CBS’s Smith Reviews Harvey Milk Movie: ‘A Must-See’

NewsBusters ^ | December 10, 2008 | Kyle Drennen

[montag813]

One of the biggest mistakes conservatives make is abandoning the public schools and not confronting godless liberalism head on.

My wife and I told our kids' teachers on day one (as nice as we could under the circumstances) that if they brought "King and King" or any other sexually inappropriate book into the class, we would pull our children from the school and make a big deal out of it. Every parent in America should do the same. Make them always have an element of fear as a buffer against the radical agenda.

[tpanther]

Good call. Liberals get away with bashing Christian’s rights and setting us up as if we’re the haters simply because we don’t accept the gay agenda.

Then there’s the separation of church and state fraud.

They attacked our school board because the word “Christmas” on the school calendar was offensive and had to be removed.

Fortunately it’s now being addressed by thomasmore.org.

aclj.org is another good resource.

People need to fight back!

My tagline pretty much says it all!

[Lancey Howard]

Dan White was the canary in the San Francisco coal mine.

[Lancey Howard]

My favorite Sean Penn movie was ‘The Game’ with Michael Douglas.
Cool movie.
Penn’s a pretty good actor, although I don’t think he’s as good as his recently deceased brother Chris was. So he’s a goofball - - nobody takes actors seriously.

FRegards,
LH

[fieldmarshaldj]

Those offices were basically non-partisan, though clearly many had affiliations (Moscone, for example, had been a powerful Dem State Senator and Majority Leader. He really wanted to be Governor, but because Jerry Brown stood in his way in 1974, so he went for SF Mayor instead to bide his time until 1982 when the office would come open). White was more a Conservative on the Board of Supervisors, as he was ex-law enforcement.

White was a fairly young guy, just 31, when he was elected, he wasn’t even on the job a whole year. He was working class and discovered the job didn’t pay enough to support him and his family (and he couldn’t remain a cop or firefighter because that was considered double-dipping). Tried to open a restaurant (a risky venture, since it has a high failure rate). Said he and Milk had been on civil terms, but had a falling out.

White blew a fuse and got disgusted with serving in gov’t after just 10 months and quit in a fit of pique. He realized that was dumb, because it was his sole source of income and begged Moscone to reappoint him. Moscone might’ve gone along with it, but Milk, future Assembly Speaker and Mayor Willie Brown, and Carol Ruth Silver, another Supervisor he detested (single mother and far-left moonbat) urged Moscone to give him the thumbs down and appoint someone more like-minded to give the radicals a majority on the Board (as it was the moderates were the majority, led by Feinstein, who, yes, was a moderate by comparison to the others).

Only 17 days after he quit, he went to confront Moscone, who turned him down again, and White shot him four times (a moment before, Willie Brown had just left Moscone’s office, and Willie would’ve got shot had he remained). Remember, at the time this happened, this was days after the assassination of SF area Congressman Leo Ryan down in Jonestown and the mass-suicides. Feinstein herself saw White right after he shot the Mayor, but he went past her (he could’ve very well shot her as well). He was next planning to shoot Silver and Milk, but couldn’t find Silver. He spotted Milk who made the big mistake of making light of Moscone’s refusal to reappoint him, and that’s when Milk got his (he shot him 6 times, definitely a sign of rage).

Although he got off with a relatively mild sentence for his killings, I tend to lean towards that he intended to carry out all of them with premeditation had Moscone not done what he asked (of course, had Moscone done so, not knowing White was carrying a revolver, he still was clearly in a bad mental state and shouldn’t have been serving in any public capacity). As you know, White ended up killing himself not long after his release from prison. Sad story all around.

[Enchante]

For Sean Penn it’s been all downhill since “Fast Times at Ridgemont High”

Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him in anything else.....

I was really sad to miss the mega-classic “Shanghai Surprise” when it was out in theaters, though...... I hear that was one of the best movies ever.

Hey, maybe someone should tell Sean Penn that the Madonna creature is available again......

