Superheroes AWOL in the War against Islamofascism

If you want to find support for America in the war against Islamofascists don't look for it in comic books.

There was a day when comic books supported America in its war against evil doers. When Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and Imperial Japan were trying to remake the East and the West into totalitarian nightmares, comic books were, as a history of comics put it, "pounding the hell" out of the bad guys. Now radical Islamfascists want remake the world into one ruled by Shariah. Comic books have barely noticed. Of if they do look at the Middle East it is one where America is exerting its own form of imperialism.

The History Channel produced a history of comic books, titled "Comic Book Superheroes: Unmasked. It is an interesting glimpse into the world of comic books from the days of Superman's appearance in Action Comics #1 to today's creations of Frank Miller and Dennis O'Neil.

Here is how the documentary begins a discussion of comics during WWII: "With war declared, the men in tights cast all restraints to the winds." Michael Chabon, author of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, states, "Superheroes went off to war with... great gusto." Stan Lee then states, "The stories has so much pro-American propaganda that you'd almost think that they were subsidized by the government." Would he have preferred that the comics ignored the Nazis and Imperial Japan? I don't think so. Lee continues, "It was just ... we felt we had to do that." In fact, comic book writers and artists, during WWII, did much the same thing that Hollywood actors and other artists did. They went off to war to fight the enemy that threatened everyone.

So having Captain America, the Human Torch, Wonder Woman et al pounding the hell out of Nazis is a good thing. In fact, it was one's duty to join them in this fight.

However, "when the war was over, the enemy was beaten. We didn't need superheroes anymore." says Jim Steranko, author of History of Comic. So as with other "artistic" communities, Communism was not an enemy in the comic book's world. During this documentary which covers the period from Superman's appearance in the 30's to the present day, there is not one mention of the millions murdered under Communism.

But what about having those same folks start pounding the hell out of Islamofascists? Well, that, it seems, is just a bit more complicated.

The documentary shows how comic books dealt with 9/11. Pages from a Spiderman book is flashed across the screen: In a two page spread the Twin Towers are a smoldering pile of rubble and Spiderman stare and mumbles, "God." Then he is staring up at Ground Zero and says, "Only madmen could contain the thought, execute the act, fly the planes." Marvel, DC, Dark Horse and Image comics all put out commemorative books to raise money of the victims of the Islamofascist attack on American soil. Bravo.

Jim Steranko created a poster that reflected the patriotic feelings of a nation united as it was during WWII. However, the documentary reports, "21st century comic books had none of that." With those words the image of a sad woman in Islamic veils is flashed across the screen with an "I love NY" button holding food and water in her arms. If only that was the majority reaction in the Islamic world.

Stan Lee, expressing the typical reaction to evil we expect in among our "cultural creatives" today, says about having superheroes fighting Islamofascist terrorists today, "I think it would be too corny... It would be in bad taste to have a cartoon figure punching ... a muscle man saying, 'We'll get you.' ... No. That wouldn't work today."

Captain America is shown in a small poster that states "Fight Terrorism" But then, the documentary goes on to tell us, that Captain America "suspects that his own government is funneling weapons to terrorists." Then he sees parallels between the Dresden fire bombing and 9/11. What parallel is that I wonder? Does that mean that America is now Nazi Germany and the terrorists are the Allied forces? Is that where Marvel has taken Captain America today?

So there you have. As in Hollywood so it goes in comic books. Fighting Nazis was good (once the Nazis violated the Hitler-Stalin Pact). Fighting Terrorism, on the other hand, is "corny" and "wouldn't work today." And besides, in all likelihood, America is behind it all anyway.

That is truly the stuff of comic book fantasy.

Comic Books - More Left Wing then Hollywood?

