Conway “Con”F. Used was acquitted today of drunk driving and related charges by convincing Judge Roy Preen that at the time of his arrest he identified as sober.
Prosecutors had already testified and produced evidence that Used’s blood alcohol content was well over the legal limit, and that he had failed all other sobriety tests at the time of his arrest. Other evidence included sworn statements by the wait staff and management at the restaurant where Used had earlier that evening dined and consumed four alcoholic beverages before leaving angry after being denied further alcoholic refreshment.
In his comments before releasing Used, Judge Preen indicated that scientific measurements such as blood alcohol content could not be used to suppress a person’s sense of identity and perhaps even disrupt their emotional well-being. He chastised the arresting officers for their bigotry in arresting Used, who testified that he claimed he was sober all along.
Officials from the nation’s capitol have weighed in on the case, saying that they are considering bringing action against the manager, wait staff, and owner’s of the restaurant where Used had dined the night of his arrest for violating his civil rights in refusing to sell him additional alcoholic beverages. “This kind of intolerance is completely unacceptable,” said an unidentified spokesperson, “We should all be disgusted by the kind of bullying that labels a person as intoxicated when that person identifies as sober.” When questioned about the fact of Used’s blood alcohol content, the spokesperson replied, “We all know that state and local law enforcement in this country is rife with prejudices and unfair practices that are designed to protect the interests of the few. Unless we want to see a return to the segregationist South of the 1950’s, or worse, we need to reject these prejudices and unfair practices until we can purge state and local law enforcement agencies, of these prejudices, and properly train, and restaff them if necessary, so that they follow the appropriate and acceptable values demonstrated in Judge Preen’s ruling in this case.
Retail giant BullSeye, also decided to chime in on the case, saying that they supported Judge Preen’s ruling, and they look forward to their employees and patrons enjoying working and shopping at BullSeye in any state of sobriety they choose, so long as employees identify as sober while working.
When told of BullSeye’s support for the ruling in his favor, Used, was elated. “I’m going to drive right over to my local BullSeye and buy a case of beer and drink it right there in the middle of the store to show my appreciation.” When asked which restroom he would use should the urge arise after consuming so much beer, Con replied “Restroom? I don’t need no stinking restroom. After that much beer I always feel like some kind of animal, say maybe a big, lovable, out of control dog. I’ll just p*ss right there in the middle of the store, all over the floor and on anybody’s legs that get within range.” When asked if he thought there might be consequences to such behavior Used answered, “Consequences? What kind of consequences? Are they going to throw me out for doing something “Wrong” (Air quotes gesture at this point). They wouldn’t have a leg to stand on. Ha Ha.”
A complete transcript of the conversation between Mr. Used and the other parties present can be found here: (insert link–more to come.)
In a follow up statement, a rep from BullSeye indicated that the retailer would be installing floor drains at regular intervals throughout all areas of their stores to accommodate customers and employees who choose to identify as any kind of animal.
Among the many gigantic figures of human history, few are more known and reviled than the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party during World War Two. While his actions and policies continue to draw condemnation from around the world today, this may overshadow the fact that many of the technological and military advances of Adolf Hitler’s Germany were ahead of their time. For example, Germany produced the first operational jet powered combat aircraft, and the first guided missile. After the war, forces from both the free West and from behind the soon to close Iron Curtain competed to gain access to and mastery of the technologies that had been developed in Nazi laboratories.
Although neither he nor his policies are as well-known as the Fuhrer, the writings and actions of Paidolf Hipstler, an idealogical follower of Hitler’s, deserves attention from anyone interested in protecting humanity in general and Western Civilization in particular. Not much is known about Paidolf Hipstler: his place of birth, childhood, and education are shrouded in mystery. What is known is that he has developed and deployed his own advanced weapon system. Drawing inspiration from the infamous V-2 rockets and V-1 flying bombs of WWII, Hipstler has dubbed his project the Dirty Flying f-bomb.
