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Let me credit Hugh Hewitt, who, last Friday, briefly compared Biden’s dystopian speech last Thursday night to H.G. Well’s classic, War of the Worlds.
I don’t remember how old I was when I first saw the 1953 “War of the Worlds” movie with my father, starring Gene Barry, but it made an indelible mark. That early colorized movie was based on the famous 1938 fictional news broadcast of a Martian invasion of Earth produced by a very young Orson Welles, which Hewitt played a part of during his Friday morning nationally broadcast radio show. Smithsonian Magazine provides the backdrop:
On Halloween morning, 1938, Orson Welles awoke to find himself the most talked about man in America. The night before, Welles and his Mercury Theatre on the Air had performed a radio adaptation of H.G. Wells’s The War of the Worlds, converting the 40-year-old novel into fake news bulletins describing a Martian invasion of New Jersey. Some listeners mistook those bulletins for the real thing, and their anxious phone calls to police, newspaper offices, and radio stations convinced many journalists that the show had caused nationwide hysteria. By the next morning, the 23-year-old Welles’s face and name were on the front pages of newspapers coast-to-coast, along with headlines about the mass panic his CBS broadcast had allegedly inspired.
MAGA Republicans?
As an impressionable young child, science fiction was to me as Steven King or “Freddy Krueger” (Halloween) horror movies are to others. I’m told the movie is still available on Amazon Prime for free. You probably better remember the Steven Spielburg remake in 2005 that starred Tom Cruise.
MAGA Republicans, AGAIN? Or is it the IRS this time?
You could be forgiven for confusing Biden’s dark, dystopian and politicized speech before Independence Hall in Philadelphia on Thursday night with something real and perilous. Then again, no, you couldn’t. Surely, no person is that detached from reality or that gullible.
Then again, I could be wrong. From a “Project Lincoln” staffer:
I’m betting that you didn’t watch it. I didn’t, until later. It was cringe-worthy and almost unwatchable. Most Pennsylvanians were gratefully occupied elsewhere, affixed to the start of the college football season in Penn State’s narrow win over Perdue, or perhaps 16th-ranked University of Pittsburgh’s win over West Virginia. Only CNN and MSNBC covered Biden’s address, two of America’s least-watched, least credible, and most delusional and hysterical media organs, exceeded only in their official state propaganda by Cuba’s Granma, Communist China’s People’s Daily, or perhaps Russia’s Pravda.
It was a speech more notable for weird if inappropriate stagecraft and its “every day is Halloween” pallor. All that was missing were pumpkins and spooky music (word is that the Marine Band is incensed at being used for political purposes). Independence Hall, if not the entire city of Philadephia, needs a thorough cleansing after this debacle. And frankly, given its politics, it needed one before. Biden and his malevolent team sullied the sacred birthplace of our republic.
The speech is more mock-worthy than newsworthy. It was bad, unpresidential, detached from reality, and transparently political. Biden’s incompetent team should be grateful for the lack of coverage. But fortunately, we have the media “echo chamber” to remind us in perpetuity.
This was the opening Democratic campaign speech for the November 8th election. That much is painfully obvious. They are duplicating former Governor Terry McAuliffe’s gubernatorial campaign strategy in Virginia from 2021 when he campaigned on two things; Donald Trump and abortion. Mostly the former.
Guess who the governor of Virginia is today? Hint: Not Terry McAuliffe, in a state Biden carried by some ten percentage points over Donald Trump just a year earlier.
Guess who wants to make the 2022 elections about Donald Trump? And abortion? The same political geniuses who thought it would work for Terry McAuliffe. That’s what this speech was all about. And it is likely to result in the same way McAuliffe’s campaign did, in abject defeat.
Meanwhile, guess the issues atop the list of voter concerns not mentioned or addressed by Joe Biden in his dystopian, fear-mongering speech last Thursday?
Affordability, including double-digit increases in the prices of groceries and gasoline since he took office. Rising crime is a top issue in what is becoming America’s citadel of violent crime, Philadelphia, but elsewhere. Our open southern border, across which some 3-5 million people have crossed since Biden took office. And how about education? Lockdowns promoted by teacher unions and their allies in the Biden Administration have harmed school children.
“The study, from the consulting firm McKinsey, shows how school shutdowns and lockdowns set back millions of American students—and hurt the poorest and most vulnerable families hardest,” reported The Federalist. “It reiterates how prolonged school closures, instigated by overly cautious politicians at the behest of intransigent teachers’ unions, may have set back an entire generation of American children.” But Trump!