I wonder if this could be the case, as I ponder the creation of the Right Wing Comics Geek. Just a few images from some books that lead me to this conclusion:

In Superman 226, an Infinite Crisis Crossover title, Superman is reliving his life as a Superman from an alternate earth smacks him around. During these flashbacks Superman tries to stop Hitler but cannot. Something about Dr. Fate and Hitler possessing the Spear of Destiny.

Flash forward a few years and Superman is fighting no greater a foe then ... Wait for it ... The United States of America. Why, you ask? Because, a thought bubble tells us, "The witch hunts have begun." In this rendition of Congress's investigation into Communist spying on American soil, the Justice Society of America has been hauled before the Congress and ordered to remove their masks. Never mind that half that folks standing there aren't wearing any masks. Superman makes his grand entrance to call a halt to this outrage.

In case you failed to get the analogy between the America during the 50s and Nazi Germany, the writers spell it out for you. In a full page panel Superman stands before an empty concentration camp and cries out, "NEVER AGAIN." As Superman flies into Congress during hearings on Communist Spies in America, his thoughts are "NEVER AGAIN." Being asked to testify before Congress on Communists in America is no different than being in a Nazi Concentration Camp.

Sigh.

The Left Wing fever swamps infect the pages of comic books as badly as they do the films produced in La La Land.

Right Wing Comics Geek?

Could that become my alter ego in the blogging realm?

I just finished watching a History Channel dvd titled, Comic Book Superheroes: Unmasked. It looks like the left wing thinking that has so infected Hollywood and its productions has infected the comics book industry.

It is interesting to note that there are some parallels between Hollywood and Comic Books history.

During WWII Comic Books were pro-American, and assisted in the war effort, as was Hollywood (Of course, Hitler first had to attack the Soviet Union for Hollywood to become pro-war. During the Hitler-Stalin non-aggression pact, Hollywood was as isolationist as the next guy. The communists in Hollywood didn't want to upset Uncle Joe by supporting war against an ally, even if the ally was Adolf Hitler.)

During the 50s goverment held hearings on the effects of comic books on youth in America. This led to the comic book industry to establish the Comics Code, a comic book content self regulating mechanism. During the 50s the House Committee in Un-American Activities were being held, which looked into, among much more important things the role of communism in Hollywood. This led to some Hollywood production companies to weed out communists and suspected communists from their own ranks (or at least give the appearance that that was what they were doing. Some of those tagged as Communists continued working under pseudonyms.)

During the 60s Comic Books embraced the "counterculture" and super heroes became anguished anti-hereos. During the 60s Hollywood embraced the "counterculture" and movie heroes gave way to anti-heroes. Comic Books continued the adversarial relationship toward American government (Third World and Communist governments were ignored or seen as noble resisters "speaking truth to power"), as did Hollywood, because of what happened in the 50s.

This adversarial relationship continues despite a breif few months when Comic Books briefly became pro-American following 9/11. That changed and once again Comic Books seem to embrace a "complex" worldview where there is more often than not shades of grey, instead of a battle of good vs. evil.

One thing I found very fascinating in the History Channel show was the near universal hatred for Ronald Reagan in comic books during the 80s. I will have to look more into that and how it has shaped how the comic book industry has dealt with, or failed to deal with, the war against Islamofascism we currently face. God forbid, Captain America should see a clear deliniation between those who would saw the heads off of humanitarian aid workers and the Airmen, Soldiers, Sailers and Marines that liberated some 50 million people in two different totalitarian Islamic regimes.

These are my first thoughts on this. I expect to get more into this as I get back into comic books, what stories they choose to tell and what they choose to ignore.

'nuff said.

Class Action Lawsuits - Payday for Lawyers

In the mail today I received notification that I am eligible to partake in a the settlement of a class action lawsuit against EZ Lube, Inc. My first thought was great, my truck was about due for an oil change. Then I started to dig through the microscopic type that makes up the 4 pages of legaleze I received. When I finally found the relevant paragraph, i.e., what my part of the settlement was going to be, I discovered that the oil change would have to wait.

