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Ben Stein's Diary

Another Oscar Night Wasted

By on 2.25.13 @ 6:11AM

Maybe Seth McFarlane should be footman to Mrs. Obama, our own Evita.

Sunday
I am not quite sure who Seth McFarlane is, but he must be important, because he was the host of the Oscars show last night. He managed to be the most offensive host I have ever seen on an awards show. He looks sane, but there is something wrong with him, or maybe it’s that the producers asked the writers to be really offensive, and the writers produced offensive material, and Seth McFarlane just blithely read it.

But herewith some of his bons mots:

He mentioned various actors who had played Abraham Lincoln — Raymond Massey, Daniel Day-Lewis — and then he added, “But the only actor who ever really got inside the brain of Lincoln was John Wilkes Booth.”

What the hell was that? A sick, evil joke about the murder of Abraham Lincoln on a network TV show? We have really gone way down into the toilet bowl of humor.

Roughly at the same time, the host said that some charity for college students at the Motion Picture Academy was a great idea: drunk producers and “college co-eds.” I thought we didn’t say “co-eds” any longer because it insults women.

But then the charming host brought out an actress who played a vicious alcoholic and said that was what he aspired to be. What? Do the writers think alcoholism is funny?

Then the host introduced some performers and said they were being brought out in case anyone didn’t think the show was “gay enough” already. I had no idea that Richard Gere, Queen Latifah, Renee Zellweger, and Catherine Zeta-Jones, the actors Mr. McFarlane introduced were gay, but if they are, I am not sure it’s Mr McFarlane’s duty to mock them and “out” them on national TV. If they are not gay, then why call them gay?

But the ultimate was the end of the show, in which Mrs. Obama, live from the White House, wearing what looked like a large roll of aluminum foil, stood with a bunch of military aides in dress uniforms announcing Best Picture. I always like to see the military honored — and rightly so. But the sight of so much military around the First Lady, who holds no official post, smacks of Evita Peron.

However, Mrs. Obama, who apparently never had a happy day until her husband ran for President, was obviously enjoying herself immensely, so, it’s all fine. It does make clear, though, that even being President is a step or two under being a big power in Hollywood. What do First Ladies aspire to? Why, Hollywood, of course. My wife tells me Mrs. Obama was on a show on Saturday doing some kind of dance. She said she was not impressed. 

Well, my own idiot fault for watching the Oscars in the first place . It’s never good. Too much ego in one room. Tonight, the Obama ego and the Hollywood ego. I thought my TV would melt. And what’s all this whining about the sequester and people being laid off? Let them eat red carpet.

Meanwhile, let me tell you something. As any reader of my little column knows, our son has been a major challenge to me over the past 25 years. He’s handsome and smart, but he’s also incredibly difficult to wake up for school, sarcastic, thinks he knows it all, and orders way too much food at restaurants and that’s just the tiniest start.

But do you know, he and his staggeringly beautiful wife and their daughter, Coco, and their dog, Buglet, left to move to the world’s most charming town, Greenville, South Carolina, yesterday, and I can hardly stand it. He’s not going to be walking in the door at midnight asking for money. He’s not going to be showing up at 7 a.m. wanting me to take him to the car dealer. He’s not going to need me to referee fights between him and his wife. He’s gone. When I asked him how long he thought he would be gone, he said straightforwardly, “For good.” I thought I would pass out.

And I cannot look at a picture of him now without tears coming to my eyes.

“Empty nesters.” Now, there is a sad phrase.

Photo: WhiteHouse.gov

About the Author

Ben Stein is a writer, actor, economist, and lawyer living in Beverly Hills and Malibu. He writes “Ben Stein’s Diary” for every issue of The American Spectator.

Letter to the Editor View all comments (122) |

Appleby| 2.25.13 @ 6:28AM

And of course it rewarded "Argo" which was false almost from the beginning to the end, and grossly insulted yet another of our rapidly dwindling group of allies by implying Canada is a bunch of chicken hearts who required the USA to come in and save the day in Iraq, when the truth -- even Jimmy Carter said so -- is precisely the opposite.

Albert Constantine Jr.| 2.25.13 @ 8:26AM

I didn't see "Argo", and didn't see it win Best Picture, and don't care about anything Jimmy Carter has to say. That being established, I believe the setting of "Argo" was Iran, not "Iraq" ("I Ran" was also the name of a Flock of Seagulls hit more than 30 years ago, but recalling that does not mean I rock).

CJW| 2.25.13 @ 8:43AM

I saw it. The writers and producers (Clooney,Afleck) could not help ruining a good story by injecting the lefty history. For example, the begining states the we overthrew a legitimate democratically elected leader, Mossadiqui implying that was the cause of the 79 attack on our embassy. Did not mention that he was a commie, and that the Shah was our ally, and moderninzing Iran by allowing women to vote, and he tried to reduce the power of the crazy mullahs. Or that Iran has been the primary sponsor of terrorism since 1979.

At the end they have a speech by Jimmy the boob Obama about how the rescue of the six and the release of the hostages proved we did not have to resort to "violence." Of course, the election of Reagan as the cause of the release was not mentioned, implying it was Jimmy's efforts for over one year that led to the release.

Perfect lefty Hollyoood movie. Take a historical event, have some good acting, try to rehabilitate the reputation of a loser Dem president, throw in the lefty version of history, and then award it top prize.

Randolph T.| 2.25.13 @ 2:22PM

There's no business like show business, and show business is the business of America. And may the god of glitz--the god of tinseltown-- shine his kleig lights on you now and forevermore.

Amen and Amen . . .

anna k from emory u| 2.25.13 @ 5:02PM

I can't believe that you'd have the nerve to return as "Randolph T".

