Batman v. Superman – Why Do We Care?

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This week, Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice hits theaters. Presuming you haven’t been living under a rock, you’ve probably noticed that comic book movies have become a huge trend over the last two decades. Just last year, we had four major comic book movies, and this year’s looking to set records with eight, count them, eight comic book blockbusters scheduled for release.

What is fueling this recent obsession with superhero stories? Superheroes have been around since the 1930’s, but they’ve never been as popular as they are today. Why now?

I’d argue that high quality CGI (computer animation) drove the superhero movie boom. Special effects finally caught up to the point that the over-the-top antics of comic book characters could be portrayed on the big screen without looking ridiculous. The massive success of two early 2000 films, Spider-Man and X-Men, opened the eyes of studio heads to the potential goldmine of superheroes. At the same time movie studios realized the potential for comic book movies, studios began to shy away from risky movies with original concepts and rely more on the safer bet of movie adaptations of material with pre-established fanbases.

Comic books provided the perfect market for adaptations since the comic industry has been testing out different heroes and concepts for nigh eighty years and building a devout following in the process. The long history of comics assures that these characters and movies have multi-generational nostalgic appeal, and Disney’s acquisition of Marvel in 2009 made it much easier to produce comic book movies with a shared universe which paved the way to the massively successful Avengers franchise which in turn pushed demand for superhero movies to new heights. In addition to all this, let’s not forget the simple fact that while the real world is coming apart at the seams and many Americans have reasonably lost all faith that their leaders will sacrifice their own interests for the public good, superhero movies provide an excellent dose of escapism that restores some faith in the potential goodness of humanity.

This last point indicates that there is more to the superhero obsession than just the visceral thrill of seeing people with amazing abilities and colorful costumes punching each other in the face. Superheroes stories operate on a deeper level by representing principles, struggles and heroic ideals. Spider-Man speaks to guilt, responsibility and redemption, Hulk speaks to the beast inside all men’s hearts that can be harnessed for good and Captain America speaks to a noble and principled form of patriotism.

So what do Batman and Superman represent?

In many ways, Batman and Superman stand as mirror images of one another. Through both heroes, they exemplify differing approaches to heroism which sometimes compliment and sometimes contradict one another.

Bruce Wayne suffered immense tragedy when a mugger murdered his parents right in front of his eyes. Rather than fleeing the darkness and pain that filled his heart, Bruce embraced it and vowed on his parents’ grave that no other children would ever have to lose their parents to violence. Using his righteous anger and learning how to control it, the young man honed his body and mind to a fine edge reaching the pinnacle of his human potential through sheer force of will and intellect. Having no superpowers as a crutch, Bruce gave himself an edge by becoming a figure of the night and releasing the darkness bottled inside him to inspire terror in the hearts of the cowardly and foolish criminals who prey upon the weak. Bruce hides his face behind a mask and similarly shuns humanity in his personal life keeping even those closest to him at arm’s distance sacrificing all for his grim yet noble quest. He can be cut, stabbed, burned, shot, beaten, bloodied, bruised and broken, but Batman always gets back up and triumphs.

In contrast, Kal-El never suffered tragedy. He lost his parents and his whole planet when Krypton exploded, but being sent to Earth as a baby, he suffered no trauma. Rather than being motivated by a desire for vengeance, Clark’s actions are motivated by a desire to live up to the simple, small-town values instilled in him by his goodhearted, adoptive parents, the Kents. Clark didn’t have to earn his superpowers; they were his birthright, so Clark’s is not a story of tragedy and triumph but of power and how to use it wisely. In a world where an Ubermensch could reshape the globe for a selfish cause, Clark chooses to serve others by being a figure of light, hope and inspiration. Clark doesn’t hide his face from the world. His Superman persona may be more bold than mild-mannered news reporter Clark Kent, but he strives to do what is right in all situations and his goodwill is always on display. He doesn’t hide from those he loves but embraces them fully without reservation. Rather than imposing his will on others, Clark always offers the best of himself and seeks to bring out the best in others. Superman may have the power to lift mountains, but it’s his willingness to make the hard decisions which makes him a true hero.

