Film Review: The Butler (More Hollywood Leftist Lies)

And yet another Hollyweird Leftist film I'll be sure to miss. I hope it's not "against the rules" to post this article intact. I can't find the link for it on-line.  Michael Reagan is one of my favorite political authors. I think his piece says it all, especially since he was there.

~ Sparky

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The Butler
By Michael Reagan · August 22, 2013

There you go again, Hollywood.

You've taken a great story about a real person and real events and twisted it into a bunch of lies.

You took the true story of Eugene Allen, the White House butler who served  eight presidents from 1952 to 1986, and turned it into a clichéd "message movie."

"Lee Daniels' The Butler'" stars Forest Whitaker as Cecil Gaines, a fictional character supposedly based on Eugene Allen's real life.

But let's compare the two White House butlers.

Guess which one grew up in segregated Virginia, got a job at the White House  and rose to become maître d hote, the highest position in White House service?

Guess which one had a happy, quiet life and was married to the same woman for 65 years? And who had one son who served honorably in Vietnam and never made a peep of protest through the pre- and post-civil rights era?

Now guess which butler grew up on a Georgia farm, watched the boss rape his mother and then, when his father protested the rape, watched the boss put a bullet through his father's head?

Guess which butler feels the pain of America's racial injustices so deeply that he quits his White House job and joins his son in a protest movement?

And guess which butler has a wife (Oprah Winfrey) who becomes an alcoholic and has a cheap affair with the guy next door? (I'm surprised it wasn't the vice president.)

After comparing Hollywood's absurd version of Eugene Allen's life story with the truth, you wonder why the producers didn't just call it "The Butler from Another Planet."

Screenwriter Danny Strong says he was trying to present a "backstage kind of view of the White House" that portrayed presidents and first ladies as they really were in everyday life.

Well, I was backstage at the White House -- a few hundred times. I met and knew the real butler, Mr. Allen, and I knew a little about my father.

Portraying Ronald Reagan as a racist because he was in favor of lifting economic sanctions on South Africa for its policy of apartheid.

If you knew my father, you'd know he was the last person on Earth you would call a racist.

If Strong had gotten his "facts" from the Reagan biographies, he'd have learned that when my father was playing football at Eureka College one of his best friends was a black teammate.

Strong also would have learned that my father invited black players home for dinner and once, when two players were not allowed to stay in the local hotel, he invited them to stay overnight at his house.

Screenwriter Strong also might have found out that when my father was governor of California he appointed more blacks to positions of power than any of predecessors -- combined.

It's appalling to me that someone is trying to imply my father was a racist. He and Nancy and the rest of the Reagan family treated Mr. Allen with the utmost respect.

It was Nancy Reagan who invited the butler to dinner — not to work but as guest. And it was my father who promoted Mr. Allen to maître d'hote.

The real story of the White House butler doesn't imply racism at all. It's simply Hollywood liberals wanting to believe something about my father that was never there.

My father's position on lifting the South African sanctions in the '80s had nothing to do with the narrow issue of race. It had to do with the geopolitics of the Cold War.

But facts don't matter to Hollywood's creative propagandists. Truth is too complicated and not dramatic enough for scriptwriters, who think in minute terms, not the big picture, when it comes to a conservative.

Despite what Hollywood's liberal hacks believe, my father didn't see people in colors. He saw them as individual Americans. If the liberals in Hollywood -- and Washington -- ever start looking at people the way he did, the country will be a lot better off.

Copyright ©2013 Michael Reagan

In Loving Memory Of A Very Good Dog

Maxie

07 June 2005

In better days

I hope this doesn't seem like I'm trying to solicit more sympathy, this is not what this post all about. Those of you who have already been so kind as to e-mail me separately offering condolences and sympathy, feel free to pass this one by, if so desired. And Thank You again for all the kind words and prayers. But I'm of the mind it would be nice to share with all here why I'm so silent for awhile. Maybe it's a little therapy for me too. [grin]

