Category Archives: Politically Incorrect

The Telegraph (blog)

Lets' stop misusing the term 'politically incorrect' The Telegraph (blog) But it has been used so often and in so many different situations that being politically incorrect has become a free pass for people to say anything offensive at any time and place regardless of whether or not what they say has a point to it or in ...

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Lets' stop misusing the term 'politically incorrect' - The Telegraph (blog)

Memorial Day is of course when we remember those who died serving their country in our armed services. There was a time when Americas movie industry took pride in honoring American servicemen, both the living and the dead; there are a few actors and directors in Hollywood who still do. But since movies about Americans at war have largely gone in the opposite direction since Vietnam, this weekend it might be worthwhile going back to see seven movies that deal with war in an honest but not defeatist way. These works portray serving ones country in uniform as something to be revered and respected, not dismissed or derided.

The Big Parade, directed by King Vidor (1925). The one silent entry in the competition, and the only one for World War I (Americas entry into that conflict was 100 years ago this year), this sprawling wartime epic stars John Gilbert as the affluent, rather happy-go-lucky young man who goes to serve in France with the Rainbow Division. While there, he experiences the horrors of trench warfare, the value of comradeship, and (inevitably) romance with a French country girl. Gilberts career was ruined by the advent of talkies, because his voice sounded squeaky and hollow. But Big Parade reminds us of why he was one of the great actors of the silent screen.

They Were Expendable, directed by John Ford (1945). No list of Memorial Day movies is complete without one directed by John Ford, and one starring John Wayne in this case as a lieutenant reluctantly serving on Patrol Torpedo boats while fighting the Japanese invasion of the Philippines. But the movies real star is Robert Montgomery, who actually commanded PT boats during the war and who poignantly captures the movies theme of sacrifice in the face of inevitable defeat. The entire film is poetry in motion, like any John Ford film, but its worth remembering that John Ford, Captain, USNR (as the credits list him) and his film crew also risked their lives more than once doing work for the Navy in World War II.

Battleground, directed by William Wellman (1949). The story follows a squad of GIs in the darkest days of the Battle of the Bulge, when fear of death and defeat tests the courage and manhood of every character. The films technical adviser was LieutenantColonel Harry Kinnard, who had been deputy commander of the 101st Airborne during the Battle of the Bulge, so you can be reasonably confident its an accurate portrayal of the fighting. The standout performance is by James Whitmore, who won a Golden Globe award and who had seen action as a Marine in the South Pacific. Whitmore also does the voice-over narration for the next film on the list.

The Red Badge of Courage, directed by John Huston (1951). Memorial Day began as a holiday to honor the Civil War dead, so its fitting that not one but two films on our list deal with the War between the States. This one is based on the classic story by Stephen Crane of a young soldier who experiences fear and panic on the battlefield but rallies to face the enemy and serve his country as well as his comrades. It stars Audie Murphy, who was a real-life war hero in World War II, and Bill Mauldin, who saw action as an artist and cartoonist on the Italian Front. The Badgeis spare, sparse, and filmed in austere black and white, the studio chopped itfrom two hours to less than 70 minutes despite Hustons protests. It is still worth seeing. The person who finds those lost 50 minutes of Hustons favorite film will earn cinematic immortality.

Pork Chop Hill, directed by Lewis Milestone (1959). This is the Korean Wars entry in our list, commemorating the seemingly pointless firefight of U.S. soldiers desperately holding their position against repeated North Korean and Chinese assaults while waiting for their superiors to negotiate the end of the war. Based on S. L. A. Marshalls best-selling book, it stars Gregory Peck as the officer who is forced to watch his command dwindle from 135 to just 25 men, in a seemingly pointless sacrifice. Directed by the same Milestone who delivered one of the most realistic battle scenes ever in All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), and shot in a nightmare landscape of light and shadow, the film stands as a harrowing, gripping tribute to courage and heroism. Watch for appearances by Martin Landau in his first movie, and by Gavin MacLeod although we are a very long way from the Love Boat.

The Longest Day, directed by Ken Annakin, Andrew Martin, and Bernhard Wicki (1962). Do yourself a favor. Midway through watching this Darryl Zanuckproduced film about the D-Day invasion and starring in cameo roles virtually every American movie star who could fog a mirror from John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, and Henry Fonda to Red Buttons, Sal Mineo, and Rod Steiger break off and run the first 15 minutes of Saving Private Ryan. The rest of Spielbergs movie is largely worth skipping, but the Omaha Beach sequence gives a riveting meaning to the heroism and sacrifice of American soldiers on the Normandy beaches that Longest Day unaccountably misses. What the movie does have, however, is British actor Richard Todd, who actually served on D-Day in the attack on Pegasus Bridge that he is shownleading in the film.