[fieldmarshaldj]

San Francisco had had an unbroken string of Republican Mayors for 52 years (1912-1964). Some were liberals, one was a solid Conservative (Angelo Rossi, who was highly anti-Communist, served from 1931-44).

George Christopher, the last GOP Mayor, (1956-64), was a liberal, but highly pro-development (along the lines of Dianne Feinstein). Perhaps a little too strongly pro-development, since Christopher was reviled for allowing the demolition of a beautiful movie theater, the old Fox, still talked about with anger today (I consider myself a preservationist, so that bugs me as well).

Christopher was the GOP establishment choice for Governor in 1966 to face Pat Brown (at that point, a SF Mayor hadn't been elected Governor since Republican Sunny Jim Rolph in 1930, who had served as Mayor for a record-breaking 19 years). It's possible, but not a given Christopher could've beaten Brown, and there wasn't much of an ideological difference between the two. Ronald Reagan saw his opening here and beat Christopher in an upset in the primary, by an embarrassing landslide of 65-31%. Given that margin, I had reason to doubt that Christopher would've been particularly formidable in the general.

The next 2 Mayors after Christopher hailed from the pro-development establishment of the city, that being Congressman Jack Shelley and Joe Alioto. Shelley probably wished he'd remained in Congress when he had to deal with the freak show invasion of hippies and the Summer of Love (a lot of the ones that came in were teens and children who had run away from home from all over the country, and were all over the streets, many on drugs - a total nightmare to deal with, for the cops, and the officials). Shelley quit after a single term (1964-68).

The closest last race with a clear-cut Conservative Republican, as I cited, was the 1975 race between Moscone and John J. Barbagelata, a Supervisor. Barbagelata might very well have won had it not been for Jim Jones's footsoldiers who carried Moscone to a narrow victory (a swing of 2,000 votes would've carried it for the Republican). Moscone was effectively the first non-establishment Mayor in the modern era, a real swing to the hard left (I found it remarkable he even made it to Majority Leader in the Senate as a member of the radical faction, since there were a lot more non-moonbat Dems in those days).

The last semi-Conservative Mayor was probably Frank Jordan (1992-96). I was in SF at the time of the very ugly battle between him and incumbent Mayor Art Agnos in late '91. Agnos, Feinstein's successor in his first term, couldn't get a handle on the ultra-aggressive homeless problem. Jordan was the Police Chief. He got in and dealt with it, but the predictably ultraleft residents felt BAD for trying to clean up the mess and being "mean."

Jordan faced reelection in '95 against Willie Brown, who had effectively lost his power in the Assembly after term limits, but had spent that entire year making a monkey out of the new GOP Assembly Majority, keeping them tied up in knots with puppet RINO Speakers he kept backing until he finally exited (we only had 1 year of real control of the body with a full caucus-approved non-RINO Speaker, a real shame). Anyway, Jordan, in one of the most bizarre stunts of a politico in recent memory, was persuaded to hop into a shower, butt-nekkid, with 2 local radio hosts, all in an effort to shore up his support (with whom ?). It backfired and Jordan lost by a wide 57-43% to Willie.

[Impy]

That would have cost him my vote against anyone but Willie. (O_o)

I really didn’t know those Jonestown commies were so active on behalf of San Fran moonbats. It’s revolting. Political freedom aside, I probably wouldn’t have allowed open traitors to politick back then. Not with all that crazy ***t going on. Gotta preserve decent civilization. I guess I’d be a real law and order hardliner in such place and time.

What was it about San Fran that caused the kook migration? They’ve destroyed an historic city.

And that moonbat Newsom, to the right of the green he beat. I would have to had voted for him if I lived there. Eww.

That could be the future of liberal RINOs versus total whackjobs if we aren’t lucky.

“Willie would’ve got shot had he remained”

Well, murder is wrong..

I didn’t know Milk sassed him either, I figure he was gonna get shot anyway at that point. What was there to talk about?

The far left hates DiFi still. DUmmies.

