Notes - June 24, 2025
Ever since Trump came down that gilded escalator, I have posted the following and similar. I will continue to post until my last breath or until a second person listens.
The sad part is that we were warned by patriots from Alexander Hamilton to Barry Goldwater, Billy Graham, Bob Robinson and Ghandi. I could even go back to the ancient Greeks.
“Now I understand
What you tried to say to me
And how you suffered for your sanity
And how you tried to set them free
They would not listen, they did not know how
Perhaps they'll listen now”
You keep watching the left while the right strips you of your rights, your freedom, your Republic.
“FREETHOUGHT OF THE DAY
(We Were Warned)
The religious factions that are growing throughout our land are not using their religious clout wisely.
They are trying to force government leaders to follow their position 100 percent. If you disagree with these religious groups on a particular moral issue, they complain, they threaten you with a loss of money or votes or both.
I'm frankly sick and tired of the political preachers across this country telling me ... that if I want to be a moral person, I must believe in A, B, C, and D.”
. . .
“Mark my word, if and when these preachers get control of the Republican party, and they're sure trying to do so, it's going to be a terrible damn problem.
Frankly, these people frighten me. Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can't and won't compromise.
I know, I've tried to deal with them."
. . .
"The conservative movement, to which I subscribe, has as one of its basic tenets the belief that government should stay out of people's private lives.
Government governs best when it governs least - and stays out of the impossible task of legislating morality.
But legislating someone's version of morality is exactly what we do by perpetuating discrimination against gays.”
~Barry Goldwater
Businessman, United States Senator
"I don't want to see religious bigotry in any form. It would disturb me if there was a wedding between the religious fundamentalists and the political right. The hard right has no interest in religion except to manipulate it."
- Rev. Billy Graham, Parade, 1981
"The fact that many so called evangelicals support an amoral thug like Trump proves that Christianity has nothing to do with their belief system -- it's just a cover for right wing politics. If Jesus returned today and looked at his church as practiced by these folks, he wouldn't recognize it."
~ Bob Robinson
Jesus would be appalled by fundamentalist US Christianity. To quote Ghandi, "I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."
"You might want to sit down before you read this 1792 Hamilton quote."
The truth unquestionably is, that the only path to a subversion of the republican system of the Country is, by flattering the prejudices of the people, and exciting their jealousies and apprehensions, to throw affairs into confusion, and bring on civil commotion...
When a man unprincipled in private life, desperate in his fortune, bold in his temper, possessed of considerable talents....despotic in his ordinary demeanor--known to have scoffed in private at the principles of liberty-when such a man is seen to mount the hobby horse of popularity-to join in the cry of danger to liberty-to take every opportunity of embarrassing the General Government & bringing it under suspicion-to flatter and fall in with all the non sense of the zealots of the day -- It may justly be suspected that his object is to throw things into confusion that he may 'ride the storm and direct the whirlwind.'
~Alexander Hamilton,
Objections and Answers Respecting the Administration, August 18, 1792
So, you say you vote for those who share your religious values. Just guessing that President Kennedy was more pious than you are. I believe that religious values and moral values are not necessarily the same.
I wonder how today’s Supreme Court Justices and Members of Congress would respond if subject to the same questioning then Senator John F. Kennedy was? Ask yourself as you listen, how are things different today than they were in 1960 thanks to our politicians? Have we progressed during the past 65 years? Or are there those who block such progress for personal gain and wealth while other free countries blossom? Again, I have many questions but very few answers.
https://youtu.be/zo5OwuryDfo
“They would not listen, they're not listening still
Perhaps they never will”
https://youtu.be/6_35a7sn6ds?si=fOVi7UjISNMg2bXZ
Hatred of Jews
https://youtu.be/rZv2H72itns?si=pGwKjyVC2Ujn5pOH
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Badalamenti
How will future generations distinguish the truth if we can’t do that today!?!
https://youtu.be/cTjz8gJinUM?si=cnvvYEBtRdR_Yy5R
“I want this war to be over
What the hell are we fighting for?
It's hard to stay sober
When scratching at the devil's door”
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1C9L84YFU8/?mibextid=wwXIfr
Taunting has never proven to be a successful military tactic. It’s as if Trump is daring the Iranian fanatical religious leadership to launch terror attacks directly on our home soil. This is the sign of a madman, not a competent leader. Any domestic bloodshed will be on the hands of Trump’s enablers. Putting our military in harms way is one thing. They are trained to defend themselves. Putting the general public in harms way is sociopathic, moronic, and treasonous, at the least. We are not pawns in a chess game to be sacrificed.
We have inherited an unfair world.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez here. We have inherited a world where prior generations of leadership have set the table so that companies get richer and richer, and people's incomes stay the same or get even lower.
I refuse to leave an unfair world to generations to come.
We will make sure that we leave a different world. One where people can work 40 hours a week, put food on the table, afford their housing, and live a decent life.
And if people want to call me “extreme" for believing that? Bring it on.
We have nothing to fear. There is nothing to fear in moving forward into a better future.