Many people are familiar with the use of V-1 and V-2 missiles against England. Hitler also used these weapons extensively against the port city of Antwerp in an effort to disrupt the flow of supplies into the city and to retard and reverse the Allied advance. (www.v2rocket.com)
In practice, the original V-missiles were an early sort of terror weapon; their guidance systems were as yet unable to provide a great deal of precision, which made them of little use at striking specific military targets. Instead the weapons were more or less aimed at a large population center where they brought death and destruction to the lives and property of the people below. The V-2’s almost always struck without warning, sometimes coming down on a crowded cinema, killing hundreds; other times landing in an orchard, meadow or empty school yard and thankfully causing no casualties. A conventional manned bomber flight was still capable of locating and hitting specific targets with greater precision than were the V-weapons. B y 1944 however, the Allied air forces had won control of the air, and Germany could no longer expect to launch successful air strikes using conventional manned bomber aircraft. Flying higher and faster than Allied interceptor aircraft, the V-2 was a way for Hitler to continue to launch air strikes against the Allies. (www,v2rocket.com)
While much of the story of the Dirty Flying f-bomb (DFFB) and Hipstler’s plans for it is told with remarkable candor in the pages of his autobiography, Mind Struggle, it is in his unpublished notes and papers that we find revealed the true extent and complexity of his plan. It is likely these papers were not intended by Hipstler to be made public, and they came to light only through a series of improbable events:
Hipstler was attending a clandestine meeting of like-minded aspiring world leaders, despots and demagogues at a remote, undisclosed location somewhere in the swamp country of South Carolina. To increase security, all of the attendees were flown by helicopter to the meeting individually, having agreed before hand on a pilot all believed they could trust. When the pilot departed after the final run, he took with him all of their cell phones and electronic devices, leaving them totally isolated, with provisions for four days, and a rendezvous to return at noon on the fourth day. He didn’t show up at noon, or even by nightfall of the fourth day, and the following morning, out of food and low on potable water, Hipstler and his colleagues were compelled to trek through miles of unfamiliar swamp in search of a town or road. For two days and nights they slogged through the swamp. Their clothes became torn, tattered, and caked with mud and dried slime. They had no food, except what snakes and insects they could catch, hardly any drinking water, and nothing but a stinking swamp for sanitation or hygiene. Although their trail became littered with the folders, binders, handbags, purses, and discarded garments of his exhausted colleagues, Hipstler held a steady grip on the portfolio containing his notes and papers. Finally, cursing the pilot, cursing the swamp, and cursing each other, they emerged from the fetid morass on the blazing hot afternoon of the third day onto a road near Myrtle Beach, where they were mistaken for a group of Occupy protesters who were believed to have just arrived to demonstrate against the miniature golf attractions in the area, and detained by the local sheriff. In the ensuing mayhem Hipstler lost the portfolio containing his notes and papers. The portfolio and all of Hipstler’s papers were discovered by an astute journalist sent from Scotland to cover the miniature golf/occupy story, who recognized in them something hot, and thanks to whom we know the side of Paidolf Hipstler not meant for public consumption.
With both his published and unpublished works now at our disposal, the thinking of Paidolf Hipstler is more clear to us than ever before, including the plans and deployment strategy for the DFFB, as well as outlines of both his immediate and ultimate goals. Like the V-1 and V-2 missiles that inspired them, the Dirty Flying f-bomb was designed to bring death and destruction. However, unlike the V-missiles, which were aimed at physical persons and property, DFFB’s target the minds and hearts of their intended victims; and whereas Hitler used V-missiles to disrupt the flow of supplies and retard and reverse the advance of approaching armies, Hipstler plan is to use DFFB’s to disrupt the flow of ideas and retard and reverse the advance of civilization.
Hipstler is careful to distinguish between DFFB’s and what he terms “Innocent or innocuous outburst of foul language.” He points out with noticeable pride in revealing his brainchild that what sets a DFFB apart from such outbursts is the “Dirty” aspect of a Dirty Flying f-bomb. The word “Dirty” is not used here to indicate the content of the language, that is what the “f-” is meant for. Hipstler tells us that ” Dirty” in this sense indicates the intent to spread toxic material and cause contamination, similar to the way dirty is used in “dirty bomb.” To fully grasp Hipstler’s meaning, you can read at www.nationalterroralert.com that “A dirty bomb is designed to spread radioactive material and contaminate a small area.” and also that “The main purpose of a dirty bomb is to frighten people and make buildings or land unusable for a long time.”
One of Hipslter’s immediate objectives is to use DFFB’s to arrest the mental and emotional development of their targets at an immature level. Hipstler gives an example of an adolescent male, say in sixth or seventh grade. The first time he hears a joke with an f-bomb, he is likely to find it appealing, if only because of the shock value. (Hipstler also states in Mind Struggle that the impact of that first f-bomb is greater when delivered by an adult, especially a media figure. He cleverly unleashes many of his DFFB’s through just such mediums and targets them specifically at younger victims.) Duly impressed, the adolescent male starts to deliver his own DFFB’s, incorporating them into his everyday manner of speech.
