmerman (the neighborhood watch volunteer who shot and killed Martin) has not been arrested. If you'd like to let your voice be heard over this travesty of justice, there are several online petitions. Below is the link to the one launched by Color of Change:

George Zimmerman petition

Please Take A Moment To Vote In the "Game Change" Poll... Thank You

Ed Harris, Julianne Moore, and Woody Harrelson

Two nights after its 3/10 HBO premiere, I watched the movie Game Change. Based on the 2010 book of the same name, it details events of the 2008 presidential campaign. Although the book covers both the Democratic and the Republican sides from the primary races up to the election, the film narrows its focus by detailing the decision of John McCain (Ed Harris) and campaign strategist Steve Schmidt (Woody Harrelson) to select Sarah Palin (Julianne Moore) as the vice-presidential running mate.

Simply put, I thought the movie was awesome! In terms of great political movies, it ranks up there with the 1949 version of All the King's Men. For the most part, I thought the performances in the film were solid. However, the one which obviously has most people talking is Julianne Moore's uncanny portrayal of Sarah Palin. Moore has talked about the research she did on Palin in preparation for the role and it shows. The mark of a great performance is when you forget you're watching an actor and instead feel you are seeing the genuine article. When the Emmys and Golden Globes roll around, Julianne Moore's performance as Sarah Palin is going to be damn tough to beat.

One thing that may surprise people about Game Change is that it's not a hatchet job on Sarah Palin. Although the movie doesn't shy away from Palin's flaws, she comes off as a sympathetic figure at times. Credit for that goes to Moore's nuanced performance. Even when it's clear that Palin is in over her head, it's easy to feel a bit of empathy for her as she drowns in a sea of note cards prepping for interviews and the VP debate. The same goes for the scenes in which Sarah watches Tina Fey skewer her on SNL.

Whether or not you're a Palin detractor or a supporter, I think Game Change is a must-see film. However, I'm interested to hear what you think about the movie. In addition to voting in the poll (which is located at the top of the sidebar), please don't hesitate to share your thoughts about Game Change in the comments section.

Final Results of the Recent Jeremy Lin Polls

In the recent poll in which I asked people to give their primary reason behind the Jeremy Lin hype, almost half of you said it's due to the underdog factor. Here are the final results:

The "underdog" factor: 46%
His talent: 26%
His race: 20%
The fact that he plays in New York: 6%

Although I think Lin's race is the primary factor for the hype, I don't feel it's by an overwhelming margin.  If I had to break down the reasons behind Lin hype percentage-wise, I'd say it was 35% race, 30% each talent and the "underdog" factor, and 5% because he plays in NY.

I look forward to the day when seeing Asian stars in the NBA is a common occurrence. In addition to Jeremy Lin's success possibly being a gateway for more Asian players into the NBA, I think it'll also cause coaches to look a little closer at the end of their respective benches. For all they know, the next Jeremy Lin (regardless of race) could be riding the pine just waiting for a chance to shine.

Below are the results for the second poll in which I asked for your thoughts on ESPN's disciplanary actions against Anthony Federico and Max Bretos for their use of the term "chink in the armor" (on ESPN's mobile website and ESPNews, respectively):

Federico deserved to be fired:	57%
Federico should have been suspended:	0%
Bretos deserved to be suspended:	14%
Bretos should have been fired:	0%
No action should have been taken against Federico	:  28%
No action should have been taken against Bretos:	28%

I wavered on the Federico portion of this poll. Although part of me thinks he deserved to be fired, I wouldn't have been up in arms if ESPN had just suspended him. On the one hand, Federico's actions could have been intentional. However, it's also possible that this was a simple case of ignorance.

As for Bretos, I think he got caught in the crosshairs of ESPN not wanting this to spiral out of control. Since he was speaking on live TV about a legitimate question regarding Lin's play, I think ESPN should have cut him a bit more slack. Bretos only has about a week left on his suspension. Best wishes to him for when he does return to the airwaves.

Thanks to all of you who participated in and commented on these polls.

Sunday Funnies: Week Ending 3/10/12

Below are some of my favorite political cartoons from last week. Enjoy!

The Fallout From Rush Limbaugh's Comments About Sandra Fluke

In the aftermath of Rush Limbaugh's controversial comments about Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke, several companies pulled their advertising from his radio program. On March 3rd, Rush did something I don't believe he's ever done when faced with backlash from any of the outrageous statements he's made... he offered an apology. At least it's the closest he could come to one.

Posted on Rush's website is his "apology":

"For over 20 years, I have illustrated the absurd with absurdity, three hours a day, five days a week.  In this instance, I chose the wrong words in my analogy of the situation. I did not mean a personal attack on Ms. Fluke.

I think it is absolutely absurd that during these very serious political times, we are discussing personal sexual recreational activities before members of Congress. I personally do not agree that American citizens should pay for these social activities. What happened to personal responsibility and accountability? Where do we draw the line? If this is accepted as the norm, what will follow? Will we be debating if taxpayers should pay for new sneakers for all students that are interested in running to keep fit?In my monologue, I posited that it is not our business whatsoever to know what is going on in anyone's bedroom nor do I think it is a topic that should reach a Presidential level.

My choice of words was not the best, and in the attempt to be humorous, I created a national stir. I sincerely apologize to Ms. Fluke for the insulting word choices."

 

Rush's apology rings false because after his initial Wednesday February 29th attack against Ms. Fluke, he hurled additional verbal bombs at her on Thursday and Friday. It was only after a number of advertisers started to abandon ship that he saw the error of his ways. Apparently, his "apology" hasn't stopped the bleeding because another advertiser, Carbonite, pulled their ads from his show. After dropping Limbaugh's program, Carbonite CEO David Friend said the following:

"No one with daughters the age of Sandra Fluke, and I have two, could possibly abide the insult and abuse heaped upon this courageous and well-intentioned young lady. Mr. Limbaugh, with his highly personal attacks on Miss Fluke, overstepped any reasonable bounds of decency. Even though Mr. Limbaugh has now issued an apology, we have nonetheless decided to withdraw our advertising from his show. We hope that our action, along with the other advertisers who have already withdrawn their ads, will ultimately contribute to a more civilized public discourse."

 

While writing this post, I learned that another company (Pro Flowers) yanked their ads from Limbaugh's show on March 4th. Props to all the companies who have finally had enough of Limbaugh's "entertainment". 

 

If you'd like to let the companies still advertising on Rush's program know that you don't approve of his misogyny, below is one of the sites where you can make your voice heard.

 

CREDO action

 

Let me close by saying that the Limbaugh/Fluke controversy isn't a left vs. right issue to me. Even if one disagrees with Ms. Fluke's stance that health insurance plans should cover the cost of birth control, I don't see how they can defend Rush's despicable attacks against her. As always, I like to hear from people with opposing viewpoints. I'd especially like to hear from any female conservatives who read this post. 

Sandra Fluke's testimony:

Conspiracy Theorists Implicate the Obama Administration In Andrew Breitbart's Death

In the aftermath of the death of conservative activist Andrew Breitbart (who passed away on Thursday due to natural causes at the age of 43), conspiracy theorists believe the Obama administration is responsible. Come on... seriously?! Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian of the Young Turks give their thoughts on this nonsense.



25 People Who Think Obama Killed Breitbart