MAGA supporters accidentally reveal how surprised they are that Donald Trump's Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, managed to do the bare minimum of his job and not leak any critical war plans in Trump targeting sites in Iran. John ladarola and Jayar Jackson break it down on The Damage Report. Leave a comment with your thoughts below!
Read more here:
Hegseth struggles with meaning of 'deterrence' and ‘open-ended' after strikes on Iran -
https://www.msnbc.com/..
"The morning after Donald Trump delivered a national address on the U.S. military strikes on Iranian nuclear targets, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth held a rare Pentagon press conference in which he talked at some length about how impressed he was with the president.
He also, however, managed to weave in some comments about the mission.
"Many presidents have dreamed of delivering the final blow to Iran's nuclear program, and none could, until President Trump," Hegseth declared. "The operation President Trump planned was bold and it was brilliant, showing the world that American deterrence is back."
But that's not quite what "deterrence" means. In a national security context, the whole point of deterrence is to instill fear of consequences. When the U.S. is deterring foreign foes, it's generally the result of the fear of a possible military offensive."
https://youtu.be/eV4u7JlGT4k?si=pHOiq8K-YBLaVf9U
500 Miles
https://youtu.be/rwnNdqpCF8Q?si=KRWMhPD1oDRAW_As
https://youtu.be/wLT8tz8rpt0?si=amu5BXaII2e6wC4g
https://youtu.be/wLT8tz8rpt0?si=3X_ImEr_kT6pAlXe
Tensions boiled over as PAM BONDI clashed with Democrat MADELEINE DEAN in a fiery on-air exchange that left viewers stunned.
https://youtu.be/uchhwQwk6Wc?si=oxt-EmPmutW9_xOS
During a House Appropriations Committee hearing, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) questioned Attorney General Pam Bondi about proposed cuts to ATF.
https://youtu.be/YGDcTa66HsI?si=ka3djEHqurJsT43w
Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa., exchanged a tense back and forth with Attorney General Pam Bondi about ethics compliance during a House Appropriations Committee hearing Monday.
https://youtu.be/WiX4Rz8rXo0?si=cnseKU8qkgbV0wXA
Political commentator Jack Cocchiarella reacts to Pam Bondi's appearance before Congress.
https://youtu.be/yGwXs8LHhWA?si=v0BwC3XZlDgAIGJh
Rep. Ted Lieu has earned my respect.
Masked men in Border Patrol vests violently detained a father of three US Marines. If the Department of Homeland Security wants their agents to be respected, they cannot act like masked vigilantes who violate the law.
https://youtu.be/aqmfrWDkfdY?si=oALaXQkzyVnlnXPj
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and I differ on our opinions about Hamas, Israel, Qatar, Gaza, Iran, and the history involving them. We do agree that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is as despicable and horrific as Bibi Netanyahu and Israel’s right wing government is. That has nothing to do with my love, respect and admiration for her as both a person and politician. She refused to yield her time while she was speaking about how, under new legislation proposed by Republicans, women could be kicked off of their insurance if they had a miscarriage.
https://youtu.be/RW7f3j0DdcM?si=2XP49KqF-F88Rxgr
I love Ms. Melanie Ann Stansbury from New Mexico.
https://youtu.be/yGwXs8LHhWA?si=KhScgw55Ws4gPDtJ
https://youtu.be/WiX4Rz8rXo0?si=cnseKU8qkgbV0wXA
I have known about Donald Trump since working in the City back in the 1960s and I am no Donald Trump. I have tried very hard, honestly I have, to find common grounds with him. You know, things we have in common. Traits, interests, opinions, taste in clothes, tastes in women, music, movies, books, plays, mentality, education, ancestry, likes, dislikes. To date, I have come up empty. Zero. Moqwaʼ goqwei. Aucune. Zilch. Nada. Nyet. æ— .
I love Sophie Cunningham. She says she had to wreck a chick because the WNBA hadn’t been willing to protect Caitlin Clark for two years. Love this:
Sophie Cunningham: "Oh, you know what? I'm just going to be me. I don't go in there trying to predetermine anything. You know, I'm dialed in; I need to focus on hitting my shots, making sure I'm executing the schemes right. I'm not focused on the extracurricular activities. And you know what? During that, it was just part of the game. I think the refs had a lot to do with that. It was a buildup for a couple of years now of them just not protecting, you know, the star player of the WNBA. And so, at the end of the day, I'm going to protect my teammates. That's what I do, and I'm a team player."
Thankfully not all visionaries are castrated by corporate douchebag hookers.
In a 2024 interview with "The Hollywood Reporter", Al Pacino revealed a moment of vulnerability during the making of "The Godfather" that had never surfaced publicly before. He described a point midway through production when he felt utterly uncertain about his performance as Michael Corleone.
During a key rehearsal, Francis Ford Coppola pulled him aside and whispered, “Play it like you know something no one else in the room knows.” That single line transformed Pacino’s approach to the character. He called it the moment Michael’s cold silence was born. Pacino admitted that before that scene, he believed he might be fired. “I was on the edge. One wrong scene and I’d be gone. That note from Francis became the spine of Michael Corleone.”