Batman and Superman work as a complimentary yin yang typology. Batman is a figure of dark justice geared towards bringing retribution on the guilty whereas Superman is a figure of bright hope who does all in his power inspire everyone to be their best. Batman teaches us that through determination, dedication, endurance, and industriousness mankind can overcome obstacles and achieve greatness whereas Superman teaches us that true greatness of power is meaningless without an equal share of greatness of charity, hope, kindness and faith. These characters carry weight for us because they tell us something about ourselves and show us who we should strive to be. That is why we care about Batman V. Superman. (For more from the author of “Batman v. Superman – Why Do We Care?” please click HERE)

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The author also notes that another reason we care is, “it’s fun to watch people with amazing abilities and colorful costumes punch each other in the face.”

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Late-Term Abortionist Sends Fourth Woman to Hospital in Four Months

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Pro-life activists say Dr. Leroy Carhart’s late-term abortion clinic in Maryland sent another patient to the hospital on Sunday.

The ambulatory evacuation of an underage girl to Shady Grove Hospital is the fourth from Carhart’s Nebraska and Maryland locations since December 2015.

According to video and a press release provided to LifeSiteNews by local pro-life activists, eyewitnesses say two emergency vehicles were sent to Carhart’s clinic, Germantown Reproductive Health Services. An underage girl was then sent to a local hospital, marking what the Executive Director of Maryland Coalition for Life said in a statement was the seventh “documented” case of injury, in addition to one death, at the clinic since it opened in 2010.

In a phone conversation, a spokesperson for Germantown Reproductive Health Services declined to comment on the latest alleged evacuation. Spokespersons for Shady Grove Hospital did not respond to multiple requests for comment from LifeSiteNews as to whether the hospital had taken in the underage patient.

According to Andrew Glenn, executive director of Maryland Coalition for Life, “With this many medical emergencies happening so close together, the Board needs to immediately suspend LeRoy Carhart’s license while these unfortunate incidents are fully investigated. There have been 7 documented injuries and 1 death here in Germantown and 5 other serious cases from his Nebraska office.” (Read more from “Late-Term Abortionist Sends Fourth Woman to Hospital in Four Months” HERE)

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Cuban Refugees Flocking to Texas Border

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The same week President Obama makes the first trip to Cuba by an American president in almost 90 years, The Rolling Stones will play a free concert in Havana — the first open-air show there by a British rock band.

But changing times in the Communist country haven’t stopped tens of thousands from fleeing the island and saying gimme shelter to American immigration officials at Texas land ports.

From October 2015 to February 2016, more than 18,500 Cubans arrived at Texas’ Laredo field office of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which includes ports from Del Rio to Brownsville. If that trend continues, it will shatter last year’s numbers for the same ports, when a record 28,371 crossed. During the 2015 fiscal year, more than 43,150 arrived at the 20 CBP field offices in the United States that process immigrants. More than half — 25,800 — arrived in only the first five months of the current fiscal year.

The president’s visit to Cuba Monday was the latest step in his mission announced in late 2014 to normalize relations with the Castro regime.

“I’ve come to Havana to extend the hand of friendship to the Cuban people,” Obama said in a statement Monday. “I’m here to bury the last vestige of the Cold War in the Americas and to forge a new era of understanding to help improve the daily lives of the Cuban people.” (Read more from “Cuban Refugees Flocking to Texas Border” HERE)

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Madonna, Fame Addicts and Underage Boobies

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I found a single story that exemplifies so much of what is wrong with our society.

At a recent concert in Queensland, Australia, Madonna pulled a seventeen-year-old girl, Justa I. Candy, on to stage, Madonna told the crowd, “She’s the kind of girl you just want to slap, on the a** and pull,” and then Madonna pulled down on the nipple ring on Candy’s corset exposing one of the teenager’s breasts to the audience. Rather than being upset, Candy told the media this was “The best moment of my life,” and Candy’s mother added, “My daughter is a fierce feminist in the way I raised her. It’s something that she’ll probably cherish for the rest of her life.”

Let me point out a few of the fails in this story.