“I consider myself a preservationist, so that bugs me as well”

Yes, you can always find someplace else for that mini-mall you don’t need to destroy a piece of history.

[WKTimpco]

I agree with the blacklist. But what else can we do that is...

LOUDER.

I suggest our own protests to take our country back.

The more we protest, the more leftists will know that we are nut skulking behind the scenes because we are ashamed of our “homophobic” attitudes.

Reply for more information.

[WKTimpco]

With all due respect, we might want to consider denial of our entertainment pleasures for the betterment of our cause.

[djf]

If I walk into a bar am I supposed to ask the bartender who he/she voted for?

If I buy gas, am I supposed to poll the station owner before I pull up on whether they are democrat or republican?

If you were walking across the street and got hit by a bus are you going to not let the doctor touch you if he is liberal?

Just wonderin.

Politics ain’t everything.

[fieldmarshaldj]

"I really didn’t know those Jonestown commies were so active on behalf of San Fran moonbats. It’s revolting. Political freedom aside, I probably wouldn’t have allowed open traitors to politick back then. Not with all that crazy ***t going on. Gotta preserve decent civilization. I guess I’d be a real law and order hardliner in such place and time."

The problem is that these Peoples Temple individuals went around dressed nicely and aggressively campaigning. They were kooks, but LOOKED like nice, normal people. Jones had "street cred" for helping the poor and supporting integration. They just looked like liberals, but were covering up something far more dark and sinister, but was not exactly totally hidden. The real evil didn't start until Jones led them all down to Guyana so he could build their perfect Communist utopia. Even the SF liberals were growing concerned by then. Politicians were being inundated with reports from families that their loved ones were down in South America and could not contact them. That's when Congressman Leo Ryan went down with his staffers, relatives of the Jonestown people, and some media. He had no inordinate reason to worry about personal safety, since after all, most of them had all known the same politicians, been involved with the same liberal causes (Jones had supported Jimmy Carter, for instance). They thought of him as a charismatic preacher for social justice..., however Ryan had specialized in concern over cults, which was a MASSIVE problem in the '70s. Remember the scene in "Airplane !" with all the religious kook solicitors in the airport ? That's exactly what it was like, I remember that as a little kid frequently going through airports.

After reading some accounts, Ryan really was bold in going down there. Carter and the State Department didn't want him to, they claimed it would cause a problem with the Guyana government. Worse than that, the State Dept. was telling Ryan "there's nothing wrong" down there. Ryan knew that was a load of crap, since he had concerns from people that had left the temple (I wonder why Carter and his people were so anxious to keep the secret -- I'm thinking perhaps given it was right up against the midterms, if it became national knowledge Jones had supported Carter, a psychotic, that might harm the Dems. Of course, Carter has long since established himself as the friend of those that committed horrendous evils. He probably would've had lunch with Hitler if he could've, and they both could've discussed how Jews were ruining the world). Freshman Congressman Dan Quayle, who was apparently on friendly terms with Ryan, almost went down there with them, but was unable to do so.

When Ryan got to Guyana, it took him a few days to make arrangements to finally get to the camp. The government and Jones's people were giving him the run-around (I'll add that at the time, Guyana was being run by a Black Marxist government led by Forbes Burnham). But he made his intentions clear, anyone being held against their will, he was going to free them and bring them home. The last two days were the proverbial fiasco. Got to the camp, everyone there was putting on a happy, friendly face, but they started having people tell them and the media crew they wanted to escape. The scene slowly turned chaotic. Jones, who was now completely insane and drunk with power supposedly ordered one of his followers to pretend to be someone who wanted to leave and go with Ryan's party. This was deliberate. Jones had no intention of letting them get away. This place was like Apocalypse Now Summer Camp.