And we were all reminded last month of the shameful Afghanistan withdrawal, leaving behind to the Taliban enough military equipment that could have helped ensure the Ukrainian victory over Russia.
Those are the issues on voters’ minds, more than the painful killing of innocent unborn children or some mythical fear of “white supremacists” waiting in the bushes for another attempt to invade the Capitol. Spare me.
Here was the section of Biden’s speech that reeked of falsehood, hypocrisy and projection:
This is a nation that honors our Constitution. We do not reject it. (Applause.)
This is a nation that believes in the rule of law. We do not repudiate it. (Applause.)
This is a nation that respects free and fair elections. We honor the will of the people. We do not deny it. (Applause.)
And this is a nation that rejects violence as a political tool. We do not encourage violence.
This is the very same President who violated the Constitution just days earlier by unilaterally transferring student loan debt from mostly elitist graduate students to those without degrees or who responsibly paid their way.
This is the very same president of a party that challenged the election results of 2016, 2004, and 2000.
The same president of a party that condoned, if not praised, more than 500 violent episodes across the country following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis but continues to be focused on the demonic politicization of the horrific January 6th Capitol violence to score political points.
If these “MAGA Republicans” are so dangerous, why did the Democratic party spend $44 million in GOP primaries to ensure that these supposedly dangerous candidates were nominated on ballots across the country this fall? You know why.
And if you think Joe Biden’s frequent and sometimes racist tropes are limited to Donald Trump and his more loyal supporters, recall when he said then-GOP presidential nominee and now-Senator Mitt Romney wanted to “put y’all back in chains” while talking to African Americans in Danville, Virginia, ten years ago. Campaigning for McAuliffe in Virginia last year, he said extremism comes in many forms, including “a smile and a fleece vest,” referencing now-Governor Glenn Youngkin’s trademark campaign attire.
Biden’s speech was an abject failure of leadership and cemented his legacy as one of America’s worst presidents. That most Democratic officials didn’t rush to microphones and cameras to parrot Biden’s miscues was telling.
It begs a question. What exactly is the “MAGA Republican” agenda?
Orson Welles in 1938 wound up apologizing for the actions resulting from his fictionalized news broadcast. Wikipedia recounts the story:
Some listeners heard only a portion of the broadcast and, in the tension and anxiety prior to World War II, mistook it for a genuine news broadcast.[28] Thousands of them shared the false reports with others or called CBS, newspapers, or the police to ask if the broadcast was real. Many newspapers assumed that the large number of phone calls and the scattered reports of listeners rushing about or fleeing their homes proved the existence of a mass panic, but such behavior was never widespread.
Future Tonight Show host Jack Paar had announcing duties that night for Cleveland CBS affiliate WGAR. As panicked listeners called the studio, he attempted to calm them on the phone and on air by saying: “The world is not coming to an end. Trust me. When have I ever lied to you?” When the listeners started to accuse Paar with “covering up the truth”, he called WGAR’s station manager for help. Oblivious to the situation, the manager advised Paar to calm down and said that it was “all a tempest in a teapot.”
In a 1975 interview with radio historian Chuck Schaden, radio actor Alan Reed recalled being one of several actors recruited to answer phone calls at CBS’s New York headquarters.
In Concrete, Washington, phone lines and electricity suffered a short circuit at the Superior Portland Cement Company’s substation. Residents were unable to call neighbors, family, or friends to calm their fears. Reporters who heard of the coincidental blackout sent the story over the newswire, and Concrete was known worldwide.
Welles (later) . . . read a statement that was later printed in newspapers nationwide and took questions from reporters.
Question: Were you aware of the terror such a broadcast would stir up? Welles: Definitely not. The technique I used was not original with me. It was not even new. I anticipated nothing unusual.
Question: Should you have toned down the language of the drama? Welles: No, you don’t play murder in soft words.
Question: Why was the story changed to put in names of American cities and government officers? Welles: H. G. Wells used real cities in Europe, and to make the play more acceptable to American listeners we used real cities in America. Of course, I’m terribly sorry now.
Don’t count on an apology from Joe Biden for his fearmongering. Fortunately, no mobs are showing up in the streets to believe anything he said was real. We’re not as stupid as Joe Biden and his handlers think.
