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Perfect Valor, a documentary narrated by former Republican senator and 2008 presidential candidate Fred Thompson and produced by David Bossie and his colleagues at Citizens United Productions recounts the stories of a select group of marines and their families during the United States’ successful campaign to wrest control of the Iraqi city of Fallujah from insurgents in 2004.

The film provides an intimate look at the trials and tribulations that these men and women endured during this difficult time, all the way from training on a production lot in San Diego to their re-adjustment to life at home, and illustrates their tremendous courage throughout.

In Perfect Valor, we are introduced to selfless heroes, such as Dr. Richard Jadick, a naval commander and field surgeon who actually had the option not to be deployed to Iraq, but chose to serve his country despite the fact that his wife was about to give birth. Four days after his child was born, Jadick left for Iraq, and after having to endure the difficulties of having to race from the outskirts of Fallujah to troops in need of attention in the field, Jadick decided to set up a med station in the middle of the city. The location was soon more than just a medical facility to our mean and women in uniform as many of them saw it as a place of comfort where they could find respite from the stress of war.

The film also tells the story of Staff Sergeant Jeremiah Workman, a Navy Cross recipient who lost many friends in a battle with insurgent fighters. After his return home, Workman and his wife very candidly discuss his battle with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and his attempted suicide, which was triggered by his own misplaced guilt over the death of his friends.

Jadick and Workman are just two of the amazing people we meet in Perfect Valor, and their stories and those of the others in the film are presented with an honest insight and a depth of humanity that is rarely appreciated in today’s world. Perfect Valor is deeply moving endeavor. This film provides a perspective that most of aren’t aware of, and of us who have only seen the war on television yet complain of “war fatigue” should set aside 90 minutes and watch it, because it might just give pause to such thoughts.

Popularity: 18% [?]

President Obama declared Wednesday night on ABC News that without healthcare reform the federal government would go bankrupt.

“If we don’t pass it, here’s the guarantee: the people who are watching tonight, your premiums will go up, your employers are going to load up more costs on you. Potentially they’re going to drop your coverage, because they just can’t afford an increase of 25 percent, 30 percent in terms of the costs of providing health care to employees each and every year. “And the federal government will go bankrupt.”

Well, I’ve got news for the president and everybody else out there who hasn’t been paying attention:

The federal government is bankrupt. If it wasn’t, it wouldn’t have to keep mortgaging our future to China and amassing a debt which has ballooned to an amount in the double-digit trillions. When you couple that with the printing rampage we’ve been on, how is it that anybody can say we will run out of money when we obviously already have? The motto of our government seems to be “Spend all you want, we’ll make more”.

Frankly, this has become a rather tiresome ruse. The idea that government knows anything about making or keeping businesses competitive is laughable. There isn’t a business on the planet that can compete with the federal government when it comes to resources.

Notice that “resources” is the key. No one is talking about quality, here. Everyone knows that the government is an inefficient, bumbling mess, no matter who is in charge, and it clearly doesn’t have to turn a profit. That alone makes it an unstoppable juggernaut. Businesses must turn a profit to survive. If they don’t, they go away. (Well, they used to before all the bailout junk started, but you get the idea.) The government seemly operates above all concepts of economics and logic, so in reality, President Obama’s argument is nothing short of a joke.

This whole discussion is rife with myths. Yes, there is a lot of money tied up in the medical insurance industry. But the truth is that people always look at the wrong number. While the large, zero-laden numbers look good at the end of the day, they don’t really mean anything. The number that everybody seems to ignore when they decide to demonize a particular business is that of the profit margin.

Now, in case you don’t know, the profit margin or the medical insurance industry is about two percent. Knowing that, there is no way an unbiased observer of the situation could accuse the medical insurance industry of being anti-competitive. A two percent profit margin would just be barely keeping one’s head above water.

If the federal government was so into competition in business why doesn’t it do more to relieve the financial burdens on businesses, like slashing our inflated corporate tax, and/or eliminating the capital gains tax? Furthermore, in the case of health care, why can’t our health policies be made portable, and why Americans buy a policy in any state that they choose? This would drastically expand every company’s potential client pool, and because of that, logic dictates that prices will come down. This is a basic component of our market economy. However, it has become quite clear that our government has no interest in that.

