The Dumbing Down of ‘Dunkirk’ - WSJ

The Dumbing Down of ‘Dunkirk’ - WSJ:
"On May 28, 1940, Winston Churchill held a meeting of his government’s ministers.
“I described the course of events and showed them plainly where we were, and all that was in the balance,” Churchill later wrote.
“Then I said quite casually . . .: ‘Of course, whatever happens at Dunkirk, we shall fight on.’ . . . I was sure that every Minister was ready to be killed quite soon, and have all his family and possessions destroyed, rather than give in. . . . There was a white glow, overpowering, sublime, which ran through our island from end to end.”
“Dunkirk,” opening in theaters Friday, is noteworthy in many respects.
Not least for its creator’s decision—on the interesting ground that it would make things clearer for audiences—to avoid any appearance of Churchill. 
...When an event in history has become, in the mind of a writer, “universal” it’s a tip-off—the warning bell that we’re about to lose most of the important facts of that history, and that the story-telling will be a special kind—a sort that obscures all specifics that run counter to the noble vision of the universalist.
...No wonder those German Stukas and Heinkels bombarding the British can barely be identified as such.
Then there is Mr. Nolan’s avoidance of Churchill lest audiences get bogged down in “politics”—a strange term for Churchill’s concerns during those dark days of May 1940.
...There was, for Churchill, no acceptable accommodation with Hitler.
He knew the disastrous impact on British morale of any word of talks or arrangements with the Nazis.
They would instead hear from their new prime minister only the iron determination to defeat the enemy, the confidence that it would be done—which had not a little to do with the strengthened spirit of the British public.
...Left out of this saga is any other sense of the importance of Operation Dynamo, the unexpectedly successful rescue of 338,000 soldiers who could, instead of being marched off to captivity by that barely visible enemy—call it Nation X—return to an England desperate for manpower.
...It’s possible of course that a director less apprehensive about appearing old-fashioned might have risked an actual clip of the prime minister without undue harm to the audience.
In the bleak days of 1940, Churchill told his cabinet: “If this long island story of ours is to end at last, let it end only when each of us lies choking on his own blood on the ground.”
If Batman ever said anything remotely as interesting, he’d have our devoted attention."

Lunch video-----USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) Most Advanced And Capable Aircraft Carrier ...

Noon-toon-----Wondermark » Archive » #1328; In which a Mind is blown

Wondermark » Archive » #1328; In which a Mind is blown

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu Expresses True Feelings For Obama Administration

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu Expresses True Feelings For Obama Administration:

"During a closed-session meeting Wednesday morning in the Hungarian capital of Budapest with leaders of the Visegrád Group (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia), Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accidentally made hot mic remarks about former U.S. President Barack Obama that took reporters by surprise.

“We had a big problem,” he said, referring to his administration’s dealings with the Obama administration. “It’s different now. The U.S. is more engaged in the region [Syria and the Middle East] and conducting more bombings. It is a positive thing.”"

After Muslim cop kills unarmed woman, Minneapolis mayor reassures Muslims, warns against “Islamophobia”

After Muslim cop kills unarmed woman, Minneapolis mayor reassures Muslims, warns against “Islamophobia”
"It is increasingly clear, as we learn about Mohamed Noor’s nervousness and jumpiness and lack of respect for women, and from his own account of events that he relayed to friends (that he was “startled” and reacted by opening fire), that Mohamed Noor was not cut out to be a policeman.
He did not have the temperament for it, and if he hadn’t killed Justine Damond, he would likely have done something similar at some point.
So why was he on the force at all? 
Because he was the first Somali Muslim on the Minneapolis police force. 
He was a symbol of our glorious multicultural mosaic.
He was a rebuke to “Islamophobes” and proof that what they say is false.
Minneapolis authorities placed a great deal of faith in Mohamed Noor.
He was for them the triumph of diversity, the victory of their world view.
...in the wake of his failure, Minneapolis multiculturalists aren’t about to reconsider their religion.
On the contrary, they are doubling down.
Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges has immediately recognized — as authorities do everywhere after jihad attacks — that the real victims are not those who were killed or wounded, but the Muslim community. 
...Mayor Hodges is reassuring Muslims and warning against “Islamophobia,” as if a non-Muslim police officer had shot an unarmed Muslim woman.
But that’s not what happened..."