What's the matter, were you so busy killing puppies that you forgot to change back to "Trish Trotter" before posting today?

No Jacques Brel to interject?

Keep displaying your anti-Semitic HATE by your mocking of Ben Stein, I'm sure the Board of Trustees and your Department chair will understand your academic experiment.

RCV| 2.26.13 @ 9:06PM

We did help overthrow a democratically elected President in Iran, and Mossadegh was a secular leftist, strongly opposed by the Islamicists.

The peaceful release of the American hostages was te result of the long, arduous painstaking diplomatic work of Secretary of State Warren Christopher, who arranged their release after months-long negotiations in Algiers. As a final insult to Carter, the mullahs delayed their actual flight until the moment Carter left office, but Reagan had no responsibility for their repatriation.

Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 2.25.13 @ 6:32AM

Michelle Obama has failed as a fake nutritionist and as a fake gymnast. Now the first lady has latched onto the military as a cause just announcing she desires that the Governors of the States pass laws requiring that veterans be hired.

Considering that liberals hate the military you have to wonder why she believes this will work when her other fake self proclaimed positions failed.

As far as your son Ben, never fear. My kids have been out and back so many times we refer to them as boomerang children. Divorces, loss of jobs, etc, keep them coming and going. While they are here now we make them pay rent.

None of it bothers me now as I sit in the back yard and burn wood in my fire pit as I look out over the woods. There are a lot of empty nests in the woods too. It's simply part of the process.

JP| 2.25.13 @ 8:19AM

"Michelle Obama has failed as a fake nutritionist and as a fake gymnast. Now the first lady has latched onto the military as a cause just announcing she desires that the Governors of the States pass laws requiring that veterans be hired."

Vets will be a new class of federally funded indentured servants. They will soon be tending to the lawns, garbage pits, and sculleries of the Hollywood-Beltway-Upper Westside jetset.

TLP| 2.26.13 @ 12:22PM

.

Von Mises Jr| 2.25.13 @ 9:38AM

That's one huge bee itch. Every time I see her, I think of "Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo." Freak! I wonder if she uses that antler spray for perfume.

Russel| 2.25.13 @ 11:12AM

I think of her ' role ' as of late is trying to co-opt our military . That is , what stands between O'Bummer and dictatorship ? . Our conservative military . He's working hard to disarm ctizens , he has the DHS at his command , has his drones at his disposal . Has passed laws giving him power to imprison without trial . The list goes on . Calling her Evita ? . How about Cessescau ( sp ).

bustunloose| 2.25.13 @ 1:03PM

What per cent of military from red or sorta red states. Not sure Texans would attack Texas so DiFi gun control is enforced.

Occam's Tool| 2.25.13 @ 4:58PM

Seth writes an incredibly obnoxious (and not particularly funny) animated series, "family Guy." I think he's also behind "American Dad."

I watch a lot of Riff Trax. I don't subscribe to Cable. I watch VERY few new Hollywood films. I save a lot of money that way, and am more entertained.

Jack in Wi| 2.25.13 @ 6:33AM

Ben I have been reading you for several decades. This is excellent work. After all the drivel you have been putting out lately I consider that a huge step forward. I hope you and your son reconcile. Perhaps a little space, for a time, will be good for both of you As for Lincoln and his worshippers, Sic Semper Tyranus.

C. Vernon Crisler | 2.25.13 @ 9:33AM

Creepy....

Occam's Tool| 2.25.13 @ 6:53PM

Lincon was either number one or two on the list of Greatest Presidents, Cheesehead Jack. When you are wormfood (may that day come speedily), he will still be remembered, and you will still be a never was.

mzk| 3.1.13 @ 6:26AM

In case anyone missed it, that was what Booth (a self-important celebrity) said after he murdered Lincoln.

No-one like our resident Nazi to write a decent comment and mix in a dash of evil.

henry| 2.25.13 @ 6:37AM

Ben, there is a perennial argument about when life begins. The Catholics say it's at conception, the Methodists at 16 weeks when the fetus becomes viable. But the Jews say life begins when the dog dies and the kids leave home. So start living.

MelvinNC| 2.25.13 @ 6:59AM

What does society expect from a city and a cinematic motion picture industry that is full of degenerates and deviants.
So it is of no surprise at least from me that this loathsome woman is drawn to it. Something like flies to feces.
I thought that the lying, conniving, thief of a crone Hillary Clinton was the object of my ire, but Mrs. Obama is fasting eclipsing the carpet bagger from Arkansas or is it New York?
I had to rise at 4:30 this morning to get a head-start on my tax burden so this adoration seeking woman could enjoy her flight back which costs thousands of tax dollars per hour.
Being the first lady of these United States, Mrs. Obama had no place to be in the company of perverts and pedophiles in which Hollywood is rife with, or the modern version of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Jeez, that city is so filled with filth.

Alan| 2.25.13 @ 7:55AM

This whole sorry @ss 4 hours+ annual celebration of deviency is like a garbageman convention at the local landfill. If anybody saw what an Oscar celebration from the 60's or 50's looked like and then saw one lately they would wonder what planet they live on. I don't know how anybody could spend four hours of their lives watching this degenerate trash. Gave it up 30 years ago along with pop culture.

Occam's Tool| 2.25.13 @ 6:53PM

Melvin: this first lady revels IN filth.

TLP| 2.25.13 @ 7:33AM

This is what you get, when you drag $400 Million Tax Dollars through a Whorehouse.

You get a Primetime Slot at the Oscars.

We may not be Greece, on our way to becoming Zimbabwe?