Oh, and how did H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds end? How did Earth overcome the technological superiority of the invading Martians? Spoiler alert: It was the power of our immune systems over theirs. “We can’t beat their machines. We have to beat them,” Barry said. Dwell on that.
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Kelly D Johnston: Don’t count on an apology from Joe Biden for his fearmongering. Fortunately, no mobs are showing up in the streets to believe anything he said was real. We’re not as stupid as Joe Biden and his handlers think.
Joe is saying that he didn’t say the stuff he said. Or at least that he didn’t mean to imply that all the people who voted for Trump were the biggest threat that American democracy has ever faced when he said that all the people who voted for Trump were the biggest threat that American democracy has ever faced.
I thought Hugh was using a Game Of Thrones reference, calling it “The Red Setting” or something like that.
But I don’t pay attention to him any more. For a variety of reasons, including that he’s one of those Beltway types who believes their government experience from 40 or 50 years ago is still relevant today.
Kelly D Johnston: Don’t count on an apology from Joe Biden for his fearmongering. Fortunately, no mobs are showing up in the streets to believe anything he said was real. We’re not as stupid as Joe Biden and his handlers think.
Joe is saying that he didn’t say the stuff he said. Or at least that he didn’t mean to imply that all the people who voted for Trump were the biggest threat that American democracy has ever faced when he said that all the people who voted for Trump were the biggest threat that American democracy has ever faced.
Joe at his cogent best. That, or he’s lying as usual.
Kelly D Johnston: I don’t remember how old I was when I first saw the 1953 “War of the Worlds” movie with my father, starring Gene Barry, but it made an indelible mark. That early colorized movie
The movie wasn’t colorized, it opens with a B&W “newsreel” segment, but the movie was filmed in Technicolor.
Michael Goodwin’s column is saying that the speech was all his idea.:
“The speech President Biden gave on Thursday was one he reportedly wanted to give for weeks, but White House staff resisted. Aides didn’t think it was the right speech or the right time, which in plain English means they didn’t like it.
For once, give them credit. Now that we see what garbage the Big Guy had on his mind, they were right to resist.
Unfortunately, he pulled rank and they had to let Biden be Biden. The result was bad for Democrats and terrible for the nation. “
Just like Afghanistan. The Democrats should be sued for malpractice for saddling us with this buffoon.
Michael Goodwin’s column is saying that the speech was all his idea.:
“The speech President Biden gave on Thursday was one he reportedly wanted to give for weeks, but White House staff resisted. Aides didn’t think it was the right speech or the right time, which in plain English means they didn’t like it.
For once, give them credit. Now that we see what garbage the Big Guy had on his mind, they were right to resist.
Unfortunately, he pulled rank and they had to let Biden be Biden. The result was bad for Democrats and terrible for the nation. “
Just like Afghanistan. The Democrats should be sued for malpractice for saddling us with this buffoon.
Kelly D Johnston: I don’t remember how old I was when I first saw the 1953 “War of the Worlds” movie with my father, starring Gene Barry, but it made an indelible mark. That early colorized movie
The movie wasn’t colorized, it opens with a B&W “newsreel” segment, but the movie was filmed in Technicolor.
Kelly D Johnston: I don’t remember how old I was when I first saw the 1953 “War of the Worlds” movie with my father, starring Gene Barry, but it made an indelible mark. That early colorized movie
The movie wasn’t colorized, it opens with a B&W “newsreel” segment, but the movie was filmed in Technicolor.
Kelly D Johnston: I don’t remember how old I was when I first saw the 1953 “War of the Worlds” movie with my father, starring Gene Barry, but it made an indelible mark. That early colorized movie
The movie wasn’t colorized, it opens with a B&W “newsreel” segment, but the movie was filmed in Technicolor.
The movie is in color. Look it up.
I already knew, didn’t need to look it up. But I’ve never seen/heard colorIZED used except for movies that were originally black-and-white, with color added later. “It’s A Wonderful Life” being a somewhat obvious example.
Katie Halper and Max Blumenthal breaking it down from the Left. Interesting that they see political danger from the speech, and how they see it targeting the Republican establishment.
The speech isn’t about convincing voters – electoral democracy is so 2016. It’s about providing moral cover for the Deep State’s trigger pullers and those that command or protect them. The FBI agent who was told to stand around outside Mar-A-Largo to provide set dressing for CNN and has since decided to grow a beard rather than look himself in the mirror every morning. The 20-something AntiFa foot soldier wondering why the Revolution seems to require hurting so many working class PoC. The lawyer in the DA’s office who was beginning to be troubled about who she is being told to let go and who to hound. Now they know: the Other is Evil and the Establishment has their back.