Justice Fail

If any normal person did this, it would be immediately classified as a sexual assault, but Candy claims she enjoyed the treatment from Madonna and the legal age of consent in Queensland is sixteen, so if Candy likes having her boobs whipped out at pleasure of a handsy old woman, so be it. However, it’s still illegal in Queensland to show nude images of teenagers until age eighteen, so how can Madonna’s actions possibly be anything other than a crime?

We all know the truth. The rich and famous operate under a different set of rules than we regular peasants who actually suffer the consequences of our actions. Queensland wont press charges because it would be bad publicity, so they’ll let it slide, and this does nothing but embolden nutjobs like Madonna. The media promotes this type of behavior with articles which may as well read, “Superstar Madonna Shows Teen’s Boobie! OMG LOL.” Great journalism you star blitzed, ethically void wastes of human potential.

Feminism Fail

Let me get this straight. Justa celebrates being paraded in front of the crowd in her corset, spoken to as if she’s a kinky hooker and then exposed in front of the a crowd of eager onlookers, yet she’s a good feminist. Either feminism glories in the objectification of women as sex objects or feminism is so meaningless that even those who claim to be good feminists don’t actually know what the movement represents.

I’d argue that Justa Candy and her mother actually understand a great deal about one central tenet of feminism, the double standard. As Candy’s mother put it, “People are saying what if this was a male performer, what if it was some else’s daughter – well it wasn’t another man and it wasn’t another girl it was Madonna and my daughter.” If a man exposed Candy, it would be a problem, but if a famous woman exposes her, it’s all kosher. Whatever happened to equality of the sexes?

Parenting Fail

If your teenage daughter is wearing a corset with nipple rings with your consent, you’ve failed as a parent. We could mention the facts that the corset actually belongs to you and that your child sees her nudity in front of throngs of people as the crowning achievement of her life as extra nails in the coffin, but the nipple ring corset alone really kills any pretense you may have had of being a serious parental figure. Just go to your bathroom mirror, look at yourself, say, “I have failed my child,” and have yourself a good cry. You might even bring a bottle of wine to salve your pain. The wine wont make you a better parent, but your kid is probably too far gone at this point anyway.

Fame Fail

Why exactly is Justa okay with being partially nude in front of people? Simple, Justa I. Candy wants to be a model and put her body on display for a living, and since she has now gained a lot of exposure (in multiple senses of the word), she might succeed in that goal.

As someone who champions the right of the individuals to do whatever they choose with their lives, I 100% support Candy’s right to take off her clothes for money, but that doesn’t change the fact that Justa is trying to follow the Paris Hilton path of being famous not for the quality of her actions but for the contents of her undergarments. Justa says that being stripped is the best thing that ever happened to her, and if Justa only cares about her fifteen minutes of fame, she’s probably right. Right now, the entire world is looking at her and her beautiful body, and if she’s lucky, she might become a professional model where she’ll be ogled for three more years before being replaced by a younger and more beautiful teenager seeking the same cheap route to popularity, and what then will become of Miss Candy who is so starved for attention and affirmation that she thinks being told she has a slappable posterior before being stripped is as good as her life will ever get?

In case you’ve been wondering, Justa I. Candy is not the teenager’s real name. I gave Candy this nickname because I think that’s how Candy perceives herself. She celebrates and encourages her own objectification, and that’s her right, but I want no part of it. That’s why instead of helping her career as a professional naked person by mentioning her real name and showing the many photos of her in various states of undress, I’m showing pictures of kittens which in my opinion hold more cuteness and infinitely more self-confidence than this poor girl who eagerly wants to trade sexy pictures of herself for fame.

Trump Rallies – Don’t Excuse Evil from Either Side

People both for and against Trump have been acting like dicks at recent Trump rallies. Many protestors have been illegally blocking traffic, screaming in people’s faces and shoving those in their path. Many Trump supporters have responded by screaming at protestors, pushing them and in some cases outright assaulting them.

You can fight fists with fists and guns with guns, but you cannot fight hatred with hatred. Trying to stop offensive behavior by being offensive is like trying to douse a fire with gasoline. Releasing your fury on your political enemies will never change their hearts and will always ignite a more vitriolic response.

Everyone with integrity must control their anger and put principles above politics by condemning wrongdoing on both sides.