But, we are definitely Perontista Argentina, as evidenced by the appearance of Evita Peron, last night.

For the first time in my life, I think I'm beginning to understand what it was like to be a Jew, in Germany, as Hitler began to hit his stride.

Hitler and Eva Braun, in the White House. Josef Mengele, at HHS. Joseph Goebbels at Press Secretary. An Anti-Jew, Pro Arabist State Department. Heil Hagel at Defence. Brownshirt Unions in the Streets, and Flash Mobs of people who look like the Som he never had, ready to recreate Kristallnacht, at a moment's notice. Hitler Youth in the Universities and in the Occupy Movement. And, now this.

A Hollywood that is: All Leni Riefenstahl, all the time. All: "The Triumph of the Will, all the time.

One bullet could've prevented WWII. 100 Million People needn't have died, for the Glory of a Madman.

I'm not advocating anything.

I'm just sayin.

Bob Grant| 2.25.13 @ 8:29AM

T,

Watch what you say. Barry has drones and a hundred million Twitter followers (aka the potential Worlds Largest Flash Mob), and he's not afraid to use 'em.

Do you REALLY want The Sons Obama Never Had to descend on your peaceful enclave?

Albert Constantine Jr.| 2.25.13 @ 8:38AM

While Hitler was the most charismatic of the leaders of the Nazi Party, had he been killed, Goebbels, Himmler or Goering could have continued to lead Germany goose stepping off the cliff.


The last thing that I would want to see is this POTUS to die in office. Not only would the clearly demented VPOTUS become the most powerful individual in the world, but it would turn this unaccomplished disaster of a chief executive into a martyr, and we would be forced to endure his successors trying to outdo themselves in seeing how far left they could reach in establishing legislative and policy monuments to him along with the physical ones.

Let him hang around and be held responsible for what his disastrous policies wrought, and be remembered (or not) like the incompetent 15th President, (except that this one actively worked to divide our nation, rather than morely presided over its division).

squalis| 2.25.13 @ 9:12AM

He isn't, and will never be held accountable.

TLP| 2.25.13 @ 9:27AM

Like I said: I'm not advocating for anything. But since you brought it up?

Last I looked, martyrs don't get a Helluva lot of stuff done. They don't hurt anybody. Besides........He's a martyr, already. Or, don't you read the Papers?

And, I also disagree that "Anyone else could step in, and replace Hitler". I'm under the impression that there were already people in the German Army that were ready to stop Hitler if the English and the French had put up a United Front against him on Czechoslovakia, and that Chamberlain's "Lewinsky" for Hitler, put an end to that.

You saw what 4 Years of the previous Worst President Ever did to this Country. It took Ronald Reagan and Newt Gingrich to lift us up, outta the Ashes.

This guy is already Jimmy Carter in Hyperdrive. And, he's just gotten started.

Will we survive 4 more years?

Yeah.

We just won't be The United States of America, anymore.

Bob Grant| 2.25.13 @ 9:35AM

"Will we survive 4 more years?"

50/50, at best.

Albert Constantine Jr.| 2.25.13 @ 9:40AM

I didn't say that anyone could replace Hitler, but I did list three of his top lieutenants who shared his goals who might have stepped up (and depending when it took place, might have been able to garner the support of the military, and not made the bad decisions that Hitler made which caused the Nazi war machine to collapse sooner).

While I believe you correctly describe what he is accomplishing, I believe his death in office will accelerate, not retard these things.

TLP| 2.25.13 @ 10:25AM

I shouldn't have used the quotation marks. What I meant to say is that I don't agree that anyone else could have stepped in to Hitler's Shoes, and done what he did. Not even his fellow Goosesteppers. The same way that Alexander's Army was never the same after his death.

Some times the Man IS the movement.

Camelot died with JFK. When Reagan left Office, so did his Vision. See how Cuba is softening it's Grip, these days. See the change in Vietnam.

Hitler WAS Naziism.

Obama IS the end of the world, as we know it.

Replacing Obama, with Biden? Would be like Replacing Leonidas, with Beetle Bailey.

It's my opinion that you couldn't be more wrong, on this one.

Albert Constantine Jr.| 2.25.13 @ 10:38AM

I agree as far as in the campaign to get elected, Obama could not be replaced.

With respect to governing, I don't see him as active as anything accept as a symbol. His martyred icon would be just as (if not more) effective, but it wouldn't be term limited.

loulou| 2.25.13 @ 10:41AM

I agree with you. At least we know Biden is not a citizen of Indonesia. And he is not a Muslim. (I think)

Bob Grant| 2.25.13 @ 10:56AM

I have to agree with Al on this one. Hitler's utter incompetence probably saved millions of lives because he simply wasn't capable of driving the machine he built.

He prematurely drove his machine right off the cliff. Imagine a more competent leadership who understood the limits of his machine...who knew when to pull the throttle back when necessary. Imagine a longer war with additional millions dead, on both sides, because of a more strategically-competent German leadership?

At this point, the longer Obama stays in office, the more he is removed from that image created of him in '08, which, looking back, is rather frightening and reminiscent of Fascist Italy circa '20/'30. The longer he presides over the mess he's created, the smaller the man becomes. He leaves "prematurely", he becomes Lincoln/King/Kennedy rolled into one.

Do you REALLY want every school, bridge, and airport named after The One?

TLP| 2.25.13 @ 11:20AM

Hitler was the Face of everything.

Why didn't they just Blow his Brains out, along the way, blame it on a Jew, and replace with another Nazi, seeing as how Stupid he was?

As DeGaulle informed us: "There are no Indispensable Men. The Graveyards are Full of Indispensable Men."