The speech isn’t about convincing voters – electoral democracy is so 2016. It’s about providing moral cover for the Deep State’s trigger pullers and those that command or protect them. The FBI agent who was told to stand around outside Mar-A-Largo to provide set dressing for CNN and has since decided to grow a beard rather than look himself in the mirror every morning. The 20-something AntiFa foot soldier wondering why the Revolution seems to require hurting so many working class PoC. The lawyer in the DA’s office who was beginning to be troubled about who she is being told to let go and who to hound. Now they know: the Other is Evil and the Establishment has their back.
Yes, I think this is all correct. And that “wondering why” part is important: I think the radical left is losing America.
I spend some time on Twitter now, still hoping that Musk will eventually buy it and expose/end the censorship. I’ve somehow fallen in with people who refer to themselves as GC — Gender Critical — and are opposed to the trans nonsense. There are thousands of these people, and they’re growing in number. And they’re loud. And, more often than not, they’re liberal, even progressive. But intersectional identity politics corrupts everything it touches, and it’s set the left against itself. I find myself in alignment, on the trans issue, with people who agree with me about essentially nothing else.
The left has jumped the shark.
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Biden’s “War of the Worlds” Speech
MAGA Republicans?
Joe is saying that he didn’t say the stuff he said. Or at least that he didn’t mean to imply that all the people who voted for Trump were the biggest threat that American democracy has ever faced when he said that all the people who voted for Trump were the biggest threat that American democracy has ever faced.
“The future is certain. It is the past that is unpredictable.” – Russian saying from the old Soviet days
I thought Hugh was using a Game Of Thrones reference, calling it “The Red Setting” or something like that.
But I don’t pay attention to him any more. For a variety of reasons, including that he’s one of those Beltway types who believes their government experience from 40 or 50 years ago is still relevant today.
Joe at his cogent best. That, or he’s lying as usual.
The movie wasn’t colorized, it opens with a B&W “newsreel” segment, but the movie was filmed in Technicolor.
Michael Goodwin’s column is saying that the speech was all his idea.:
“The speech President Biden gave on Thursday was one he reportedly wanted to give for weeks, but White House staff resisted. Aides didn’t think it was the right speech or the right time, which in plain English means they didn’t like it.
For once, give them credit. Now that we see what garbage the Big Guy had on his mind, they were right to resist.
Unfortunately, he pulled rank and they had to let Biden be Biden. The result was bad for Democrats and terrible for the nation. “
Just like Afghanistan. The Democrats should be sued for malpractice for saddling us with this buffoon.
Criminal negligence, at minimum.
The movie is in color. Look it up.
The movie is in color. Look it up.
I already knew, didn’t need to look it up. But I’ve never seen/heard colorIZED used except for movies that were originally black-and-white, with color added later. “It’s A Wonderful Life” being a somewhat obvious example.
Katie Halper and Max Blumenthal breaking it down from the Left. Interesting that they see political danger from the speech, and how they see it targeting the Republican establishment.
The speech isn’t about convincing voters – electoral democracy is so 2016. It’s about providing moral cover for the Deep State’s trigger pullers and those that command or protect them. The FBI agent who was told to stand around outside Mar-A-Largo to provide set dressing for CNN and has since decided to grow a beard rather than look himself in the mirror every morning. The 20-something AntiFa foot soldier wondering why the Revolution seems to require hurting so many working class PoC. The lawyer in the DA’s office who was beginning to be troubled about who she is being told to let go and who to hound. Now they know: the Other is Evil and the Establishment has their back.
Yes, I think this is all correct. And that “wondering why” part is important: I think the radical left is losing America.
I spend some time on Twitter now, still hoping that Musk will eventually buy it and expose/end the censorship. I’ve somehow fallen in with people who refer to themselves as GC — Gender Critical — and are opposed to the trans nonsense. There are thousands of these people, and they’re growing in number. And they’re loud. And, more often than not, they’re liberal, even progressive. But intersectional identity politics corrupts everything it touches, and it’s set the left against itself. I find myself in alignment, on the trans issue, with people who agree with me about essentially nothing else.
The left has jumped the shark.