Pat Buchanan: Hollywood Plays With Fire

By Patrick J. Buchanan

In July of 1870, King Wilhelm sent Foreign Minister Bismarck an account of his meeting with a French envoy who had demanded that the king renounce any Hohenzollern claim to the Spanish throne.

Bismarck edited the report to make it appear the Frenchman had insulted the king, and that Wilhelm rudely dismissed him. The Ems Telegram precipitated the Franco-Prussian war Bismarck wanted.

Words matter. And if a picture is worth a thousand words, how much greater impact can a motion picture have? We are finding out.

When Hollywood Celebrated Christmas and Marriage

 

From The Center for Vision & Values, Grove City College

By Dr. Paul Kengor

A few days before Christmas, I checked the schedule for Turner Classic Movies, one of the few TV channels I watch. I was looking for Christmas movies, maybe the 1938 Reginald Owen version of “A Christmas Carol” or something like that—something for the family. I was pleased to find three favorites back-to-back that I’ve seen with my wife and daughters, all nice Christmas romances—and all with a similar happy ending.

The first was “I’ll Be Seeing You” (1944), starring Ginger Rogers and Joseph Cotten, with a smaller role by a charming teenage Shirley Temple. Cotten is a World War II veteran struggling with what we would call post-traumatic stress disorder. Rogers is on Christmas furlough from prison (of all things), unjustly serving time for an accidental death that was purely self-defense. Wonderful as always, Gingers Rogers doesn’t dance or sing in this one (no Fred Astaire), but plays a compelling role. The Rogers and Cotten characters fall in love, with Christmas as the suitably warm and fuzzy back-drop.

Gloucester Cathedral Choir - "In the Bleak Midwinter"

The Abolition of Christmas

WebNote: Pat Buchanan wrote this column back in December 2001. It is one of my favorites and is posted today as as we observe this Christmas season of 2014. 

By Patrick J. Buchanan – December 21, 2001

When I was a boy, Kensington was a village half an hour north of Chevy Chase Circle where, inside an ice-cold armory, Catholic kids practiced basketball. Montgomery County was a bedroom suburb of D.C. Nothing beyond existed, except for the Rockville drive-in. 

This fall, both precincts became world-famous as citadels of wacko liberalism. The Montgomery County Council voted to fine homeowners $500 who let cigarette smoke escape into neighbors’ houses. And the Kensington council voted to purge Santa from its 30-year-old tradition of lighting a pine tree in front of town hall. 

60 Years of Carols from King's

An amazing documentary broadcast on the BBC Christmas Day 2014. Features rare footage from many years of the Carol broadcasts since 1954 and revealing interviews with giants of Choral composing today such as John Rutter and Bob Chilcott, both past choral scholars at Kings. As well as an interview with Jonathan Willcocks son of the great Sir David Willcocks who will be 95 this year. An unbelievably good Christmas gift and treat.

Christmas Day 'Urbi et Orbi' Message of His Holiness Pope Francis

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Happy Christmas! 

Jesus, the Son of God, the Saviour of the world, is born for us, born in Bethlehem of a Virgin, fulfilling the ancient prophecies. The Virgin’s name is Mary, the wife of Joseph. 

Christmas 2014 Broadcast of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II