However, in my opinion, there ARE Irreplaceable Men.

Washington, Lincoln, and Reagan. Churchill, Ghandi, Martin Luther King Jr. and Mandela.

If you think that someone else could have taken their place? Fine.

I believe that, minus these particular people?

Nothing that they accomplished would've gotten done.

At least, not without the Deaths of Hundreds of Thousands. If not Millions.

TLP| 2.25.13 @ 11:25AM

Obama is the Same.

The only difference being that, his name is on the Evil side of the Ledger, along with Hitler, Lenin, Moa, Castro, and Min.

Other than that, they're exactly the same.

Bob Grant| 2.25.13 @ 11:45AM

TLP,

True, but there's something to be said about keeping the Evil-Incompetent-Devil-You-Know as opposed to creating a Martyred+Folk Hero+Legend by "prematurely forcing him out."

You, I, my 12 year old, my black lab, know his policies are disastrous for the country so wouldn't it be better for him to be the face of his disaster by remaining in office when the shiattt hits the fan?

Besides, I'm not sure what else he could do to kill off this country. Let him sleep in the fecal-infested bed he's created for himself and the country.

TLP| 2.25.13 @ 2:49PM

I agree with your "Stay with the Devil you know" deal. IF you're talking about Foreign Countries.

We're talking about HERE.

You don't keep the Devil you know, when he's HERE.

bustunloose| 2.25.13 @ 1:06PM

You forgot Akin.

TLP| 2.25.13 @ 2:50PM

Shut Up, idiot.

bustunloose| 2.25.13 @ 6:20PM

A candidate you'd call RINO would have won and we'd be better off-all Americans. People like me will be rubbing your noses in your shit every day. The plan is to run you out of GOP. Form the right's version of the Green Party. Your way=defeat. Loser. You don't know how to win. Loser-Akin Murdock you know the list. You have opposition now. Let's fight-fool.

Bob Grant| 2.25.13 @ 7:19PM

Unloose,

Your illogical arguments don't hold water. You could say they're 'bustin'' at the seams, you foo.

Grzmlyk| 2.25.13 @ 11:40AM

They will be anyway. Isn't that the legacy of every Totalitarian (that and untold suffering, but who cares about that as long as liberals can feel good about themselves without actually coming into contact with the destruction they wreak?).

Obama isn't becoming smaller. He's becoming bigger. Believe me. Yes, there is a large - and fairly vocal - minority who are shouting from the rafters about what he really is, but so what?

The government media still paint hagiographies of him daily. Hollywood continues to lionize him. Our education system already worships him. Science relies on him for its ill-gotten gains. Ditto Wall Street.

And Mussolini was the darling of the "continental" set for many years before people realized what he was. The same with Hitler; had he not invaded Poland - or at the very least not insanely opened up two fronts in the war - he might well have run the board (of course, eventually he would have had to deal with Stalin, so his roll couldn't last forever).

Grzmlyk| 2.25.13 @ 11:40AM

(cont'd)

Obama will never, ever fall in the eyes of "official" America (just look at the mythology around FDR). And if he should choose to "run" for a third term, or simply suspend the electoral process to become dictator, 90% of the mainstream media would genuflect before him in supine adoration.

And the mess that America is? What mess? Until collapse, there IS no mess. Why, Obama is FIXING what Bush broke!

And even after the collapse happens, we all know whose fault that will be. It ain't Obama.

Never, ever underestimate the utter stupidity of today's voter.

TLP| 2.25.13 @ 1:26PM

Exactly!

Belianis | 2.26.13 @ 10:30AM

Has anyone ever considered the possibility that all the worshippers of the Emperor Jones of Kenya are being PAID to worship him? Remember that, in the time of the Emperor Jones of Italy, the mayor of Chicago and practically everybody else in the govt and law enforcement of the city were on the payroll of Capone.

WaffenSS| 2.25.13 @ 10:09PM

Take Bob's comment, delete Obama, inject Bush and there you have it.

Occam's Tool| 2.25.13 @ 4:59PM

Albert: No, I don't think Goebbels, Goering, or Himmler could do it---not charismatic enough.

Belianis | 2.26.13 @ 10:20AM

Assassinating H would have prevented nothing because the world was full of people who, like H, did not like the results of the Great War. Italy, very obvious example, turned against the Allies because it felt cheated with the distribution of the spoils.

Occam's Tool| 2.25.13 @ 6:55PM

Albert: nailon head. Obama is the second WORST POTUS of all time, right behind number 15. Now, if Galveston gets nuked, that might change (Why would Galveston get nuked? Because Texas City has the second biggest refinery in the US, that's why.).

Maxwell| 2.25.13 @ 7:58AM

I listened the the wisdom of Al Gore and did not turn on the TV last night. I thought I'd save all of that energy that my old Sony uses. The added benefit is that the TV 'lived' for another day. Watching the fat arse last un-lady is just not my cup of tea. Nor is Hollywood.

The teeth on the mooch when she smiles sends a chill down my spine. I can see why Barry hangs the drapes, rides a girls bike, and throws like a girl too. I'll bet Wide Load beats the guy with the skinny legs every night. After the wookie is done I'll also bet the mother in law beats him too.

Hardcard| 2.25.13 @ 8:00AM

benny what the hell are you doing watching this schlock? Who cares what these perverted socialists do to promote their crap and themselves? Oh wait a minute you are one of them, never mind. Hey you didn't build that !!!

TLP| 2.25.13 @ 8:08AM

Don't you mean: "Hey. You didn't Film That (in this country, paying Union Scale)"?