With that in mind, let’s look at one of the latest scandals to erupt from a Trump protest. Trump’s campaign manager Corey Lewandowski yanked a protestor backwards by the collar. This is the same guy who was accused by multiple news organizations of tossing a Breitbart reporter out of his way two weeks ago. Unlike the Brietbart incident, this latest altercation was clearly caught on video, and there is no denying the plain truth.

At least you’d think it would be impossible to deny the truth, and yet Trump as always has found a way. The Trump campaign released a statement blaming the collar yanking on another man standing by Lewandowski even though the video plainly proves Lewandowski to be the culprit, yet because people are angry, I suspect some conservatives will excuse the attack and the lie.

If we look the other way, what are we teaching Trump? We’re telling Trump, “As long as you are hurting the people we hate, we’ve got your back.” Can’t you foresee the kind of monster it will create if we continue to show Trump he can get away with anything?

You have to make your own decision, but I refuse to go down that path. Wrong is wrong, and I condemn it regardless of the perpetrator. I urge you to do the same. (For more from the author of “Madonna, Fame Addicts and Underage Boobies” please click HERE. You can follow him on Facebook HERE and Twitter HERE.)

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Michelle Obama’s Floral Outfits Cost 23 Times Average Annual Salary in Cuba

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The two floral dresses that first lady Michelle Obama sported in Cuba this week would not be affordable for the wide majority of individuals living in the repressive country.

US Weekly recently spotlighted two outfits that Obama wore during appearances in Havana on Sunday and Monday that, according to a Free Beacon analysis, together cost more than 23 times the average annual state salary in Cuba recorded in 2014.

When the president and his family landed in Cuba Sunday, the first lady descended Air Force One wearing a sleeveless, rose-print dress made by designer Carolina Herrera. The dress is currently sold for $2,190 at Bergdorf Goodman, an upscale department store.

Later, on Monday evening, Obama dressed in a floral, knee-length dress from designer Naeem Khan to attend the state dinner at the Palace of the Revolution in Havana, Cuba. A similar frock from Naeem Khan, a Barack Obama donor, available in the designer’s pre-fall 2016 collection costs $4,490. (Read more from “Michelle Obama’s Floral Outfits Cost 23 Times Average Annual Salary in Cuba” HERE)

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MISSING LINK Between Republican Party and Muslim Brotherhood Found

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Something… or someone… has kept the Republican Party establishment neutered on the issues of fighting Islamic infiltration and/or pushing back against the Barack Obama administration. There is one Muslim man who is connected to both Bush presidencies and at least two highly suspect Obama colleagues the John McCain campaign refused to go after in 2008. He provides the key to understanding why the Republican establishment protects the Muslim Brotherhood in America.

His name is Talat Othman and the two men he is connected to – besides George H.W. and George W. Bush – are Rashid Khalidi and Tony Rezko. Othman received an award from Khalidi’s boss, Yasser Arafat in 1997 for Othman’s contributions and support for the Palestinians. Othman is also credited with founding the Islamic Cultural Center of Chicago.

In early 2015, the Center for Security Policy published an exhaustive dossier of more than 100 pages that detailed Americans for Tax Reform Founder, Grover Norquist’s embrace of Muslim Brotherhood-connected individuals and the subsequent influence these individuals gained inside America’s power centers, at great peril to national security. Conspicuously absent from the CSP dossier is even one mention of Othman.

In Chicago, Muslim American Othman served as Treasurer of the American Task Force on Palestine with former PLO member and Barack Obama friend Rashid Khalidi, who was the ATFP’s Vice President. Othman is also credited with introducing convicted Obama fundraiser Tony Rezko to Illinois state politics. Othman’s career involves a stint as chairman of the terrorist-tied Islamic Free Market Institute (Islamic Institute) founded by Grover Norquist. For approximately three years in the late 1980’s and 1990, Othman sat on the Board of Harken Energy with George W. Bush and began consulting with then President George H.W. Bush in the Oval Office on the issue of Iraq and larger Middle East policy beginning in August of 1990.