At one point in the camp, Ryan was almost knifed, at which time, the State Dept. official at the embassy told him to leave because they feared for his safety. Ryan didn't want to go until he got as many people out as he could, but he had to follow instructions (as he was on government business), and was planning on coming back. He never did. They got to the airstrip and later boarded the planes. Jones's "plant" shot the people inside the plane, and another group of ambushers came out and started trying to kill the rest, wounding almost everyone else (including Jackie Speier, the new Congresswoman from CA now occupying Ryan's seat). Ryan was specifically targeted and pumped full of bullets, and even after he was probably dead, they continued to shoot him in the face. Someone, probably another one of Jones's flunkies, phoned SF to tell the wife of Ryan's aide that they'd had "taken care of him." Within 24 hours, Jones ordered the mass suicides (mass-murder), and the Guyana military discovered the grisly scene a day afterwards.

One has to imagine the chaotic situation in San Francisco that in the course of 10 days, a prominent area Congressman was brutally assassinated, almost 1,000 people dead, mostly SF residents in Guyana, and now the Mayor and high-profile Supervisor were also assassinated. BTW, I read that psycho flunkie of Jones's was convicted of conspiracy to assassinate Ryan, he was released from prison back in 2002.

"What was it about San Fran that caused the kook migration? They’ve destroyed an historic city."

I don't know. It's the problem that has befallen a lot of urban areas. I mean, a lot of the West Coast cities were Republican for a long time. Los Angeles, SF, Seattle, Portland. SF had problems with Communist Union agitators in the early part of the 20th century, but they weren't able to make much headway with toppling city government. SF had lots of families with children and normal people, a safe and stable place. How gays started to come in was because during WW2 and afterwards, when gays would be discharged from the Navy, they'd be mustered out in SF. Urban areas were more conducive to gays, since they could be around others like themselves and not have to be alone elsewhere, which makes sense. But they didn't start to have much of a political effect until the '70s. With the college radicals, Civil Rights movement, and the Hippies all coming in to form a critical mass in the mid '60s and onwards, that's where it went downhill. Couple that with urban outmigration, SF's population had fallen from a peak in the 1950s, families were leaving, the city was becoming polarized between what family neighborhoods left, the ethnic neighborhoods and the newcomers. By the 1980s, most of the folks that made up the stable and non-radical areas had left or were in the decided minority. Telling was looking at the voting numbers over that period. They went from voting Republican for President at slightly over 50% in the '50s, got to around over 40% in '72 and '76, 31-32% in '80 & '84, down to 18% by '92. McCain hit the lowest figure ever, down to 13.6%. In raw numbers alone, Ike got just under 200,000 votes in 1952. McCain got 40,000 in 2008. That was down from 54,000 that Dubya got in '04, and here McCain was supposed to be more "moderate" and more appealing. So much for that.

"And that moonbat Newsom, to the right of the green he beat. I would have to had voted for him if I lived there. Eww."

When it's a contest like that, I'd have voted for the moonbat just to watch the fun. Of course, I'd have to be f'ing insane to live in SF these days. It's amazing some of my family still actually lives there, two of my cousins, the one who just got married. She's pushing 40, so I don't know if she's going to have kids or not. But that's no place to raise children. Of course, my half-sister has raised hers in Berkeley, and nobody raises kids there.

"That could be the future of liberal RINOs versus total whackjobs if we aren’t lucky."

There aren't even any RINOs left in SF. Not enough votes to elect them. Some of those in the '70s and '80s that still were that had to maintain their viability in elective office, like Milton Marks, who gave Phil Burton a scare in '82 for Congress, had to become a Democrat.

"I didn’t know Milk sassed him either, I figure he was gonna get shot anyway at that point. What was there to talk about?"

Well, Milk didn't know White had just killed the Mayor. I'm figuring he wouldn't have grinned and taunted him about his failure to get reappointed. Figured he was just sticking it to an opponent in a way we'd do with a Dem if we just got him to resign. We wouldn't necessarily think they had intention to kill us. But, again, Milk wasn't killed because he was gay, he was killed because White blamed him for stopping his reappointment.

"The far left hates DiFi still. DUmmies."

I don't know why, since her voting record is so close to their desires. Of course, even when Lieberman scored a goose egg from the ACU, that wasn't good enough for 'em.