Cobalt| 2.25.13 @ 8:15AM

Seth Macfarlane seems to have perfected the art of being obnoxious. Hopefully, his 15 minutes of fame will expire soon.

Bob Grant| 2.25.13 @ 8:42AM

This guy is not going anywhere anytime soon.

His personal worth is around 500 million due to the royalties he receives from The Family Guy, and if you notice, the show is widely accessible. For instance, you can watch entire seasons for free on Hulu; it's available on multiple independent stations, in some instances, the same television market; it's available on multiple cable networks, including children's...

The show has made him wealthy beyond belief and a very powerful player in the television industry.

He's still very young and, oh, by the way, a HUGE obama supporter!!!

bustunloose| 2.25.13 @ 1:10PM

Does he pay less than his secratary in taxes. I wonder how much revenue we lose because people in that room recieve such loopholes and favored treatment ? Ben never talks about this-does he ? Wants to tax my ass off though. Ben is a truth evader on this.

JP| 2.25.13 @ 8:21AM

"I am not quite sure who Seth McFarlane is, but he must be important, because he was the host of the Oscars show last night. He managed to be the most offensive host I have ever seen on an awards show."

Seth McFarlane is the creator of a obnoxious cartoon. And as long as his creation mocks middle class white males he will continue to be a shining star in Beverley Hills and Malibu.

CJW| 2.25.13 @ 8:22AM

“But the only actor who ever really got inside the brain of Lincoln was John Wilkes Booth."

Why are your surprised, didn't Hollywood make a movie about killing the evil Bush, and joke about Cheney and Justice Thomas having a heart attack?

Stephie| 2.25.13 @ 8:42AM

We haven't watched this hollywierd lovefest in 20 years. As for wide load Moochelle surrounded by proud American soldiers, handing out awards by satellite, these two grifters will continue to keep their faces in the forefront because that's what dictators do.

Albert Constantine Jr.| 2.25.13 @ 8:48AM

I look forward to the moments when his idols are toppled like the statue of Saddam in 2003.

TLP| 2.25.13 @ 9:31AM

It's nice that they found someplace for the Gays in the Military to work.

JP| 2.25.13 @ 2:41PM

Court Eunuchs all of them. Michelle wouldn't have it any other way. Just wait, in a few months she will be riding one of them into the Rose Garden before giving a specch about Civil Rights. Can't wait!!!

Bob K| 2.25.13 @ 9:04AM

I slept through it!

What happened?

Did Django's bra come loose?

Anthony| 2.25.13 @ 9:33AM

Come on Ben, you know who Seth McFarlane is, he's Buehler's darker side twin brother.
I hesitate to say evil, because he is not, he's just another lefty having a field day at our expense, having become fabulously wealthy to boot.
However give the guy credit, he is talented, despite what you think about him, besides, he's a Connecticut boy.
I watched great stuff on the Discovery Channel about treasurer hunters. Amazing technology to extract silver bars from 11,000 feet under water in the North Atlantic.
If only we could replace those bars with Hollywood celebs.
What do you call 1000 drowned Hollywood actors...... a good start. Or, DeCaprio does Waterworld.

C. Vernon Crisler | 2.25.13 @ 9:39AM

With the exception of the Lord of the Rings awards, I haven't watched the "Oscars" since around the time Marlon Brando sent the Indian woman out to refuse his oscar. After that, the nitwit actors started putting political comments in their acceptance speeches, which were already too long.

So, the Oscars are only for National Enquirer readers, lefties, and those who occasionally want to see a good movie or actor honored -- and might have to suffer through hours of mindlessness before deciding never to do it again.

Grzmlyk| 2.25.13 @ 10:12AM

Boy, you don't get it.

Ever seen The Family Guy or any other McFarlane brainchildren?

Yes, they are occasionally funny. But mostly, their raison d'etre is to be offensive; to push the bounds of taste for no other reason than that it's easier to go for the dumbed-down, low hanging fruit of our increasingly primitive, increasingly coarse culture.

In today's Amerca, the "gentle humor" of satirizing human foibles of days gone by is very unhip. "Funny"now is officially only sexual humor or offensive humor or the old standby, ridiculing people who are conservative and/or still "cling" to guns and god.

The truth is that McFarlanes' shows are all racist, "homophobic" (a word that doesn't make sense, from the etymological perspective - it should be "homosexualophobic") and offensive to all preferred victim groups.

If McFarlane were a Republican and his shows were exactly the same as they are today, he'd have been quite literally burned at the stake for being a bigot, and liberals would have been roasting marshmallows over his burning flesh during his execution, which would be carried live on all the major networks to thundering applause.

But he's a liberal. And when you're a liberal, it's ok to be a racist, a bigot, a "homophobe" and a sexist. Because then the magic wand of "irony" is waved over the steaming pile of crap and it is magically transformed from hate speech into wry comic gold.

That's the way it is.

Anthony| 2.25.13 @ 10:21AM

Yup, true dat Grzmlyk.

Bob Grant| 2.25.13 @ 10:27AM

...and when one criticizes it, one is criticized for "not getting it".

And, by the way, good luck getting a straight answer on exactly what "it" is.

One is supposed to just "get it" and not ask too many questions.

Grzmlyk| 2.25.13 @ 10:55AM

As long as a liberal utters it, no explanation necessary. It's funny because they tell us it's funny.

Bill Maher has made a career this way out or what would otherwise be supercilious, preening, bigoted, extremely boorish hate speech.

I remember when his show first came on the air, back when it was on some network and it was called "Politically Incorrect." I didn't know him, and, in my extreme naivite, when I initially tuned in I thought, wow, this is great! A show that gores the twin oxen of political correctness and intellectual bullying.

And then he came out and opened his mouth.