Gods and Generals, directed by Ron Maxwell (2003). The first documented Memorial Day celebration was led in April 1866 by the ladies of Columbus, Miss., who decorated the graves of both Union and Confederate dead. So its worth winding up this Memorial Day tribute by watching a visually sumptuous film that honors both sides in the War between the States, with outstanding performances by Stephen Lang as Stonewall Jackson and Robert Duvall as Robert E. Lee. With the totalitarian Left busy vandalizing and pulling down statues to these heroes, this is a film certain to drive your liberal friends crazy also because all the characters speak movingly of their devotion to God and service to the Almighty as well as to their country.

They say there are no atheists in a foxhole. I cant guarantee there wont still be atheists, and leftists, after watching these films this weekend. But everyone else will have a new sense of dedication to what this country stands for and to the memory of those who gave that last full measure.

Arthur Herman is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, and author of Douglas MacArthur: American Warrior.

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Memorial Day Movies: A Politically Incorrect Guide | National Review - National Review

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While addressing a packed audience Sunday, the Oscar-winner said his seminal crime dramaDirty Harrycould not have been made in todays politically correct climate.

A lot of people thought it was politically incorrect, Eastwood said of the 1971 film he starred in. That was at the beginning of the era that were in now, where everybody thinks everyones politically correct.

Were killing ourselves by doing that, the 86-year-old star warned, declaring that weve lost our sense of humour.

Of course, this wasnt the first time that Eastwood has warned of the dangers of political correctness.

In an interview last August withEsquire,Eastwood said then-candidate Donald Trumps political success was due in part to his disregard for political correctness.

Hes onto something, because secretly everybodys getting tired of political correctness, kissing up, the actor said,Thats the kiss-ass generation were in right now. Were really in a pussy generation. Everybodys walking on eggshells.

Hes said a lot of dumb things. So have all of them. Both sides, he added. But everybody the press and everybodys going, Oh, well, thats racist, and theyre making a big hoodoo out of it. Just f*cking get over it. Its a sad time in history.

While the filmmakertold festival-goers that he would return to acting someday, hedid impart some filming wisdom on a crowd that featuredA-listers and entertainment industry executives.

If you have good luck with your instincts, you might as well trust them, he said. Its an emotional art form. Its not an intellectual art form at all.

Eastwood was honored with several screenings of his filmsover the weekend.

The filmmaker recentlysigned on to directThe 15:17 to Paris,a film based on the thwarted ISIS-inspired terror attack in 2015 in which a gunman opened fire on ahigh-speed train traveling to Paris.

FollowJerome Hudsonon Twitter@jeromeehudson

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Clint Eastwood Warns Political Correctness 'Killing' Country: 'We've Lost Our Sense of Humor' - Breitbart News

Prev

The female political leaders of two new novels seem too close to reality. But, would it be fair to pin these books as thinly-veiled biographies?

Sabyn Javeri

A bomb blast, a bullet gone astray, a blow to the head and before you know it, boom! The life has gone out of you. Perhaps you think I didn't try to stop her. I tried to tell her there's danger. Truly, I tried. The General and his men, I said, they will kill you. Why do you think they are letting you do the rally? So they can send you away for good! To a place you can never return from," the opening lines of Pakistani writer Sabyn Javeri's debut novel Nobody Killed Her (HarperCollins) reads.

For those privy to the political turmoil in the neighbouring country over the last decade, the uncanny resemblance of her character Rani Shah - being referred to in these lines - with the fearless Benazir Bhutto can barely go unnoticed. Javeri can't count the number of times she has been asked the question, but any such resemblances she says are purely coincidental.

Anita Sivakumaran

Closer home, Anita Sivakumaran's The Queen (Juggernaut) is stirring a storm for its sharp references to the life of former Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa. Her protagonist Kalai Arasi's meteoric rise as a leader of the masses, after her stint as a starlet in Tamil cinema is the first clue. That the publishers are also promoting the novel as one that's "inspired from a true story" is a dead giveaway. But UK-based Sivakumaran would rather that her readers take that call.

If these two recently released novels come across as thinly-veiled biographies of two of South East Asia's most influential politicians of the 2oth century, we probably wouldn't have to wait for their biographies to read about their lives. But, that's also what the authors hope their books don't come to represent.