My little dog Maxie of almost 15 years passed away Wednesday, September 4th. During her last days it was exceedingly rough on all of us. Due to aging, she had suffered from severe cataracts, was almost completely deaf. She'd lost her cute little squeaky bark and the Cushings Disease caused her limbs to be almost completely atrophied. It was pitiful to watch. During the last few hours of life she was going into renal failure. I had to do something. Quick! So, our kindly country Vet opened his office late in the evening for us. Hubby and I held her while he administered the drugs. She dozed off very peacefully while I stroked her head and spoke sweetly into her good ear. I told the Vet, I was sorry he had to be the one to do this (sometimes we tend to forget, doctors have feelings too). Thanked him. Then we drove her earthly remains home to rest next to our other little fur babies under the majestic oaks next to the cemetery next door. She is buried with her favorite bed and squeaky ball.

That little dog was very near and dear to my heart. I used to always proclaim "I won't go anywhere Maxie can't go!" and I meant that. Yesterday was beyond hard. I kept feeling her all around me. So, to ease the pain of separation, I set to cleaning the house. I stored or threw away items that remind of Maxie. It was amazingly therapeutic. I think things are better today. I'm only tearing up a little. [smile] Hubby misses her terribly too. I know it will take some time to heal. Truthfully, dealing with an aging pet was hard to begin with. I had to make special concessions for her, which I didn't mind, but that stress is gone now.

Anyway, for those of you don't already know, I made a memorial for her at one of my favorite websites: FindAGrave. If you're a member, please do leave a "flower" or comment here. I do appreciate everyone's kindness beyond measure. I plan to buy her a little doggie tombstone as soon as I find one that's appropriate. Nothing is too good for that little dog.

God bless you all.

Happy Rosh Hashanah

 

Memories

Berean Bible Society

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Some golden daybreak the trump is going to sound and the dead in Christ shall rise first and we who are alive and remain shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. Then: “We must all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men…” (II Cor. 5:10,11).

When I stand at the Judgment Seat of Christ
And He shows me His plan for me;
The plan of my life as it might have been
Had He had His way, and I see

How I blocked Him here and checked Him there
And I would not yield my will,
Shall I see grief in my Savior’s eyes;
Grief though He loves me still?

Oh, He’d have me rich, and I stand there poor,
Stripped of all but His grace,
While my memory runs like a hunted thing
Down the paths I can’t retrace.

Then my desolate heart will well-nigh break
With tears that I cannot shed.
I’ll cover my face with my empty hands
And bow my uncrowned head.

No! Lord of the years that are left to me
I yield them to Thy hand.
Take me, make me, mold me
To the pattern Thou hast planned.

—Author Unknown

May God give us the strength to redeem the time wisely. Only one life; ’twill soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last.

"And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." Acts 16:31

"For He says: 'In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.^' Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." 2 Corinthians 6:2

"He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus." Revelation 22:20

Happy Rosh Hashanah

 

Hubby's Home!

... and he is one cool dude too.

This photo was snapped by his little sister on her cell phone.

Turned out really good, didn't it?!

Makes me question why we have all this fancy photo equipment. *lol*

~Ride Safe~

Sparky

Time Enough

While Hubby is off visiting family in Florida this weekend, I thought I would spend time reading. I love to read: novels, magazines, newspapers, anything in print. When I was growing up, it was one of my escapes from the horrors of living at home. The habit stayed with me. My husband is blessed with being able to read with noise and distractions. He said they don't bother him, lucky guy. I wish I had that gift. I have to have absolute peace and quiet. So, I thought, I would spend most of the weekend enjoying my second favorite hobby. Right now I'm engrossed in another publication about the Tudor family (late 1400's-early 1500's England) titled "Henry: Virtuous Prince" by David Starkey. Henry the VIII was a fascinating character. He went from idyllic Prince, King and husband to a tyrant. History is a wonderful thing. I've learned lots of the human psychology of what it takes to be a world leader. To have the adulation of millions and to hold control over so many lives must be intoxicating. "Absolute power corrupts absolutely," is a very true statement. A person can lose their very soul over it. "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" [Mark 8:36] God is so much wiser than the 'wisest' of mankind.

