Hoo-boy! (No Matter Who You Vote For, The Government Always Gets In)

Flame away, I do not care.  I am going to stand by my positions:

David Simon, and TBogg, and others have got this right.  It was us, you and me, and our numbskull "public servants" who signed off on all this PATRIOT ACT/FISA bullshit.  Why everyone is clutching their pearls, and/or rending their garments in the Trad Media/blogosphere and on both sides of the aisle politically is nearly as disgusting as all the spying.  We, you and me, signed off on all this shit! By either approving it, or allowing to happen.  Why the heck is anybody surprised here? The spying does not even constitute a crime.

Daniel Ellsberg, his friends, and wife.

But heads must roll, and that knucklehead GED kid (who somehow lucked in to doing the right thing) will most certainly have to pay.  And, while I have your attention, too: 

Just saw Gibney's We Steal Secrets, and Assange is not the amazing hero so many portray him to be.  Why the heck is nobody talking about Bradley Manning? But, then again, no one seems to be holding the NYT or The Guardian responsible, either.  Just Assange.  (And, it appears he sold out on a few of his own personal Core Values, too.)

Man, watch The Most Dangerous Man in America again.  Ellsberg; Chomsky; and Zinn, those guys are the badasses.

Those in power will always hate the whistleblower, and they will always collude with other people or institutions of similar power to find the most vulnerable link in the chain to publicly humiliate, incarcerate, torture, or kill said weak link.  Why is any of this so shocking?

No Matter Who You Vote For, The Government Always Gets In.

I love the story Howard Zinn tells

In the spectacular documentary, The Most Dangerous Man in America Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers:  That Ellsberg, a former Marine Corps Troop Commander directed Zinn and his other Cambridge buddy, Noam Chomsky, on how to successfully conduct a non-violent protest on May Day, 1971, instructing them on when to move, when to lay down, when to get arrested, etc, ...

Ellsberg and his wife when they turned themselves in.

And, I also love that before wikileaks and Anonymous, Ellsberg and Tony Russo took on the establishment, the Nixon administration, and all the lies of the previous four administrations, and beat them in court so emphatically that whistle blowers like Julian Assange are now attacked through the media, and on trumped-up unrelated charges.

And, I love that Ellsberg and his wife, Patricia, are still out on the front lines every day, fighting for peace, and making sure we hold our Public Servants truly accountable.  A great great man.  And, an absolute must-see doc.

It was on PBS last night.  And, it is likely they will repeat it again soon.  Please watch.

All my love,


Michael David Spitler

Documentary Monday Update

Also saw The Most Dangerous Man in America.  My fave part is every time Nixon's DOJ sued a newspaper that would print the Pentagon Papers, Ellsberg would just give part of it to another newspaper.  Plus, he got his wife back.  Amazing.  His transformation from US Marine Corps/lying McNamara flunky to full on Gandhi/H.D. Thoreau peacenik is near beyond belief (& so lovely.)  SO highly recommended.

Another must-see doc is The Art of the Steal.  A v different hero this time.  Mr Barnes was a feisty bastard, who made his fortune w/ an eye-tincture that immunized children from certain types of VD.  He amassed a phenomenal Impressionist/Modernist collection that he initially showed off in New York.  Mr Barnes was from Philly.  The NY critics savaged his showing, calling the pictures barbaric.  Mr Barnes sed, "Fuck you, you'll never see them again!"  He put them in his own institution, a school, outside of Philly (he had no love for that city, either-  espec b/c he hated the Annenbergs [yes, those PBS funding Annenbergs], who were the Philly GOP Hearst/Murdoch newspaper tycoons of that era) and arranged the pictures in a superb esoteric way.  Pictures & pieces & furniture covered entire walls & were arranged according to Barnes' own taste & theme.  They were not arranged by artist or period, just by Barnes' personal taste.  You've seen photographs of all these pictures.  This collection is not wimpy.  It is basically impossible to even assess a value to it.  The Art of the Steal is a frickin' fantastic film.

Before I go, can I just express my disgust & frustration at film critics who moan aboot "preaching to the choir" & documentaries that are not "fair & balanced" (Gawd, Fox News has ruined near all types of commentary & criticism.)  The filmmakers made the goddamn film, it is their frickin' film, & they can make whatever frickin' type of film they want to make.  Just review the goddamn picture, you liked it or you dint, & why.  Jeez Louise!