Inspiration, they claim, should not be misconstrued for reality. "I find that an insult to my imagination. In fact, I feel that shows how limited their [the critics] knowledge of history is," says Javeri, who lives between London and Karachi.

That said, Javeri doesn't deny that her book was inspired by the leadership challenges of Bhutto as a woman. "I really admired Benazir for her unapologetic attitude towards family life. A lot of women feel pressured to choose between motherhood or career, but Bhutto resisted this," Javeri says of the politician.

While her book draws upon Bhutto's assassination as a point of fictional exploration, that is where, she says, the similarity stops. "If one were to read the book objectively, one would find references to all sorts of different female leaders of our times. I found the rise and fall from power of Indira Gandhi and the scandalous rise of the political underdog in Mayawati and Jayalalithaa also very intriguing and I drew upon it heavily when constructing the plot arc," says the writer, whose doctorate research involved studying women who rose to power in the patriarchal world of politics.

Sivakumaran, on the other hand, argues that even if Kalai's character were lifted, it wasn't done with the intent of portraying the politician. Yes, she admits, that Jayalalithaa was what wheeled her in to write this book. Her story definitely makes for an interesting read. "Otherwise I wouldn't have written it," she says.

"But, in terms of character, I cannot claim to know personally, any of the people who've inspired the fictional characters. I did not read characterisations about them by other writers either. I put myself in the events that are a matter of public record, and supplied a fictional consciousness. Fleshing out a character is to do with really seeing/feeling events through this fictional consciousness," she says.

If there is a political statement that Javeri is making through her book, it is one that moves beyond the realm of imagining real-life political figures in fiction. "It's a book that is written by a woman who is neither a journalist nor an insider into the world of politics, like other male Pakistani writers who attempt political fiction," says the writer without dropping any names.

"Why turn to fiction if you are looking for someone's life story? I think you have biographies for that. Why write a novel where you know the entire story line? My book would not be the page-turner it is, if it was an interesting but predictable life story of a famous person," Javeri ends.

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Politically incorrect! Female political leaders of two new novels seem too close - Mid-Day

If youre a fan of actor Clint Eastwood then you would know he isnt afraid of a little bit of controversy and being politically incorrect.

Political correctness is something that Eastwood, like many Baby Boomers, has spoken out against in the past.

This time he brought up the subject while talking about his controversial 1971 film Dirty Harry.

A lot of people thought it was politically incorrect, he told a crowd during a speech at a Cannes Film Festival event.

That was at the beginning of the era that were in now, where everybody thinks everyones politically correct.

Were killing ourselves by doing that. Weve lost our sense of humour.

No doubt there are many over-60s who would agree with what the 86-year-old actor had to say.

Last year he drew plenty of debate when describing todays generation as a pussy generation.

Everybodys walking on eggshells, he said.

We see people accusing people of being racist and all kinds of stuff.

When I grew up, those things werent called racist. Secretly everybodys getting tired of political correctness, kissing up.

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Clint Eastwood: We're killing ourselves with political correctness - Starts at 60

T2 Online (blog)

Have the luxury to be politically incorrect: Mira Rajput T2 Online (blog) Mira Rajput's puppy remark broke the Internet a couple of months back, and she received a lot of flak for her statement, which was deemed to be politically incorrect. But seems like Mira doesn't have any qualms about it, because she believes that she ... I've the Luxury to Be Politically Incorrect: Mira RajputThe Quint Mira Rajput clears her controversial 'housewife' remark: I have the luxury to be politically incorrectThe Indian Express Mira Rajput: I am not an actor or a public figure, I have the luxury to be politically incorrectTimes of India International Business Times, India Edition all 35 news articles »

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Have the luxury to be politically incorrect: Mira Rajput - T2 Online (blog)

For better or worse, we live in a politically correct world. On one hand, efforts in that area have created increased awareness of sexism and other social injustices.

On the other, some PC speak is patently ridiculous.

I read somewhere that is politically incorrect to the word fat. Im told we should say EWI Enhanced Weight Individual (or stout, overweight, etc.).

So, you cannot say fat-free? If thats the case, thered be a lot of rebranding in the packaged food industry.

Where do we draw the line? Dont get me wrong, society is obsessed with size. There are issues, indeed. But is this really the solution?

Isnt the real issue being kind (or, more accurately, a lack of kindness)?

Are these PC people those who changed the name of the worlds largest cocktail party to something silly?

Where does the PC Council of What-You-And-I-Should-Say-Or-Not-Say hold their meetings, anyway? Is it in a clandestine annual retreat (like the Skull and Bones society?) If so, I would bet there are some non-fierce debates, since they really dont do name-calling. Think British cops, who are not allowed to carry guns: Stop, or Ill say stop again!