It seems that a woman named A vital Albeg (I know it's a woman because in parenthesis next to her name the letter reads, "...On Behalf of Herself and All Others Similarly Situated" Without that "Herself" I would never have known this person's gender) got upset one day because EZ Lube charged her either an "environmental disposal fee" or a "hazardous waste fee" or both. I think I'll peruse my old oil change receipts to see if I was charged these fees. I'll let you know in another post.

Well, Ms. Albeg didn't like that very much so, instead of taking it up with management, she did what anyone looking to win the lottery through America's civil justice system; she called a lawyer. The lawyers, I'm willing to guess, decided that the damages over a fee that was likely only a couple of dollars was only going to be ... Well, a couple of dollars. But wait... Isn't this fee being charged of everyone who got an oil change at EZ Lube? Why, of course. This case isn't about poor Ms. Albeg. It is about every single driver that ever pulled into an EZ Lube garage. We got us a class action on our hands. It's PAYDAY!!!

When all was said and done EZ Lube decided to settle the case. Exactly what the lawyers expected, no doubt.

I quickly browsed to the relevant paragraph, "The Proposed Settlement". Just how much am I, being a party to this class action, entitled to?

The final tally for all us poor, unwitting suckers who paid the couple of bucks so EZ Lube could do with used oil what the state of California required it to do? I, and all "Other Similarly Situated", get exactly ... Wait for it ... One Coupon worth $2.00 for every service I got from EZ Lube. I am further entitled to exactly one coupon every time I go back to EZ Lube to service my truck. In other words I get $2.00 off an oil change.

And what do the the lawyers for tying the courts up with this asinine action? Like I said above, for them this is Payday.

"As part of the Settlement, EZ Lube has agreed to pay the attorneys' fees and expenses related to the Litigation for Representatives Plaintiff's Counsel in an amount up to $175,000 and attorneys' fees and expenses to Mehrban in an amount up to $45,000." The genius attorneys that discovered this "travesty of Justice" (that being Yourman Alexander & Parekh LLP and the Law Offices of Aaron Dolgin) will get up to $210,000 from EZ Lube.

And were is EZ Lube going to get the money to pay this settlement? That would be in higher charges for oil changes from you, me and anyone else who stops by a corner shop one day after work to get our cars serviced.

Once again, a foolish woman is persuaded by a bunch of ambulance chasing lawyers to make it even harder to do business in California. If Ms. All-go-begging didn't like the fact that EZ Lube wanted to charge what it wanted to charge, then she should have just taken her business to Jiffy Lube, or Jiffy Oil, or EZ Oil or anyone of the dozens of garages that are just waiting to change her car's oil.

I hope Ms. All-go-begging enjoys her $2.00 coupons. I'm going to lay this letter below my truck's drip pan while I change change my own oil. Then perhaps I'll have the Law Offices of Aaron Dolgin or Yourman Alexander & Parekh LLP advise me on how I'm supposed to dispose of said oil, since they seem to have such an interest in "environmental disposal" of "hazardous waste".

Ecclasiasticus on the UAE & Pres. Bush?

I let my copy of the Revised English Bible fall open and my eyes followed my finger to the following passage:

Ecclesiasticus 27:1-3

Many have cheated for gain; a money-grubber will always turn a blind eye. As a peg is fixed in the joint between stones, so dishonesty squeezes in between selling and buying. Unless a person holds resolutely to the fear of the Lord, his house will soon collapse in ruins.

That is a rather interesting passage to reflect on given current news about American ports, British companies, the United Arab Emirates and President Bush.

Ecclesiasticus continues:

27:4 Shake a sieve, and the rubbish remains; start an argument, and a man's faults show up.

In some of the arguments I've heard about this Dubai debacle one can see a lot of folk's faults.