When Coppola cast Pacino, Paramount executives were furious. The studio wanted a more prominent face like Robert Redford, Warren Beatty, or Ryan O’Neal. They found Pacino too short, too unknown, and lacking the kind of screen dominance they associated with leading men. Coppola fought for him, risking his own position. According to Pacino, Coppola even told the studio, “If he goes, I go.” That bold stance from the director set the tone for a production that constantly teetered between vision and chaos.
Casting was a battlefield. Marlon Brando, who played Don Vito Corleone, had fallen out of favor in Hollywood due to his erratic behavior and box office flops. Paramount refused to hire him unless he agreed to a screen test and put up a financial bond ensuring professional conduct. Brando agreed. For the screen test, he transformed himself without a word, greased his hair back, shoved tissues into his cheeks, and gave life to the aging mob patriarch before the camera started rolling. Coppola said, “The moment I saw him on the monitor, I knew the film had found its soul.”
The filming process, though artistically rich, was strained. Paramount gave Coppola an ultimatum early into shooting after daily footage didn’t meet their expectations. The studio nearly fired him three times in the first month. Cinematographer Gordon Willis’s preference for low lighting further frustrated executives, who believed audiences wouldn’t accept such dim visuals. Willis, dubbed “The Prince of Darkness,” wanted every frame to reflect the psychological undercurrent of crime and family. His lighting in the restaurant assassination scene, where Michael shoots Sollozzo and McCluskey, remains one of the most analyzed scenes in film schools today.
James Caan, who played Sonny Corleone, prepared for his role by shadowing real-life mob figures. He admitted during a podcast interview in 2022 that he spent time in Brooklyn with individuals who were “connected” to study their mannerisms. His rapid-fire movements and aggression were drawn from those observations. Caan’s most intense scene, the tollbooth ambush, took three days to shoot. Over 140 squibs (mini explosive blood packs) were used, setting a record at that time. The result was a harrowing, unforgettable death sequence that shocked audiences in 1972.
Another moment nearly lost to history involves the wedding scene. Coppola insisted that much of it be unscripted. Real Italian food was served, real musicians played live, and actors were encouraged to drink wine. This was not just method direction, it was Coppola’s attempt to immerse his cast into the Corleone world. Diane Keaton said in a 2017 interview, “We weren’t acting that day. We were living it.”
John Cazale, who played Fredo, had to reshoot several scenes due to concerns that he appeared too mentally fragile. Coppola adjusted Fredo’s portrayal after consulting with Cazale, making the character a mix of insecurity and misplaced loyalty. Cazale, often overlooked in mainstream awards, became a legend among actors for his ability to convey inner tragedy with minimal dialogue.
The musical score by Nino Rota nearly got rejected. Paramount initially thought the theme sounded too “European” and unsuitable for American audiences. But Coppola stood firm. Today, the haunting waltz has become one of the most iconic soundtracks in cinematic history.
The film's final scene, where Michael lies to Kay and the door slowly shuts, was initially a point of contention. Studio executives pushed for a more open-ended conclusion. Coppola refused. That closing door, he insisted, was Michael’s final transformation into the Don. It symbolized a permanent separation between the personal and the criminal, between husband and mafia king.
Every frame of "The Godfather" was earned through defiance, risk, and vision, not convenience or comfort. Every moment carries the weight of battles won behind the camera. That’s why even today, when Pacino revisits the film, he sees not only Michael Corleone but also the boy who feared he might be fired at any moment.
A fact is information minus emotion. An opinion is information plus experience. Our opinions differ because we have different experiences and have been exposed to different information. I do not know what information and experiences your opinions are based on. I am merely attempting to relay the information I have been exposed to.
Being antiIsraeli citizens is tantamount to being anti-Zionist. Do you feel anti-Zionism is also being antisemitic? Before you ask me to Google “Semitic,” you should Bing or DuckDuckGo the difference between “anti-Semitic” and “Semitic.”
Or, listen to so-called experts and watch this in full:
MUNK DEBATES OF CANADA
Is anti-Zionism antisemitism? That was the provocative question put to a packed audience at the Munk Debate on June 17, 2024 in Toronto's Roy Thomson Hall. Over 300 listeners heard from speakers debating whether calling for an end to the Jewish state is antisemitic or not.
. . .
The occasion for this in-depth dive into the current Gaza war was the 30th Munk Debate, sponsored in Canada by a charitable foundation. Host Rudyard Griffiths explained
"that's it through more and better debates that we learn and confront difficult ideas... We do this both to sharpen our own thinking, our own perspectives, (and) we also do it as part of our commitment to a free and open society to listen to each other, to debate each other, to respect each other's free speech rights."
https://youtu.be/y0_JtKOZbKo?si=5f6CwwaCqKM3cOJq
A fact is information minus emotion. An opinion is information plus experience. Our opinions differ because we have different experiences and exposed to different information. I do not know what information and experiences your opinions are based on. I am merely attempting to relay the information I have been exposed to.
Comments
Post a Comment