Rant concluded.

Well, guess who couldnt care less about soft-bellied American PC nonsense?

Vodka-guzzling Russian hackers, thats who. The latest cyberthreat has the (decidedly non-PC) name Fatboy.

Are they making fun of non-motherland swine who might be a little big boned? Nope.

Its actually ransomware that charges different amounts, in different locations, depending on the Economists Big Mac Index.

At this point, you may be intrigued or think I am blatantly creating fake news. No, Its a real thing.

The Big Mac Index is now 30 years old, and shows how poor or wealthy a nation is based on the price of a Big Mac.

In 2017, you are looking at $5.06 for a Big Mac in Florida, and about $2.83 in China.

So, there you have it. Hackers of the world continue to innovate and surprise.

So, while they might charge $500 in the U.S., the charge would be closer to $250 in China?

That makes sense, right?

First, it was a Ugandan Prince with $10,000,000 U.S. just for you. Next were fake emails from UPS, followed by ransomware that gives you encryption keys if you infected two friends.

Then comes RAAS (ransomware as a service sold on the dark web), allowing anyone with basic computer skills to become a hacker. Now theres Fatboy.

I can definitely see the PC crowd getting upset not only do they say fat, but its gender specific.

Look out Russkies, the American Civil Liberties Union is gonna get ya.

To them, it should be called Fat-person or Fat-one (referring to one who is fat; no medical marijuana jokes, please).

So, you get infected from an email, your IP address is confirmed and the price of the Big Mac is reviewed and you receive a notice of how much you have to pay to get the encryption keys to get your data back. And they usually ask for the money in iTunes gift cards or bitcoins.

As an information technology professional, I always give the same advice to anyone infected with ransomware never pay cybercriminals. Payment only encourages them.

As a fan of good manners, I dont call people fat, either, and always avoid being tacky. We have plenty of that in the world.

Be safe out there, and lay off the Big Macs, unless you wish to be classified EWI, that is.

___

Blake Dowling is CEO of Aegis Business Technologies and can be reached at dowlingb@aegisbiztech.com.

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Blake Dowling: A new (politically incorrect) cyberthreat, linked to Big ... - Florida Politics (blog)

A conservative former professor from Marquette University is looking to a higher court to protect his right to be politically incorrect.

After another philosophy teacher stated in class that she supported unnatural marriage and told a student who opposed it that there would be no discussion about it, Dr. John McAdams blogged on the subject, which he referred to as political correctness: shutting down a student with a faith-based view.

That was important news because that's the kind of thing that happens a lot in academia these days, and the fact that it was happening with regard to gay marriage at a so-called Catholic institution was, well, ironic to say the least if not out-and-out shocking, McAdams explained.

The scholar filed a lawsuit and is disappointed with the outcome. The judge claimed that there were other expectations of faculty that he had violated, as noted by McAdams.

Now what expectations were those? Well, they're not any that were written down anywhere and nothing that I had violated, the conservative professor assured. I didn't violate anything where there was any sort of clear precedent that faculty aren't allowed to do that. Those so-called expectations were sort of concocted after the fact as an excuse to try to fire me.

McAdams was suspended without pay pending the outcome of the lawsuit and it is not over yet. Dr. McAdams, who taught political science at Marquette, is taking the case to an appeals court, and perhaps to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, where he is confident of prevailing. He is represented by the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty.

This was not the first time McAdams ran into trouble for his conservative views at Marquette, according to The Atlantic. In March, 2008, McAdams published the name of a student who worked for the Marquette Tribune advertising department because she refused to run an ad that highlighted the risks of taking the morning after pill. After the student contacted and complained about the mention of her name to McAdams, he removed her name.

Three years later in 2011, he published blog posts about a student who assisted in the organizing of an on-campus performance of The Vagina Monologues a performance which is considered extremely offensive by many for it coarse sexuality. When brought to his attention, McAdams recognized that publishing the names of students on the Internet could be a matter of concern.

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Prof. appeals to higher ct. for right to be politically incorrect - OneNewsNow

The Columbia University marching band, which has a decades-long tradition of irreverent and outrageous behavior on campus, is upset at the school for trying to mess with one of its most popular annual performances.

For the past four decades, members of the band have performed politically incorrect skits at the campus library for Orgo Night, which is held at midnight on the day of the organic chemistry final exams. During this years Orgo Night on Friday, band members were met by a small army of campus security guards who forced them to play on the lawn outside the library. According to College Fix, the administration posted the guards to prevent the band members from entering the library, where they usually perform.