Here Hipstler’s reveals the deeper diabolical complexity of his strategy, for instead of merely spreading the use of DFFB’s, he actively persuades the persons using them that anyone annoyed, offended, put off, or otherwise not surrendering to the barrage of DFFB’s is oppressive, out of touch, outdated, and narrow- minded. The target-cum-user will be constantly reminded of this “aggressive” opposition to his self- expression. According to Hipstler’s master plan, instead of naturally outgrowing the desire to use DFFB’s( and perhaps even develop a vocabulary that transcends the limits of four-letter words), the example adolescent male moves into a sort of juvenile adulthood, passionately engaged in a made up struggle to express himself against his benign neighbors, who have been effectively transformed by Hipstler and his minions into oppressive monsters to be opposed at every turn. In his notes, Hipstler’s makes the following assertion, “Control the emotions and you control the masses. Arouse their anger. Feed their anger. Direct their anger at the object of your choosing.” Through media manipulation, meticulously guided and nurtured ignorance, and ruthless determination, freedom of speech is corrupted to cover any form of self- expression. Eventually even assertions that do not correspond to reality are celebrated and protected by Hipstler and his followers as expressions of individuality. Communication becomes meaningless while scientific discovery and discussion of observable or measurable data becomes nonsensical, if not impossible, when forced to yield to such assertions. In the meantime, the affected juvenile adult is now consumed with a drive for self- expression and a near fanatical hostility to anyone he imagines may show any objection to his expressions of identity. Hipstler predicts the subject juvenile adult, and millions more groomed just like him will gladly acquiesce when the state appoints itself as protector and guarantor of this “right.”
Death and destruction are the intended consequences of this plan, although with a new twist. Unlike previous conflicts, property is not destroyed but confiscated whenever anyone does not actively agree with the official state doctrine. Death is aimed at rational discourse and intelligible, meaningful language. Scientific discovery, and both scientific and philosophical certainty become collateral casualties. Following the death of certainty will come the ultimate death of any human rights. Productive, peaceful lives and a functional civil society are targeted for destruction.
At this point we witness the final phase of Hipstler’s plan as society devolves to a condition similar to that of Germany after The Great War of 1914-1918 . Just as Adolf Hitler emerged from the tragic chaos, darkness, and despair of post World War One Germany to rise to enormous power; so Paidolf Hipstler believes he is destined to emerge from this deliberate chaos, darkness and despair, to rise to even greater power. Using the narcissism and agitated emotions of at least one generation against themselves, playing on their passions as a virtuoso on a stringed instrument; Hipstler projects he will easily lead them into submission and total subjugation, succeeding where Hitler failed, and forging a thousand year yoke of iron on their hearts and minds, and on the lives of millions yet unborn.
The immediate inspiration for this piece came from a teaching I heard yesterday on the radio by Dr. Michael Youssef (ltw.org) As I worked on the piece throughout the day and evening, I heard another of my favorite teachers, Dr. R.C. Sproul (Ligonier.org) on the radio reading his children’s story, TheLightlings, which led to the first line of the final verse.
The desire to regenerate. To cast off our old self: Old mistakes. Old failures. Old scars. There seems to be a new, better self waiting to be born, if only we could shed this old skin. This work ends in disappointment, not because the rebirth cannot be done, but because it cannot be done separate from the love and grace of GOD.
The purpose is this: if I lived through it, so can you. Much of my emotional turmoil found it’s outlet in the written word. Hang on. Push on. You are not alone. You, yes you, are beloved. The angst is gone. The alienation is a fact of life in a world system which is hostile to truth.
Laughter, Warmth, Character, and (a touch of) Music
If you want a good movie to watch this Christmas season, one of the all time best is Christmas in Connecticut released by Warner Brothers in 1945. With an outstanding cast headed by Barbara Stanwyck and Dennis Morgan, this is a motion picture that continues to delight, year after year and viewing after viewing. If you haven’t yet seen this picture, watch it; you are in for a treat.
Barbara Stanwyck and Dennis Morgan
What, no Santa?
Christmas in Connecticut is not a Christmas movie in the sense many viewers may have come to expect. There are no flying reindeer, no elves, no Santa, no talking snowmen, nor any other fictional Christmas characters. As such this may not be the kind of motion picture that will hold the interest of young children, but it is a film you can watch comfortably with family members of all ages. Nor does Christmas in Connecticut tell the historical story of Mary and Joseph and their journey through Roman occupied Judea to Bethlehem; of shepherds, or angels, or the birth of Jesus. So if it is neither a whimsical Christmas fairy tale, nor a fact-based telling of the Nativity, what makes Christmas in Connecticut one of the all time best Christmas movies? In the first place it is funny. At the heart of Christmas in Connecticut is a hilarious and charming romantic comedy. Mistaken or concealed identity is an element in some of the funniest motion pictures, and this device is expertly crafted into Christmas in Connecticut by screenwriters Lionel Houser and Adele Comandini , from an original story by Aileen Hamilton.