A Tale of Two Deaths

When doctors determine that one is no longer a functioning member of society, they willing withhold basic nutrition. The young, old all folks in between, can be determined a life no longer worthy of life by medical ethicists and physicians and have their life will be ended, despite family wishes.

Torture, rape and murder your fellow citizen and doctors will adamently refuse to carry out the execution so ordered by the jury of your peers. Why? because it is unethical for doctors to participate in actions that deliberately end the life of another person.

Wesley J. Smith writes on this subject, "If doctors should not execute, they should not euthanize."

There is a big furor in California over whether doctors should participate in executions. Many in bioethics and the media claim that it is unethical for doctors to cooperate in executions, since killing is not a medical act.

I have great sympathy for that view. But if that is true, it should go
without saying that doctors should not participate in the intentional killing of
patients because they are seriously ill or disabled (or as in the Netherlands,
deeply depressed).

I would be very interested to know where the two anathesiologists, who refused to participate in the execution of rapist, torturer and murder Michael Morales, stand on the issue of dehydrating to death the elderly and disabled.

Gilligan's Island & The Seven Deadly Sins

If you cannot find theology in some classic sitcoms then you are not looking hard enough.

Case in Point: Gilligan's Island. This series was nothing less then a meditation on the Seven Deadly Sins. Each character a stand-in for a particular sin.

The Skipper = Gluttony

Mr. Howell = Anger

Mrs. Howell = Greed

Ginger = Lust

Mary Anne = Envy

The Professor = Pride

and last, but certainly not least,

Gilligan = Sloth

Makes you wonder if the producers of that show were trying to get a message out about the wages of sin, given that the seven castaways never got off the island during the series initial run from '64 - '67.

King Kong - Two views

Raymond J. Keating provides a religious perspective on the violence in, of all places, King Kong. He writes,

"By bowing to the original film, Jackson understands that beauty is what the tragedy of King Kong is about in the end. Much of the violence presented in the film is undertaken in service to love and beauty. "King Kong" is at least in part about the filmmaker and the audience appreciating beauty, as in a woman, a beast, and that beast's willingness to protect his beauty.

Jason Appuzo, Co-Director of the Liberty Film Festival and Editor of Libertas does a great job (no great surprise given Jason's deep knowledge of film and film history) breaking down the film and relating Jackson's Kong to adventure classics of yesteryear.

Jason's overall perspective on Kong?

"If you haven’t seen Kong, you really should. Minor quibbles aside, the film is substantially better than the normal ‘blockbuster’ material Hollywood’s been putting out of late. Watching the trailers that ran before Kong for things like X-Men 3 or Superman Returns (or Superman Begins or whatever it is), it was such a pleasure to be dropped by Peter Jackson back into the romantic light of the past, of the old New York skyline, of teeming, dangerous jungles, and of wonderful creatures that emerge as if out of a dream. This is great moviemaking.

The Bible is NOT Political Philosophy

Joseph Loconte provides a bromide to anyone who thinks that Holy Scripture includes direction on how America should establish domestic or foriegn policy. You would be absolutely wrong, however, if you think he is arguing for a completely secular public square.

Loconte writes:

"Christians are right to argue that the Bible is a priceless source of moral and spiritual insight. But they're wrong to treat it as a substitute for a coherent political philosophy."

...

"A completely secular public square is neither possible nor desirable; democracy needs the moral ballast of religion. But a partisan campaign to enlist the sacred is equally wrongheaded. When people of faith join political debates, they must welcome those democratic virtues that promote the common good: prudence, reason, compromise - and a realization that politics can't usher in the kingdom of heaven."

This column comes on the heels of comments by Rep. Nancy Pelosi when she decried the Republican budget for 2006 as an act of "injustice and immorality" and went on to describe the casting of no votes against this budget "as an act of worship." If comments like this came from a Republican then the Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State would have jumped out of his skin to condemn them. Since AU is an merely an arm the DNC he is silent. Some of the things that just make you scratch your head.

HT to Orthodoxy Today.