Isn’t it interesting how the Obama administration constantly touts job creation, yet it is hell-bent on interfering with an industry which makes up about one-sixth of our economy? Health care insurance providers will be unable to compete with a bureaucratic monolith that can continually give itself a blank check with which to operate. The private companies will fail, which will put many people out of work. Wait a minute. What about all that ‘job creation’ that Obama is so good at? Perhaps the only ones that really count in his mind are handful of prison guard jobs that will be created when he moves the Gitmo detainees to Illinois. Who knows at this point?

Continuing on, when you put a lot of people out of work, a domino-effect begins. They have to file for unemployment, which is funded by taxpayers. However, that’s just a tiny part of it. The real damage begins when the reality of this program begins to take hold. Providing quality, universal healthcare for a nation of over 300 million people is a financial impossibility, especially when you factor in our government’s penchant for waste. The tax burden required to feed the beast will balloon out of control, and the end result will be that corporations and workers will be so badly shackled by the government that the drive to produce will be lost. If such a thing ever happens, its game over, people. Welcome to the collapse of the United States of America.

All of that aside, the true answer to this manufactured “crisis” is personal responsibility. The fact is that most of the uninsured could obtain a health insurance policy at a reasonable price if they wanted to. Quality policies are available at prices less than $100 a month, and can be shopped for and purchased online as we speak. While it is true that the American health industry could be streamlined, the government certainly has no clue how to do it. Furthermore, the true hindrance in the situation isn’t the providers. It’s the Americans who are too irresponsible to take care of themselves.

Until that changes, nothing good will happen.

Popularity: 45% [?]

It’s not too often that I see a film, particularly a documentary, and my immediate reaction is that everyone should see it. “33 Minutes” from The Heritage Foundation is indeed one of those films.

33 Minutes (which actually refers to the average delivery time of a nuclear weapon via ballistic missile from launch to impact) discusses the state of our current missile defense system, covering our amazing technological progress since President Reagan first introduced the Strategic Defense Initiative in the early 1980’s, as well as the need for the system’s improvement and expansion.

I found 33 Minutes to be a truly enlightening experience. Not only was I provided with insights which explained the need for such a defense system from the likes of former Attorney General Edwin Meese and former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, the film also treated me to a fairly detailed, plainspoken description of how the system works, as well as counterarguments for opponents of the system by Lieutenant General Henry A. “Trey” Obering III (Ret.) plus an explanation of the dangers of EMP by Dr. William Graham and Dr. James Jay Carafano.

However, the most eye-opening moments of the film for me were the “man on the street“ interviews which were given by ordinary citizens. Even though it is obvious that the quality of the American education system has severely declined, I still feel shocked when I hear Americans say things along the lines of, “I don’t think anyone would allow some of these other counties to develop nuclear weapons” and “Wouldn’t it take a few days for a missile to reach its target?” to be absolutely frightening. In my opinion, the Heritage Foundation has already provided America with a wake-up call in the form, of those interviews alone. It is my personal contention that not only do we need technological advancements to defend America, but we also need to increase public awareness and engagement in order to fend off these ever-looming threats.

33 Minutes is definitely a step in the right direction. Not only did I find myself impressed with the historical, technical and philosophical insights the film provides, the presentation is smooth and easy to digest. This film is a perfect illustration of how documentaries should be produced, and in terms of message, 33 Minutes is a must for every history and civics classroom in America.

Popularity: 27% [?]

Introduction:

After viewing the film, I was able to sit down for a moment with Gregory Ross, Communications Director for Clarion Fund, to talk about the project:

Art Lindsey: Could you tell us a little bit about whom you are, what you do?

Gregory Ross: I’m originally from Los Angeles and have lived overseas for many years. I moved back to LA from New York after 9-11, and a stint on Wall Street, and started working in the Hollywood Entertainment community.

AL: How did you become involved with this film, and what was/is your specific role?

GR: The producer of “Obsession”, Raphael Shore, is an old friend of mine. He approached me over a year ago about representing the film in Hollywood. My exact title is, ‘Director of Communications’ for the Clarion Fund (non-profit, 501c3), and I assist in everything from internal/external communications, dealing with the press, and helping to secure distribution for our films. We also engage in educational activities online and on college campuses, as the mission statement of the Clarion Fund is to educate Western Civilization about the threat of radical Islam.