Dennis Morgan and Barbara Stanwyck enjoy a Christmas sleighride.
More than that…
Besides being a great romantic comedy, Christmas in Connecticut is a depiction of America during a time of great national crisis, the Second World War. For those of you who do not want to watch a war film, fear not, the opening sequence where the ship on which Jefferson Jones (Dennis Morgan) and Seaman Sinkewicz (Frank Jenks) are serving is torpedoed and sunk by a German U-boat is the only combat scene in the picture. (Was any pun intending in naming the character Sinkewicz?) From a life raft adrift in the cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean, the settings move to more peaceful domestic surroundings: a Naval Hospital, a restaurant, several residences, and a town hall, plus several brief but evocative snowy outdoor scenes. Despite these peaceful surroundings so far from combat zones, reminders of the war and the effects it is having on the lives of the characters in this picture are ever present: many of the men and some of the women seen in public settings are in uniform, the event held at the town hall is a dance and war bond drive, main character Elizabeth Lane (Barbara Stanwyck) pretends to be the mother of first one, then another infant while their real mothers are working at a nearby plant to support the war effort.
A black and white time machine to the greatest generation facing their crisis
This depiction of America is one of the things that makes Christmas in Connecticut such a worthwhile film to watch. Set against the backdrop of Christmas time in New York and Connecticut, with much of the story taking place on Christmas Eve and Christmas day, Christmas in Connecticut is a story of the greatest generation of Americans told by the greatest generation of Americans during the time of our nations greatest crisis. There is a sense of duty portrayed in all the characters of this picture, it is not heavy-handed, nor do I believe it to be an intentional theme of the picture; instead it appears to be the natural portrayal of Americans at the time. Foremost are the men in the military who are risking their lives; and the nurses in the naval hospital who care for the wounded veterans. There is the headstrong and domineering publishing magnate Alexander Yardley(Sidney Greenstreet), who mixes duty with the desire to increase his circulation, to Yardley’s daughter, who is never seen onscreen, but whose war work requires her to stay in Washington and miss Christmas with her father. One of the most important and funny characters is Elizabeth Lane’s persistent suitor John Sloan (Reginald Gardiner), who reluctantly agrees to assist Lane in the deception of Yardley in order to prevent Lane’s supervisor and cohort in deception, Dudley Beecham (Robert Shayne) from loosing his job. Then there are the mothers who leave their children to go work in the war plant, to the housekeeper Norah( Una O’Connor) who cares for the children while the mothers are working, to the citizens of the town who request the honor of the presence of convalescing war hero Jefferson Jones at their war bond drive and dance: Christmas in Connecticut provides a long cast of varied and amusing and imperfect Americans who recognize their duty and who do it.
Sydney Greenstreet (facing camera) and S.Z.Sakall
Americans at work
Another outstanding aspect of Christmas in Connecticut is the way it portrays Americans working in so many scenes in the picture. Characters are portrayed as busy, but not burdened by their work. Just as in the sense of duty mentioned above, this appears to be a genuinely natural portrayal of Americans at the time. Besides the previously mentioned mothers working at the war plant, we also see a woman courier delivering a package to Elizabeth Lane at her New York apartment. A small touch, but this opportunity for added depth could easily have been overlooked . By crafting in this small, brief detail the films makers have allowed the motion picture to accurately portray the shift in the make up of the nations work force as women stepped forward to fill the jobs that had previously been done by men now serving in the military.
Restaurant Felix
A short distance from Elizabeth Lane’s apartment is Restaurant Felix, who’s owner “Uncle” Felix Bassenak (S.Z. Sakall) is a good friend and supplier of recipes to Lane, a magazine columnist who has become a household name as America’s foremost homemaker, wife, and cook. Only one problem, she isn’t married and she can’t cook!
S.Z. Sakall shows Barbara Stanwyck how to flip flop the flop flips. Scene from Sloans kitchen at his Connecticut home.