This is the second semester in a row that the band has been banned from performing at their traditional venue following outrage from campus social justice warriors who staged a sit-in protest and wrote op-eds decrying the bands politically incorrect skits as both unsafe and triggering to special snowflakes.

Band alumni say that Columbia University administrators provided the students with false rationale to prohibit their presence at the library and censor their performances. One of the reasons they were given was that their performance was disruptive to students studying at midnight.

However, given the yearly tradition and commonplace knowledge that it takes place at the campus library, such excuses have been dismissed by the bands defenders.

As with their performances every year, the band took aim at the universitys faculty, students and policies with mockery and jokes. One of the topics they made fun of was the universitys narrowly defeated vote to boycott Israel.

We at Barnumbia University of Orthodox Judaism know the only thing that can really get students riled up is Israel, said the band during the skit, according to College Fix. Even the most disengaged students had to stop fingering each other in the stacks long enough to show up to a student senate hearing on the Mideast crisis.

Lets be frank, the [student government] is too afraid to take a stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict because they just care about getting re-elected, they continued. One side of this conflict is clearly in the right and that side is lets all say it at the same time

The audience erupted in chants of either Israel or Palestine, completing the joke. That, and several other skits were performed by the band during Orgo Night.

The band has since appealed to university president Lee Bollinger, a prominent First Amendment scholar, to revoke the ban, which they argue infringes upon their right to free speech.

Ian Miles Cheong is a journalist and outspoken mediacritic. You can reach him through social media at@stillgray on Twitterand onFacebook.

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Columbia University Accused of Censoring Its 'Politically Incorrect' Marching Band - Heat Street

It takes a lot to knock Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn off the front headlines on both the day of major local elections and in the midst of a general election. Yet Prince Phillip did it.

But despite all the attention rightly given to his landmark decision to step down from his royal duties, in many ways he has been the opposite of high profile. In reality, he is notable for his low visibility, either working alongside the Queen, but always two paces behind, or quietly making visits of his own on a daily basis. Even the forthright quotes that make juicy reading only work out at an average of one every three years.

Even when Prince Phillip has been outspoken, there has always been an element of truth to his remarks, which may have offended some sensitivities, but which also highlighted a serious point.

When on a school visit, he asked one of the pupils what he wanted to do when he grew up. On being told that the lad intended to be a space explorer, he blurted out: "But youre too fat to be an astronaut!" Was that an unjust remark that caused a brutal blow to the childs ego, or a helpful piece of advice that would change his lifestyle and improve his future?

Prince Philip jokes he can 'barely stand up'

He was equally capable of challenging the high and mighty. When discussing the plight of Englands uplands, which had become depopulated in recent years, a leading expert started pontificating on how important it was to get people to settle there.

"Why talk about it?" asked the Prince. "If you want people to do that, go there yourself and get people to follow your lead!" The man fell silent.

On another occasion, during a discussion on prison reform and how to improve the condition of prisons, he interjected: "Nonsense, we need to do the exact opposite, make prisons as horrible as possible, so much so that people in them arent keen to go back."

This would certainly displease those who want prison to be a place of education and rehabilitation, but would strike a chord with those who feel it should have a strong deterrent effect.

But whether one agreed or disagreed with particular comments, his bluntness was the product of a fundamental honesty that stands in stark contrast to those who just mouth platitudes, utter slogans or engage in verbal gymnastics.

Of course, the vast majority of his work has been away from the cameras, not consorting with the wealthy but meeting ordinary people in factories, or research laboratories, or day-care centres, or youth-training hostels, who work hard and do good, but who never receive publicity and appreciate his interest. He shows they matter to the national life and those visited feel he sprinkles fairy dust over what they do.

Equally hidden from view is his passion for engineering. The Prince Philip Designer Prize has encouraged many to develop their skills, including Ronal Hickman who went on to develop the all-purpose workshop bench known as "Workmate", while another contestant, Andrew Ritchie, designed the folding bicycle. Few people using either of them realise they have the Prince to partially thank.

Whereas the first Queen Elizabeth never married, apparently worried that a husband would take over and become a rival, the current monarch has found that having a husband meant she had a very dutiful "workmate" of her own. The Prince may be slowing down, but hopefully he will continue in good health and go on to receive the centenary letter that his wife sends out.

Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain is minister of Maidenhead Synagogue and author of Confessions of a Rabbi

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Prince Philip's honesty may be politically incorrect, but it was also his greatest strength - The Independent