"Hitman's Wife's Body Guard"

Funny, entertaining, good acting, stellar cast, but it didn't quite get off the ground ... 

Selma Hayek has some terrific hissy-fit moments ... and while the rest of the cast are all a-list actors, the chemistry was weak ... it was comedy and action, but the pieces didn't quite fit ...

A mid-credit trailer, sort of "cute," and then a "scene," actually just a pic, a photo, at the very end end ... 

Worth seeing? Sure ... a fun afternoon. 

Flag Day

Today, 1777 - commemorating the adoption of the flag of the United States on June 14, 1777, by resolution of the Second Continental Congress.

I have long loved the flag ... love to see it waving high in the wind with a bright blue sky holding it, in parades, and national events ... yes, it represents, for me, some of humanity's highest aspirations, and, I fear, some of the worst.

It's the flag of freedom for many, but for just as many, maybe more, it's the flag of oppression, a reminder of failed dreams and suffering.

It's a flag many of the world's poor long to see, and it's the symbol of those who would close our borders, build walls and fences, cages and jails.

In the hands of some, it's become a weapon, as in the Jan. 6 Insurrection, when flagpoles and the American Flag were used to beat police officers.

We have to constantly rescue the flag from those who would sully it with white nationalism and capitalist greed.

Because the flag, at its best, represents hope for a better future, from sea to shining sea.

We Cannot Forget!

We cannot forget the momentous effort to roll back the tide of fascism that swept the world into chaos, a maelstrom of hate and horror, targeting the Jews, Communists, LGBTQ persons, and trade unions, and anyone else who didn't meet the Aryan standards of whiteness. 

Nor must we forget that powerful interests in the United States expressed sympathy for the leaders of fascism: for Mussolini in Italy, Hitler in Germany, Franco in Spain. There were many in the United States who shared Hitler's hatred of Jews and people of color.

We must not forget that Christians and their church officials across Europe welcomed these fascists dictators because they all returned the church to a place of prominence. 

Big Business around the world feared Communism (read: Worker's Rights) and were more than happy to do business with the Fascists who signed in blood their hatred of Communism and Atheism. And to this very day, such interests still use the term "Communist" or "Socialist" to fire the blood of those easily misled.

On this days, tens of thousands of young men stormed the beaches of Normandy, and nurses and staff and journalists were right there, too. Americans, Canadians, British, Free French, and nationals from the Netherlands and Poland, and the Scandinavian countries, fought for one another, for freedom, and for Democracy. 

January 6 of this year, the GOP incited hundreds of misguided people to storm the Capital and overturn a free and democratic election.Across the nation, even as I write, the GOP is dismantling our Democracy through voter suppression, reinstating capital punishment, bleeding to death our educational system, and more than happy to leave millions of Americans behind, so that the rich can prosper all the more.

I will never forget my visit to Normandy some years back - a sacred silence takes hold of everyone who strolls among the graves and reads the memorials. Silence, a testament to the magnitude of the Evil that confronted our world, and a testament to the good that rose up in concert and made the fateful decision to wrest the conquered nations from the grip of tyranny and restore the world. 

It's a battle that never ends, and I pray that women and men of good conscience will lead us in the struggle to resist fascist instincts, to sustain our Democratic principles - that all are welcome, everyone can vote, schools are safe and well-funded, with a decent social safety net  for all.

Is this too much for which to hope?

Not at all.

Anything less would be a betrayal of those young soldiers who stepped off the landing crafts into a hail of bullets to reclaim the lands of Europe. God rest their souls.