At Restaurant Felix we see more portrayals of Americans at work. The central figure is Felix himself, presiding with proprietary fussiness over the restaurant that bears his name, demonstrating for a group of waiters how to toss a salad just so, lighting a cigarette for a guest, then a moment later, with a mild scold, removing the cigarette from the mouth of one of his musicians.
Many motion picture laughs have been generated over the years by portrayals of New York City Cabbies, newsboys, waiters, busboys, and holders of various other vocations that are not high on the education required list. These laughs are often achieved by the use of a very distinct and exaggerated New York accent, or some colorful misuse of vocabulary or grammar. Christmas in Connecticut however, presents us with a reminder of the dignity of work, and a respect for all who work, no matter what position they hold. Felix, in his thick eastern European accent, asks his employee Sam (Emmett Smith) , who is busy sorting and stacking glassware, the meaning of the word “catastrophe.” Instead of a comical accent or demonstration of ignorance, Sam defines the word for Felix in perfect American English, even referencing the Greek origin of the term.
Robert Shayne. Reginald Gardiner, S.Z Sakall, and Barbara Stanwyck at Restaurant Felix
The whole scene at Restaurant Felix is one of those wonderful motion picture experiences that make you want to go there and have a beverage at the bar, move over to the buffet table and load up your plate with, among other things, horse radish and pickled walnuts, then sit down for dinner to the mildly exotic sound of Hungarian music being played just a few feet away.
Home in Connecticut
Restaurant Felix is just the first of the superb settings that make you want to be there. The other is the Connecticut home of architect John Sloan. The audience is treated to spending much of the picture in and around this home. Our first view of the house is an exterior shot as a large dog leaps over a garden wall in the foreground while at the top of the frame a horse drawn sleigh comes into view from around the curve on the snow covered drive.
Front view of John Sloan’s Connecticut home.
The interiors are just as inviting, and one wonders if John Sloan would acknowledge with approval the high level of detail shown in the set design. The living room is dominated by a huge, open fireplace, while at the far end of the room is a grand piano sitting next to a towering Christmas tree.
Barbara Stanwyck trims the tree while Dennis Morgan sings and plays the piano.
The rest of the house is just as fascinating and contributes to the successful story telling done by all involved in this motion picture. Most notably, there is the kitchen, where Yardley and Jones sneak down for a late night snack after everyone else has gone to bed, and where Elizabeth Lane flips her one and only flap jack; also the downstairs guest room and bath, where children left for the day by their mothers have naps and are bathed and do not swallow large watches; and the den, with it’s smaller, more intimate fireplace, and enigmatic bar, under which the characters are required to duck in order to enter. Every year we wonder how John Sloan could have overlooked this detail!
Characters and character
There is an outdoor scene, on Christmas Eve, with Elizabeth Lane and Jefferson Jones that again demonstrates the craft with which this story is told, and how when done well, a great deal about a character can be demonstrated with only a few words. To set the scene, Jefferson Jones is attracted to Elizabeth Lane, whom he believes to be married to his host, John Sloan. Lane , who is not really married, but is putting on the deception so her boss Yardley will not know that her magazine persona is a fraud, senses Jones attraction to her, and is also attracted to Jones. After a short walk they stop to sit on a bench. Elizabeth Lane asks Jones if he is the kind of a man that would kiss a married woman? “No,” he answers, “But I wish I was.” Barbara Stanwyck and Dennis Morgan create such an on screen chemistry that the audience can feel the yearning these characters have for each other. Knowing she is not married, she wants him to kiss her, also knowing she is not really married, the audience wants him to kiss her. Jones however does not know she is not really married, and no matter how much he wants to, he cannot kiss her. Such a brief exchange, and such an enduring demonstration of character. There is no more discussion, no reiteration to make sure the audience “got it”, just a momentary silence before they agree to resume their walk. There are gems in the history of motion pictures. Moments that may be fleeting, that may be a word, or an unsaid word, or glance, or a turning away, that convey so much of the character of the character and the craft of the filmmaker. This moment is one of those gems.
As you look for movies to watch this Christmas season, I hope you will make it a point to sit down and enjoy the 1945 production of Christmas in Connecticut. It combines laughter, warmth, great performances and story telling, and a wonderful ambiance of snowy landscapes, crackling fires, glittering Christmas trees and just a touch of song to help kindle that sense of magic so many of us love and look forward to at this beautiful time of year.
If you enjoy stories like Christmas in Connecticut, you may also like the short novels of R.K.Morris, including his new Christmas Classic, Friends, Snowmen Countrymen, be of Good Cheer. Browse books by R.K.Morris here: amazon.com/author/morrisrk