"Yes, you can always find someplace else for that mini-mall you don’t need to destroy a piece of history."

In this case, they destroyed it for a high rise. And high-rise construction in the '60s and '70s is rather notorious for their ghastly ugliness, with little exception (the Transamerica Pyramid being an exception, though a lot of folks opposed its construction. It's now a city icon).

[massgopguy]

Oscars are now judged in three catagories.

Gay
Retard
Period Piece

[trisham]

I won't be watching this one. It's just another attempt by the left to push their agenda. No thanks.

[weegee]

Roots was fiction. Alex Haley was a plagiarist and embellished his family “history”.

[WKTimpco]

Maybe you should, but I do think that you should join
me if you are in Northern California:

http://www.meetup.com/counter-protest-prop-8

[GSWarrior]

CBS’s Smith Reviews Harvey Milk Movie: ‘A Must-See’

Who cares. More noise from Newsblusters.

[Impy]

Ryan's murder at freaktown I've heard about (and knew a Republican won the special for his seat then lost it to Lantos) but I didn't read the specifics until yesterday. Only congressman murdered (you'd think there would be more assassination attempts?, good thing they're aren't).

Wow Speier was shot 5 times. I knew she was an aide to Ryan but not that she was there.

Well, Milk didn't know White had just killed the Mayor. I'm figuring he wouldn't have grinned and taunted him about his failure to get reappointed.

But with him already have killing the mayor and ending his chances for reappointment why even confront Milk unless he was gonna kill him regardless? Although I guess Milk could have pleaded and saved himself. White snapped as opposed to being a monster.

Remember the scene in "Airplane !" with all the religious kook solicitors in the airport ? That's exactly what it was like

Glad I've never seen such airport freaks in my time. Maybe there were still present during my visits to Hawaii and Alaska (and a Cali airport) as one too young to remember in the mid-eighties?

When it's a contest like that, I'd have voted for the moonbat just to watch the fun. Of course, I'd have to be f'ing insane to live in SF

If I was trapped there for some reason I'd probably go least crazy. Hahn over Villar in LA in 2001 as well. But say I was in Arkansas, I'd vote the Green in over Pryor for Senate.

Of course, my half-sister has raised hers in Berkeley, and nobody raises kids there.

Last season the OC it was revelated the Cohens used to live there and they moved back cause the conservative mom thought the OC with it's awful vapid housewives was no place to raise her new baby. Ridiculous. Stupid liberal writers.

I don't know why, since her voting record is so close to their desires. Of course, even when Lieberman scored a goose egg from the ACU, that wasn't good enough for 'em.

They probably say the same thing about us and Lindsey LoGraham given his good ratings. She wasn't anti-war enough early enough or something and was in the "evil" DLC. No room for dissent on that, not even for solid leftists like her and Joe.

How gays started to come in was because during WW2 and afterwards, when gays would be discharged from the Navy, they'd be mustered out in SF.

Oh beautiful thanks Uncle Sam.

Urban areas were more conducive to gays, since they could be around others like themselves and not have to be alone elsewhere, which makes sense

Of course, much wider boyfriend pool.

I read that psycho flunkie of Jones's was convicted of conspiracy to assassinate Ryan, he was released from prison back in 2002.

I'd have let him get "lost" in the system. Like in a mental ward or gitmo.

Where is the "far-right" equivalent of this? Media? 'sides maybe the Klan the 50's and 60's if want to call them "rightwing" which I don't, didn't exist. There is no rightist analogue to the leftist radicals today. Which really illustrates the foolhardy nature of fauxcon rats and conservative voters voting for the same party that accepts such members.

[fieldmarshaldj]

"Wow Speier was shot 5 times. I knew she was an aide to Ryan but not that she was there."

You'd think that would be enough to make her a Conservative. Alas, she is a moonbat.

"But with him already have killing the mayor and ending his chances for reappointment why even confront Milk unless he was gonna kill him regardless? Although I guess Milk could have pleaded and saved himself. White snapped as opposed to being a monster."