How wrong was I?

Like McFarlane and virtually every urinator on the cultural flame out there today, Bill Maher is just another narcissim-marinated thug in the war on individual thought, doing his part in the State's enforcement of mind control.

When the takeover is complete, maybe he'll get his own re-education camp to run, and McFarlane can be a regular guest.

Anthony| 2.25.13 @ 11:55AM

Well, when Commandant Maher, the prissy little lefty midget, lines us up for inspection, at least we all can pee on his head. Well, the guys, anyway. Sorry ladies, you all can do your own thing with Maher later.
I can handle daily re-runs of Family Guy, better than watching Chris Matthews or The View, now that would constitute torture under the Geneva Convention.

Grzmlyk| 2.25.13 @ 12:53PM

I do think The Family Guy can be very funny, as can American Dad. But so often McFarlane and his crew go for offensive just because he really doesn't have the courage to say anything significant (and his few disastrous attempts at "message" shows betray a risibly callow sensibility).

Wit is dead in America today.

I used to watch the old Andy Griffith Show. Yes, he was an obnxious liberal, but the show was a touchstone for many of the things real conservatives stand for: Family, friendship, loyalty, doing the right thing, tolerance of others' flaws, lending a helping hand and elevating oneself to help others do their best and be their best by appealing to the better angels of their natures.

And it used humor to gently poke at the characters' various shortcomings while simultaneosuly accepting their humanity. It wasn't just that show - that's what sitcoms used to do - The Dick Van Dyke Show, Love American Style, the Mary Tyler Moore Show, Bob Newhart, etc.

Today sitcoms simply cash in on the bottom-feeding, self-gratifying narcissism that everybody wallows in without any compunction whatsoever.

As for Maher, I just don't get why watching an obnoxious prick preen platitudinously every night is entertainment, but then I'm not a liberal - I don't look to snarky pundits to pat me on the back for having the opinions of which the cool kids approve.

TLP| 2.25.13 @ 1:28PM

American Dad.

Funniest Show on Television.

Seek| 2.25.13 @ 10:32AM

Seth MacFarlane is the creator of the TV hit series, "The Family Guy." He's a master of the sick joke -- and some healthy ones, too. Unlike Ben, I happened to have enjoyed the Oscar presentations very much, though we could have done without the First Lady's involvement. Heads of state and their wives should sit back, enjoy the show and butt out.

Albert Constantine Jr.| 2.25.13 @ 11:15AM

Seek, is your work in some way connected to movies, television or other popular entertainment?

TLP| 2.25.13 @ 1:29PM

He's a "Fluffer" on the Porno sets.

TLP| 2.25.13 @ 1:48PM

Sorry, seek.

I confused you with someone in New Mexico.

Bob Grant| 2.25.13 @ 3:42PM

A co-worker?...

Bada Bing.!

Pecos Pete| 2.25.13 @ 3:50PM

Matthew Quigley? Couldn't have been me.

Bob Grant| 2.25.13 @ 7:22PM

Are sure it wasn't Timmy. Aren't you the one who always say he's "pretty"? That could be mighty handy as a fluffer.

Bob Grant| 2.25.13 @ 7:29PM

Sorry, I really can type the English language. So many butchered words and sentences. It's Embarrassing, I know. I'm blaming it on responding to bustunloose.

Occam's Tool| 2.25.13 @ 5:11PM

TLP: I roomed with a porn distributor in Residency (I lived in the San Fernando Valley, ya know), but I'm not familiar with "fluffer." Is that someone who fluffs the pillows on the sets?

Bob Grant| 2.25.13 @ 5:24PM

Occam,

You just HAD to ask?

Albert Constantine Jr.| 2.25.13 @ 6:07PM

One way to explain it is that it is a term for how you frequently describe Jack.

Your roommate might have pointed out that just as the regular movie industry has makeup and costumes to make performers more accurately resemble the roles they portray, the porn industry has a special requirement from the days before Viagra and its pharmaceutical competitors.

In order for male performers to be kept primed and ready for the money shot without any unnecessary costly delays that might keep the crew and equipment on the job longer than necessary, the position of fluffer was created.

The most important duty was to orally prepare any of the male actors for their love scenes (and I don't mean by rehearsing his lines with him).

It was usually either an entry level position or reserved for one who was no longer attractive enough for appearance on film or tape.

bustunloose| 2.25.13 @ 6:43PM

Do female porn stars need this kind of service. I bet Larry Flynt-that famous democrat would know.

Occam's Tool| 2.25.13 @ 6:57PM

Thank you, my friends.

Albert, nail on head again.

I love you guys.

Bob Grant| 2.25.13 @ 7:25PM

I suppose a good fluffer moves straight up in the company?

Cobalt| 2.25.13 @ 10:39AM

" butt out"

....a huge undertaking for sure.

Goldwater Girl| 2.25.13 @ 10:56AM

If you ask the wookie to butt out, she will need to make at least 2 trips! I don't watch any of the award shows, and I can barely tolerate any recent movies. I did watch Trouble with the Curve recently, but normally, I choose to withhold my money from Hollywood. I watched a special on PBS about Cary Grant and longed for the days when actors stuck to acting and kept their mouth shut the rest of the time.

Bob Grant| 2.25.13 @ 11:13AM

"ask the wookie to butt out, she will need to make at least 2 trips!"

I thought Lets Mooooooveeee was supposed to address and mitigate this problem? Of course, the Alice-in-Wonderland country in which we now reside, having HER leading this agenda is beyond rich. I wouldn't be surprised if Sir-Mix-A-Lot heads the task force.