According to the opening paragraphs of a 1991 Wall Street Journal article:

Two years ago (1989), Talat Othman didn’t have the president’s ear. But since August 1990, the Palestinian-born Chicago investor has attended three White House meetings with President Bush to discuss Middle East policy.

(Read more from “MISSING LINK Between Republican Party and Muslim Brotherhood Found” HERE)

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Hollywood Actor Makes Trump Endorsement [+video]

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Scott Baio has endorsed Republican frontrunner Donald Trump for president.

The 55-year-old Happy Days and Joanie Loves Chachi star made his endorsement in an interview with Fox News’ Judge Jeanine Pirro on Saturday.

“It’s very simple,” Baio told Pirro of his reasons for supporting Trump. “Because when he speaks, I understand him. He speaks like I speak, he communicates with people very well. I want him, as any one person can do, to go into Washington and blow it up.”

The conservative actor said he was “fed up” with the Republican Party, who said “lied and conned and BS’ed me,” and added that he no longer considered himself a Republican but a “conservative Independent.” (Read more from “Hollywood Actor Makes Trump Endorsement” HERE)

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Marco Rubio Rejected ‘Unity Ticket’ With Ted Cruz

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Ted Cruz’s campaign has been exploring the possibility of forming a unity ticket with ex-rival Marco Rubio — going so far as to conduct polling looking into how the two would perform in upcoming primary states.

The motivation, hashed out in conversations among Cruz’s top aides and donors: to find a way to halt Donald Trump’s march to the Republican nomination.

It’s unclear whether Cruz’s campaign brass views a partnership with Rubio as realistic or quixotic. In Rubio’s orbit, according to three sources, it’s seen as an outright nonstarter — with Rubio telling his team he isn’t interested.

Yet in recent weeks, within Cruz’s camp, talk of a joint ticket has run rampant. Utah Republican Mike Lee, one of two senators to endorse Cruz, has emerged as an outspoken supporter of a unity ticket — and as a potential broker. The freshman, according to several sources briefed on the talks, has reached out repeatedly to Rubio to gauge his interest, but has been rebuffed.

Shortly before Lee endorsed Cruz on March 10, Lee and his advisers discussed the possibility of organizing a meeting between the Utah senator and Rubio in Florida, just days before the state’s primary, according to two sources. The meeting, though, never happened. (Read more from “Marco Rubio Rejected ‘Unity Ticket’ With Ted Cruz” HERE)

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Watch: Bill Clinton Slams ‘Awful Legacy of Last 8 Years’

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Bill Clinton is either losing it, or he’s ramping up his attacks on President Obama. Neither is good news for Hillary Clinton.

During a speech in Spokane, Washington on Monday, Clinton seemed to tear down Obama to boost his wife . . .

“Now, if you don’t believe that we can all grow together again, if you don’t believe that we’re ever going to grow again, if you believe it’s more important to relitigate the past, there may be many reasons that you don’t want to support her.

“But if you believe we can all rise together, if you believe we’ve finally come to the point where we can put the awful legacy of the last eight years behind us and the 7 years before that when we were practicing trickle-down economics and no regulation in Washington, which is what caused the crash, then you should vote for her,” Clinton said. (Read more from “Bill Clinton Slams ‘Awful Legacy of Last 8 Years'” HERE)

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Major Republican Donors Fatigued by Presidential Race

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Donald Trump-fueled tumult in the Republican presidential race is prompting some major donors to abandon the field for now and instead funnel resources into downballot races.

Some key political groups dedicated to promoting Republican congressional candidates say they’re seeing interest from donors who would otherwise be focused on the presidential race.

Ian Prior, a spokesman for the conservative Senate Leadership Fund super PAC and One Nation, a nonprofit group that also focuses on the Senate, told the Center for Public Integrity in an email that “there have certainly been consistent concerns with the tenor and tone of the Republican nominating process.

Consequently, Prior continued, “the fight to keep the Senate has become one where there has been increased interest, focus, and attention from the donor community.”

The Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC that may raise and spend unlimited amounts of money, has so far reported raising about $13.8 million during the 2015 election cycle. One Nation does not disclose its donors. (Read more from “Major Republican Donors Fatigued by Presidential Race” HERE)

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