Which Countries Have The Most Cat Owners? | Statista

• Chart: Which Countries Have The Most Cat Owners? | Statista

#1 This day 1973-----Jim Croce - Bad Bad Leroy Brown (Live)

Michael Swartz: Campus Rape: Revisiting the 'Dear Colleague' Letter — The Patriot Post

Michael Swartz: Campus Rape: Revisiting the 'Dear Colleague' Letter — The Patriot Post
"When dealing with sexual assault, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is working to bring Rule of Law back to college campuses.

Responding in 2011 to a false narrative that sexual assault on college campuses was out of control, Russlyn Ali, at the time the assistant secretary for civil rights in Barack Obama’s Department of Education, penned what became known as the “Dear Colleague” letter. 

It was a 19-page “significant guideline document” for colleges and universities to follow, but its major effects on campus life were to make it extremely difficult for a student accused of sexual assault to defend himself and to lower the standard required for disciplinary action to a simple preponderance of the evidence. 
Even with the reduced standard (or perhaps because of it), campus rape incidents continued to make headlines, including fake news like the University of Virginia story retracted in 2014 by Rolling Stone.
...The failure of the current system, however, means that something has to be done. 
While sexual assault is a problem on campus, there was already in place a lawful means of handling the issue. 
The problem was that victims were reluctant to put themselves through the process, and schools were fearful of the prospect of negative press from such proceedings. 
But preserving the rights of the accused and maintaining the presumption of innocence until being proven guilty — even if only by a standard of “clear and convincing evidence” common in civil trials — should be the standard. 
Let’s hope DeVos can make it right again."

You ought to know!

Louisiana Democrats Purge Thomas Jefferson, the Man Who Acquired Louisiana

Louisiana Democrats Purge Thomas Jefferson, the Man Who Acquired Louisiana:

"The latest in what has become an all too common crusade to wipe great American historical figures from places of honor and memory, the Louisiana Democratic Party has announced that it will change the name of its annual “Jefferson-Jackson” dinner to the bland and unremarkable True Blue Gala.

Louisiana Democrats joined many other state parties that have changed the name of the dinner, which was originally intended to celebrate two key figures in their party’s history—Presidents Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson."

Kidney Credits Would Bring Life to Tax Reform | Economics21

Kidney Credits Would Bring Life to Tax Reform | Economics21:
"By tomorrow at this time, twelve people will have died waiting for a kidney transplant. 
There are 500,000 people with end-stage renal failure and approximately 100,000 people are on the waiting list for kidneys.
Approximately 20,000 people are waiting for hearts, livers, and lungs. 19,061 kidney transplants were performed in 2016.
The numbers queued for kidneys are so high because patients with renal failure can exist for years on dialysis -- a thrice weekly process that cleanses the blood of toxins for four hours per session – while those with liver and lung failure die relatively quickly without a transplant.
The organ shortage has existed since the national organ procurement and distribution system established by the National Organ Transplant Act of 1984 (NOTA) became operational.
The problem is simply that there are not enough donors.
Kidneys can be donated, but they must be given for free.
NOTA permits reimbursement for donor expenses and some states allow income tax deductions and credits for those expenses, but those measures have not been sufficient to generate the donations that are needed
NOTA was adopted with noble intentions.
The goal was to prevent a situation in which only wealthier patients could afford to buy organs and where poor donors might become “suppliers” for the well-off.
More than enough time has elapsed to conclude that an altruism-only system is sorely inadequate..."
Read on!

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