TLP| 2.25.13 @ 2:56PM

I heard that she took Air Force One, around the world, with just one stop in Hong Kong to pick up a $10,000 Thong, so she would be at the White House in time for the Liberal Movie Awards Show.

It's called: Shared Sacrifice.

Grzmlyk| 2.25.13 @ 1:00PM

Cary Grant - whatever his predilections or politics or surprisingly insecure personal life - was the personification of class.

And a hell of an actor (Bringing Up Baby, Penny Serenade, The Bishop's Wife, Notorious, Suspicion, North by Northwest, Charade, Father Goose - just some of the flicks that show his range).

IMHO he is the ultimate movie star.

bustunloose| 2.25.13 @ 1:24PM

Funny guy. I read he once forget tickets and couldn't get into some swank gala. A crusty old dame is at the gate and won't let him in. He says but " don't you realise I am Cary Grant ? " She says " but you don't look like Cary Grant. " He goes " madam, nobody looks like Cary Grant. " Funny story. Funny story to me.

Grzmlyk| 2.25.13 @ 2:10PM

He knew the image wasn't the reality. When a reporter once said to him, "Everybody wants to be Cary Grant," he said, "So do I."

The guy never stopped being Archie Leach in his own mind; but for the ages, he is, and always will be, Cary Grant - he was the best.

bustunloose| 2.25.13 @ 6:23PM

Just the opposite of a warped egomaniac like Clinton.

RJ| 2.25.13 @ 10:06PM

There has never been anyone like Cary Grant. The very image of the movie star from the golden era, but as you say, it was only a role on film; not a real person.

Occam's Tool| 2.25.13 @ 5:14PM

No, Mr. G. Cary Grant is good, but Jimmy Stewart was Princeton Educated, a WWII War Hero as a bomber pilot (after he was famous, by the way), an Air Force General in the Reserves after the war, AND a political Conservative who was married to one woman for over 40 years (married just once) until his death.

Vertigo, It's a Wonderful Life, The Shootist, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence, The Philadelphia Story, Rope, Rear Window, Winchester '76.

I rest my case.

Occam's Tool| 2.25.13 @ 5:15PM

Dang, and HARVEY!

bustunloose| 2.25.13 @ 6:36PM

And that barf bag XMAS movie that liberals love.

Cobalt| 2.25.13 @ 5:50PM

In 1969, one of Jimmy Stewart's stepsons, Ronald, was killed in Vietnam.

Grzmlyk| 2.25.13 @ 5:55PM

Hey, I love Jimmy, too. He's the "aw shucks" guy, where Grant is the suave one who embodies the elegance and glamour of the phrase "Movie Star." But because Grant could do great physical comedy when he was young, in my opinion - and it's arguable, I agree - he was a tad more versatile.

But only a tad. For one thing, Grant couldn't do Westerns, and Jimmy practically co-owned the genre with John Wayne. And Vertigo is such a great movie, and some of the others you mention are among my faves, too. I'd also put all of the Anthony Mann Westerns in there along with Winchester 73 : Bend of the River, The Naked Spur, The Far Country, The Man From Laramie.

He also classes up "The Greatest Show on Earth," and he's great in After the Thin Man and one of my all-time faves, The Shop Around the Corner. Very funny in Destry Rides again and very earnest and grave in The Mortal Storm, too.

No, you won't find me putting up too much of an argument over Jimmy Stewart's place in the pantheon.

RJ| 2.25.13 @ 10:02PM

Other wonderful Jimmy Stuart movies include "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," "The Spirit of St. Louis," and "How the West Was Won." A man of real substance and a wonderful entertainer. I forget the title, but he also made a picture about a major league baseball player who is called up to serve as a SAC bomber pilot.

Cobalt| 2.25.13 @ 10:46PM

Don't forget Jimmy Stewart in "The Flight of the Phoenix" 1965. Another great film for Stewart.

Dennis Quaid was in the remake in 2004.

RJ| 2.26.13 @ 1:37AM

Thanks for the reminder. I saw that movie a few months ago. Another fine Jimmy Stewart movie.

bustunloose| 2.25.13 @ 1:17PM

I praise you. If 20-30 million families stopped paying for cable we'd deliver the media conglomerates a staggering blow. It would shake it up more than anything else we can do. It would hurt them. It would bankrupt Cal and NYNY even more. A huge blow against these fascist once and for all. The people who gave us America marched through freezing snow with rags on their feet. Please get this ball rolling !

Occam's Tool| 2.25.13 @ 7:02PM

Again, Mr. G, Mr. B: what wonderful guys you are. (Some may woinder why it is that I don't get banned with my savage attacks on Cheesehead Jack. Well, with the exception of Cheesehead and his fellow Spastics, I try to be nice to people whenever possible. Many, many people here are very lovely, Old Texican was one of my favorites in particular, since I knew how incredibly generous with his time and energy he was in helping people (yes, I have maintained your confidences to the end, Ken).

Lovely, lovely people here, and great info.

And that's why I don't get sacked.

Jim Adcox| 2.25.13 @ 11:26AM

The award for the movie from the 1960s with the most prescient and prophetic title goes to . . . "The Flim-Flam Man." Accepting the award, Baracko Mussolini!

Bill8472| 2.25.13 @ 12:17PM

Some years ago, some pundit made the remark that the Clintons, when they entered a room, took "all the oxygen out of it."

The Obamas are so eager to be seen everywhere that they make the Clintons look like pikers.

junkyard infidel| 2.25.13 @ 12:32PM

benny, you should have watched "skyfall" again instead of this crap ! and what's up with a (25?) year old son that can't wake up for school and still begs for money ?