But back to my present-day human condition. I was going to entertain myself with reading this weekend. Ahh, peace and quiet. I would turn off the distractions then start a chapter. Part way in, current events begin to invade my thoughts. "I really need to take care of ... it'll only take a minute ... " And off I go. Work. Bathe this, wash that, tidy this ... blah, blah, blah.

Finally, I've given up. Now I'm watching old Alfred Hitchcock films and blogging. [ha ha]

And for those of you in The Know, Maxie (miniature schnauzer) is still holding on.

Maxie has always been my little girl. I call her "puppy" but next month she will be 15 years old. She was aging gracefully but then suddenly, about a year ago, she was having strange symptoms. So I took her to the Vet and she was diagnosed with Cushings Disease. Now she's not aging well at all thanks to the Cushings compounded by age related cataracts, deafness, and frequent infections. Poor kid has experienced a lot of painful epileptic type episodes that's why I keep her close. She'll still try to cuddle with me but I can tell it's too painful (skin becomes very sensitive). Maxie is the reason I haven't been able to travel for the past several months because boarding her is simply out of the question. It would be down-right cruel to do so. That's OK, I don't mind staying behind. I'll just bear it until she is no longer with us. I'm gonna miss that little dog when she's gone.

Anyway, that's my holiday weekend. I'm still having a good time. At least I've gotten a lot of work done!

But, truth be told, I'd rather be riding or enjoying the cook-out down in Florida. [smile]

Hope y'all have had a nice weekend too. Now back to the movie ...

~Ride Safe~

Sparky

Only In California

Even as an avid motorcyclist, with years of experience on multiple bikes under my belt, but I don't think I'm brave enough to try riding around with one of these strapped to the side!

Vintage BMW Motorcycle and Surfboard Combo Defines Style

What say you dear reader? Would you dare it?

~ Ride Safe ~
Sparky

Two Minutes With The Bible ~ Are You Listening?

Are You Listening?

by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam

Berean Bible Society
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The Apostle Paul had much that he yearned to teach the Hebrew believers — wonderful truths that would have thrilled their hearts — but these truths were “hard to be uttered,” or difficult to explain to them, since they were “dull of hearing.” The word “dull” in Heb. 5:11 really means “slothful,” or indifferent (as in Heb. 6:12). They were not merely hard of hearing, as we say, but were too lazy, too indifferent, spiritually, to pay attention. They were not sufficiently interested.

This is always a serious condition in the light of the fact that “God hath spoken,” and that disobedience to His Word will be judged (Heb. 1:1,2; 2:1-3). Yet, alas, this is the condition of the professing Church today. The great majority of religious people are not sufficiently interested in what God has said to engage in diligent, prayerful study and, like those of Paul’s day, still have to be taught “the first principles” of the Bible. They have remained babes, spiritually, unable to digest anything but “milk,” and so remain “unskillful in the Word of righteousness” (Heb. 5:12-14).

What has brought this condition about? Is it because our Bibles are being burned and the Church persecuted for reading it? Is it because God is unwilling to lead us further into His truth? Most assuredly not. It is because so many men of God in high places no longer have the single passion to know God’s Word and to make it known. They could be as greatly used of God in teaching the Scriptures as their predecessors were, but they are “slothful of hearing” and hence can present their hearers with little that is of true value.

This, in turn, is reflected in the religious masses. They “love” their Bibles, but not enough to study them diligently and become workmen whom God can approve. Let us not be numbered among these. Rather, let it be our one great desire to gain a clear understanding of God’s Word, rightly divided — for His sake, for our own sake and for the sake of the needy souls about us.

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To the Reader:

Some of our Two Minutes articles were written many years ago by Pastor C. R. Stam for publication in newspapers. When many of these articles were later compiled in book form, Pastor Stam wrote this word of explanation in the Preface:

"It should be borne in mind that the newspaper column, Two Minutes With the Bible, has now been published for many years, so that local, national and international events are discussed as if they occurred only recently. Rather than rewrite or date such articles, we have left them just as they were when first published. This, we felt, would add to the interest, especially since our readers understand that they first appeared as newspaper articles."

We hope that you'll agree that while some of the references in these articles are dated, the spiritual truths taught therein are timeless.