AL: Who financed the film, and what was the cost? How long did it take to complete the film?

GR: The film was financed by a concerned citizen who has a long standing relationship with our organization. The cost was under $500k and it took over a year to complete.

AL: While the subject matter of the film is obvious, in your opinion, what is the ultimate goal of this film?

GR: Ultimately, our goal is that of self-protection. This is a non-partisan film that looks to warn Americans and other Westerners of the growing existential threat that we all face – radical Islam. Our enemy does not care if they kill a Democrat or Republican, black or white, Christian or Jew, or even in some cases other Muslims. We all, moderate Muslims included, need to ban together in order to succeed in this battle with the fundamental Islamists. No less than our Democratic way of life and the liberties it provides are at stake.

AL: In your estimation, how many people have seen “Obsession”?

GR: At last count I believe over 18 million people have seen “Obsession”. It has aired on CNN, Fox and other news outlets. It’s impossible however to truly gauge how many people have seen the entire film as it seems countless universities, churches, temples and other organizations have arranged screenings without our knowledge – which is just fine by us. We encourage activists to take matters into their own hands and spread the message. For us it’s all about getting the job done – not who gets credit for getting it out there.

AL: What is being done with the proceeds from this film?

GR: Proceeds from “Obsession” have primarily gone back into marketing the film. We’ve had a 2 year run so far since the films’ release, and yet there is still a large segment of America that does not know about the enemy we face. Our job is to reach those people, and fast!

AL: Have you received requests for the film from educators? Do you know of any institution where it is part of the curriculum?

GR: I know that the U.S. Department of the Navy uses the film and that it has also been shown on Capitol Hill on many occasions in order to education politicians. We have also screened it at countless universities and colleges. However we are unsure as to if it is being used in their curriculums – we certainly hope it is.

AL: How has it been received in a critical sense by the general public? Favorably or otherwise?

GR: Many people leave watching the film in a state of shock, however most all viewers are grateful for, and enlightened by, the information we provide in the film. This is scary stuff indeed! The public is extremely uniformed about the threats we face, and the general media is too consumed with Iraq to pay attention to the larger issues at hand. In the past years we have won and placed in numerous film festivals, and many critics have praised the film highly. Indeed, Glenn Beck said…”Obsession is without exaggeration one of the most important films of our time”.

AL: Have you received any feedback from Muslim groups such as CAIR because of this film? If so, what has that been like? Any backlash?

GR: Let’s just say that CAIR is not a big fan of our work – and they shouldn’t be! We uncover the lies, deception and terrorist activities that they work so hard to hide from us all. Other more moderate Muslim organizations and individuals actually use “Obsession” as a primer for their talks and lectures. We work closely with all moderate Muslims that look to reclaim their religion from the radical fanatics.

AL: What is your opinion on the current state of our war against Radical Muslim Extremism? Do you think the public truly grasp it? What aboutOur leaders in Washington? What is your view of the future, all things considered?

GR: Now that is the big questions, isn’t it? The public? Unfortunately, largely clueless. That’s why we are doing the work we do. The politicians? Some are not much better informed than the people they represent, especially when it comes to what is going on in their own backyards. The prison systems where hate and killing are being taught by radical Islamic chaplains who are paid for by the U.S. government, radical Islamic communities sprouting up in the U.S., Shariah financing on Wall Street, etc. We indeed have a big task ahead of us to get the people in Washington to do their job in protecting American citizens.
In terms of my overall view on the situation…go visit Europe now and kiss it goodbye, in our lifetimes it will be overrun by radical Islam. As far as America is concerned I think the Middle Eastern expert Bernard Lewis sums it up best in our new film when he succinctly suggests that America “wake up!” We have a short window of opportunity to turn the tide, and we really must join all of our resources in fighting what is the most dangerous threat today to our society and way of life. The global climate crises may present problems in 20-30 years, but if we don’t counter the threat of radical Islam, we might not be around that long to ‘enjoy’ the warm temperatures that our carbon footprints provide.

Popularity: 83% [?]