TLP| 2.25.13 @ 2:57PM

That's exactly what we did.

bustunloose| 2.25.13 @ 1:27PM

His son's middle names are Federal Governmet. And, Ben loves throwing money at F.G.

Real Deal| 2.25.13 @ 1:50PM

What I find to be ironic is that Reagan a former actor himself was never this involved with Hollyweird. You see the Obama's everywhere, I'm waiting for the gigantic "Dear Reader" Murals and bilboards.

JP| 2.25.13 @ 2:38PM

The sight of a huge screen of the First Lady towering above everyone and everything was very Orwellian. Rumor has it that the First Couple really, really wanted Zero Dark Thirty to ge the Oscar. Someone in the Academy said no. Allegedly, Harvey Weinstein was the one who came up with the idea of having one of the Obama's to present the award as a sop to the President.

Yet, the irony was just too much. For the move Argo was the winner. So, here was an Obama giving an award to a movie that celebrated the successful rescue of foreign diplomats from a civil war torn Muslim nation. I mean, the irony was very rich. To make matters worse, the Iranian TV networks photo-shopped Michelle's dress. They covered he cleavage and bare shoulders!!!

TLP| 2.25.13 @ 2:58PM

This is what you get, when you drag $400 Million Tax Dollars through a Whorehouse.

You get a Primetime Slot at the Oscars.

We may not be Greece, on our way to becoming Zimbabwe?

But, we are definitely Perontista Argentina, as evidenced by the appearance of Evita Peron, last night.

For the first time in my life, I think I'm beginning to understand what it was like to be a Jew, in Germany, as Hitler began to hit his stride.

Hitler and Eva Braun, in the White House. Josef Mengele, at HHS. Joseph Goebbels at Press Secretary. An Anti-Jew, Pro Arabist State Department. Heil Hagel at Defence. Brownshirt Unions in the Streets, and Flash Mobs of people who look like the Som he never had, ready to recreate Kristallnacht, at a moment's notice. Hitler Youth in the Universities and in the Occupy Movement. And, now this.

A Hollywood that is: All Leni Riefenstahl, all the time. All: "The Triumph of the Will, all the time.

One bullet could've prevented WWII. 100 Million People needn't have died, for the Glory of a Madman.

I'm not advocating anything.

I'm just sayin.

Who Knows?| 2.25.13 @ 3:05PM

I watched for the first time in probably 20 years, or more. The last movie I paid to see was Forrest Gump, 1994.

Oscar was a real hoot!

Especially keen was seeing Michael Douglas, as he turns into his old man, Kirk---what a change from the viral guys he played in Wall Street and Romancing the Stone, et al!

I thought they were going to have all the actors who played James Bond on stage together. Did I miss that? Was that in the first part of the show---which I didn’t see?

Whatever.

They say when you get old, you start reading the obituaries. It’s true, for me---I randomly peruse the local paper.

Just so, at last night’s festivities, it was edifying to see a Meryl Streep, and a Sandra Bullock, fully ten years older, or more, than the latest movie I saw their visages in---getting old, ladies! Sagging neck and chin muscles.

The physical beauty doth fade, faster and faster, as time passes.

I pass this on, happily, having never been a beauty, myself.

Jim Adcox| 2.25.13 @ 3:44PM

I believe I did see one of the military aides blink out the word "Torture" in Morse code.

Albert Constantine Jr.| 2.25.13 @ 4:45PM

Careful, you might conjure Nathan back with a mention of the T word.

RJ| 2.25.13 @ 10:08PM

Classic, Jim. I was wondering what the soldiers selected to serve as props were thinking.

J.C.Eaton| 2.26.13 @ 11:47AM

Just an educated guess RJ, but I think we're looking at the band.

sotto voce| 2.25.13 @ 4:25PM

Hollywood swoons as FLOTUS Moochelle presents the Oscar to "Argo", a paean to Hollywood rescuing endangered U.S. Embassy personnel by fooling Iranians with a fake movie. Rich irony abounds in the fact that Hollywood accomplished in 1979 what Obama didn't even attempt on 9/11/12 and his wife hands the movie makers an award for depicting it. I would love to query Evita Obama about why her hubby didn't ask his buddies in Hollywood to mount a similar operation to rescue our brave personnel in Benghazi. We now know Obama, entrusted with commanding the might of the U.S. military, was otherwise engaged while Americans were being slaughtered. I think the President missed a perfect opportunity to lead from behind: he should have asked Ben Affleck and his crew to swoop in and save the day. After all, Hollywood riding to the rescue would be in perfect keeping with Obama's Reality Show Administration.

bustunloose| 2.25.13 @ 6:34PM

I am writing a song for her. " Who can turn the world on with her bile". Then I'm stuck. Is Rev Wright Mr. Grant ?

Occam's Tool| 2.25.13 @ 7:03PM

And she has a dangerous shark like smile.

Who can hit like a Wookie in her rage,
And is Oprah Plus hogging the Stage.

TLP.| 2.25.13 @ 8:33PM

Enough already.

RJ| 2.25.13 @ 9:54PM

The Oscars is an alien world to me, but I am surprised that there has not been many more objections to Seth McFarlane's "joke" about the Lincoln assassination. Those of us who have lived through assassination attempts, injured and murdered Presidents know that it is a national trauma; not a joke, regardless of whether you like the President or not. Nothing about it is funny. Someone has to be sick in the head to think it is joke material, even after the passage of 150 years.

boodgieman| 2.26.13 @ 9:32AM

Ben Stein voiced the rabbi in the Family Guy episode "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein." And he doesn't know who Seth McFarlane is?

Sorry, Ben, not buying it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W....._Weinstein

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