Well, he was going to kill him, but one would've hoped there might've been a window for Milk to try to talk White out of it. The smile probably was the kicker. 6 bullets. When he shot Moscone, he fired the first two bullets, paused, and then fired two more. Dan was REALLY pissed off, and it wasn't the twinkies.

"Glad I've never seen such airport freaks in my time. Maybe there were still present during my visits to Hawaii and Alaska (and a Cali airport) as one too young to remember in the mid-eighties?"

It's possible. I remember how much fun, though, it used to be going to the airport in the days before the body cavity searches. Used to be so many more airliners those days and you could go out and look at them all. They had a nice little garden at our old airport where you could sit outside and watch 'em take off. We had this huge concourse there for all the gates, and I used to hope whenever we were meeting or seeing off a family member, it was the one all the way at the end. Back in the '70s, O.J. Simpson when he was still beloved and respected, used to do this great ad on tv where he'd run down a concourse with his luggage. Every time I went to the airport, I pretended I was O.J. and would go flying down the concourse like a track runner or football player. Try doing that today and you're likely to get tackled by airport security, even if you are just 4 or 5 years old.

"Last season the OC it was revelated the Cohens used to live there and they moved back cause the conservative mom thought the OC with it's awful vapid housewives was no place to raise her new baby. Ridiculous. Stupid liberal writers."

Yeah, but Sandy Cohen WAS a stupid liberal. Berkeley is a ludicrously expensive place to live and is little better than a run-down slum where psychotics and criminals have run of the place. Rather than dealing with the crime rate and trying to deal with the businesses closing down, the beyond-moonbat assclowns on the City Council (and Mayor) would prefer to deal with such pressing matters like global warming and impeaching Cheney. I told you when my father went there to see my half-sister this summer, their house was hit a few times (the same thug kept coming back, probably from Oakland, since the Black and Illegal thugs over there now the rich White libs won't do anything to them). They knew he came in over the back fence. My brother-in-law, I'm told, decided to put nails in the top of the fence, so if the little punk tried to grab the fence without looking, his hands would be impaled. Of course, that's a no-no, since the little darling might sue if that happens. I'm hoping he may actually start to become a Conservative as a result. I don't know what it will take to convert my half-sister from bonafide Marxism, even after having two kids. And, yup, she did say to me straight out she is a Communist (though will vote Democrat, since it is "close to the desired goals" -- she voted for Gore).

"I'd have let him get "lost" in the system. Like in a mental ward or gitmo. Where is the "far-right" equivalent of this? Media? 'sides maybe the Klan the 50's and 60's if want to call them "rightwing" which I don't, didn't exist. There is no rightist analogue to the leftist radicals today. Which really illustrates the foolhardy nature of fauxcon rats and conservative voters voting for the same party that accepts such members."

No, no real "opposition" to this of any particular size. Perhaps some of the militia types, but they're close to being anarchists anyway, so they've almost sailed off the right horizon into the left across the political date line. Even the John Birchers aren't violent types, they just believe the worst of government and conspiracy theories about the far-left infiltrating and destroying our society (they were lampooned with their anti-flouride campaigns). Bill Buckley wanted them out of the "respectable right" because he thought them uncouth and not able to logically argue against what was actually really happening with the left and their goals. Birchers may be a little wacky, but they're not evil or truly dangerous by any stretch. They're paleo-Cons. I'm more a neo-.

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

Excellent discussion about the horrifying destruction of our country's most beautiful city. I first visited SF while at the Goldwater 1964 GOP National Convention. Also spent time there during the 2000 Bush election campaign and aftermath. There were still enough Republicans there for Sore-Loserman demonstrations. In 1964 the city was still largely blue collar, and the setting was still lovely in 2000.

I love Hitchcock's Vertigo, which is a love song for the city, in addition to its other virtues. In 1964 the city still looked the same. I think that the White affair, because of his identification with what later became known as social conservatism, demoralized those who had backed him, and accelerated the disaster.