Disney's Dubious Path to 9/11

[Kevy Baby]

Originally Posted by wendybeth

Palms sweaty?

No; hairy.

[sleepyjeff]

Another interesting twist in this whole thing:

One of the biggest arguments we have seen in this discussion is the "but the Republicans made cbs pull the Reagan movie". While this may be true one should do a little research before flying in with accusations:

"The ABC movie was just as unfair and fictionalized in many respects as was the CBS depiction of Ronald Reagan. Where was Rush Limbaugh about Ronald Reagan? He wanted that pulled"............................
"The very same people, like Rush Limbaugh, who were very, very happy to see this particular false depiction of President Clinton go on the air, were at the forefront of trying to get the Ronald Reagan, and successfully did get CBS to pull Ronald Reagan. Rush Limbaugh engages in hypocrisy."
Former White House Counsel and Clinton aide Lanny Davis

Rush Limbaugh was in Rehab the entire time the whole Reagan/cbs thing was going on and never once mentioned that it should be pulled from cbs.

Looks like Lanny is engaging in a bit of hypocrisy his own self.

[Gemini Cricket]

For the last two weeks I have been without TV, radio, internet and newspapers. I enjoyed that.

[Sub la Goon]

Rehab - the perfect alibi.

Frankly, I never let facts get in the way of the Truth. I think Steven Colbert came up with that one.

[Moonliner]

Originally Posted by Gemini Cricket

For the last two weeks I have been without TV, radio, internet and newspapers. I enjoyed that.

We missed you too.

[Gemini Cricket]

Originally Posted by Moonliner

We missed you too.

No, that's not what I meant. I love the LoT. But haven't been fond of the Daily Grind lately...

[sleepyjeff]

I agree GC. Sometimes trips to Mars(you know, cause when something big happens and people are talking about it and you ask what do they mean; they say "where have you been for the last few days, Mars?") are a good idea; both for the soul and for ones sanity

[Nephythys]

I am anxious to hear from Mousepod about his opinions-

Meanwhile- here is a view from the writer himself- Link

[sleepyjeff]

Great link Nephy.

I found this part interesting:

In the era of McCarthyism, the merest hint of a connection to communism sufficed to inspire dark accusations, the certainty that the accused was part of a malign conspiracy. Today, apparently, you can get something of that effect by charging a connection with a Christian mission.

[mousepod]

OK... very brief review for those who care:

- The movie was pretty much a mess, particularly the first half. They tried to cram way too much information into a very short time, all the while trying to keep the excitement level up.
- I was very aware of the artificial soundtrack. Heavy metal music during a takedown of the bad guys? Maybe in a Michael Mann movie.
- The acting was fine, but the characters that were based on people I was familiar with were clearly two-dimensional.

But these and other observations pale in comparison to the one most important point. The theme of the movie.

BALLS.

The message of the movie was: it takes BALLS to battle the terrorists.

It reminded me of the famous Lenny Bruce routine about Jewish and Goyish, where he made lists of things "Jewish" and "Goyish", but was really a list of "cool" (Dig: I'm Jewish. Count Basie's Jewish. Ray Charles is Jewish. Eddie Cantor's goyish.)

The Path to 9/11 version goes something like this:
"Dig. John O'Neill had Balls. Markie Mark's brother had Balls. George Tenet might have had Balls, but was used to getting kicked in them. Madeline Albright acted like she had Balls but really was Ball-less. Same goes for Ambassador Bodine, who was really more of a Bitch. In fact, most of the guys and gals on the ground had Balls. Most of the folks who worked in offices inside the beltway were Ball-less. Ramzi Yousef, Mohammed Atta and the rest of the "bad guys" thought they had Balls, but were really just crazy - why else would they do what they do with no provocation? Massoud from the Northern Alliance had Big Balls. Just in case you thought that we think no women have Balls, CIA analyst Patricia Carver did, even though she cried. Remember that cop who opened the laptop without a warrant? She had Balls. Oh yeah... going after terrorists by ignoring people's right to privacy? That has Balls. The right to privacy? No Balls. ABC News reporters have Balls. Clinton? He's a politician who relies on keeping a delicate political balance both nationally and internationally. That concept has no Balls. George W Bush? His last-minute agreement to give the shoot-down order after planes have hit the WTC and the Pentagon? Could be a show of Balls. But wait, the onscreen title card epilogue that gives some of the 9/11 commission's review of Bush's progress shows that he too, has no Balls."

The Path to 9/11 was sloppy, not particularly illuminating, and while the dramatic license may have hurt Albright and Cohen, it really was fairly bleh. If I got anything from the movie, it was that the "bad guys" were doing more and more bad things, and that they were willing to wait for the right moment to have the greatest effect. The fact that they haven't been caught just left me with the feeling that it's not over.