Democrats Attack Strippers and Hunting

Now Democrats want to tax strip clubs.  Will this horror never end?

Girly-men in Action - Trendy California Democrat legislators attack anything manly.

• Democrats want a $10 per customer strip club tax to fund "rape centers"
• Democrats want to ban hunting with dogs.
• After approving both measures the festive legislators stepped out for a nice frothy latte at the nearest trendy coffee house.

The insane liberals of the People's Republic of California are on the march.
                                                                    .
Calling it a sexually oriented business tax, moron leftist California Assemblyman Das Williams (Socialist Democrat -Santa Barbara) introduced a bill that would require a charge equal to $10 per customer who patronizes strip clubs that serve alcohol. The revenue collected from Assembly Bill 2441 would help fund vital services to victims of sexual and domestic violence, as well as cover the cost to process forensic exam (or rape) kits.
                                                                    .
“There is evidence that shows a nexus between (sexual) violence and strip club establishments,” said James Joyce, an idiot spokes-hole for Williams. “There is an issue of funding being decreased, and there is definitely a need to fund these vital services.”

According to the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CALCASA), California’s 84 rape crisis centers served around 30,000 victims in 2011. The state’s general fund contributed just $45,000 to all rape crisis centers combined, equating to about $1.50 per rape victim. The federal budget has an additional proposed cut of $800,000 to the rape set-aside fund in the 2012/2013 budget.

“It’s essential we create a new funding stream,” said Sandra Henriquez, executive director of CALCASA.

TRANSLATION  -  We need to fuck the voters, take away their money and give it to the government.

AB 2441 has already cleared the Assembly Committee on Revenue and Taxation, and is scheduled to be heard by the Assembly Committee on Appropriations this week.

(Ventura County Reporter)

The slow castration of the American Sheeple.
Idiot voters keep re-electing their Big Government Marxist Overlords.

Democrats say:  "Hunting with little doggies is mean."

• Insane Liberals now attack hunters for daring to use dogs.
• Democrats use dogs as a backdoor attack on hunting and the 2nd Amendment.

An insane proposed law, which passed the California state Senate last week, would prohibit using dog packs to chase bears and bobcats into trees, where hunters then stroll up and shoot the exhausted and helpless predators to death.  Oh horror of horrors.
                                                                               .
"It is an inhumane practice," said pussy girly-man Senator Ted Lieu, (Socialist Democrat - Los Angeles County), who introduced SB1221. "It's been likened to shooting animals at the zoo. I think that's a good analogy."

Pansy California Democrats are sad that little doggies go hunting.

Lieu, the nut case chairman of the Democrat controlled Senate Labor Committee, said he learned that hounding bears and bobcats was still legal after Daniel Richards, the president of the California Fish and Game Commission, killed a mountain lion that had been chased down by dogs in Idaho reports the San Francisco Chronicle.

The legislation on dog packs, which passed 22 to 15 in the Senate, is expected to be taken up by the state Assembly's Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee within the next few weeks.

The proposed ban has raised the hackles of hunters, who say the booming bear and bobcat populations in the state must be controlled. There are about 70,000 bobcats and an estimated 30,000 black bears in California, at least five times the number of bears that existed in 1980, according to the California Department of Fish and Game.

By the numbers

An average of about 1,700 bears are killed in California each year by hunters, game officials said, but fewer than half of those were hunted with dogs. In 2011, the state issued 4,500 tags to hunt bobcats, 11 percent of which were chased by dogs, fish and game officials said.
                                                   .
"Hunting is part of the rural way of life and something that needs to be protected," said Sen. Doug LaMalfa, R-Willows (Glenn County), who represents rural farming areas in the northern part of the state. He decried what he said are "assaults on the second amendment and hunting from urban legislators who neither understand nor live with the consequences of their votes."     (San Francisco Chronicle)

Islamists stone and beat girl for wearing a modern dress

King Mohammed VI of Morocco and his family.
The King is doing a high wire act to include Islamists in the government while protecting the more moderate nature of the Moroccan state.

Morocco has a moderate Islamist government, but violence is right under the surface.

• Prime Minister speaks out for personal freedom.

Intense debate on personal freedoms renewed recently in Morocco after a young woman wearing a short modern dress in a Rabat market was assaulted by people described as Salafists.
                                          .
Witnesses told Magharebia the girl was stoned and beaten because she was wearing clothes that were too revealing in the eyes of the assailants reports Magharebia News.

Human rights and women's organisations issued statements denouncing the assault on the Moroccan girl, during which she was stripped of her clothes entirely. Young Moroccan men and women turned to Facebook and online groups to call for protection of individual freedoms in Morocco, including the group "Débardeur and I am fine.

"Human rights and women's organisations issued statements denouncing the assault on the Moroccan girl, during which she was stripped of her clothes entirely. Young Moroccan men and women turned to Facebook and online groups to call for protection of individual freedoms in Morocco, including the group "Débardeur and I am fine."

"Though this incident appeared in the media and gained wider attention, that does not mean it is not repeated on an almost regular or semi-daily basis in all the alleys and streets of our cities. It may not end in stripping the girl of her clothing, but the verbal and physical harassment that women may experience is sometimes more heinous and horrible," said Nora Al-Fuari, an activist journalist at the Al-Sabah daily and a member of the Facebook group.

"From here came the idea of creating this page on Facebook, which we made open to everyone, including those in hijab or niqab, or the 'coarse' males who share the same vision with us. The selection of Débardeur is just a symbol, in reference to freedom—the freedom of women to wear what they want. Débardeur was mother of the 'short skirt'," she added. "In the end, the body is her body and no one has the right to confiscate it."

Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane responded to the controversy by speaking out in defence of personal liberties.

"I believe in freedom, God created us free," the prime minister said. "Who is Benkirane to tell Moroccans to shave your beards or to impose the hijab? Individual liberties are sacred and are not to be touched," he added.

Meanwhile, a Salafist supporter on the Facebook page going by the name Abu Ayyub clung to the necessity of Moroccan women to respect the requirements of Islamic dress. He contended that there was a legitimate "Sharia" dress that must be abided by.

"We must abide by the teachings of our Islamic religion, which calls on women to cover up their charms and abide by the veil imposed on Muslim women. I'm against calls for women to reveal their charms, and that must be countered firmly and with stricter protection of morality," the commenter wrote.     (Magharebia News)

Black Democrat Congressman becomes a Republican

"Wearing a Democratic label no longer matches what I know about my country." 

 - - - Congressman Artur Davis (Alabama)


---- The only member of the Black Caucus to vote against Obamacare.

---- Opposes Democrat plans to crush businesses and job creators with new taxes.



Congressman Davis  -  Welcome home to the Republican Party

On his personal website, former Congressman Artur Davis confirmed at least some of the recent rumors surrounding him—that the lifelong Democrat, the man who endorsed Barack Obama for president early in 2007 and seconded his nomination at the Democratic party convention in 2008, now considers himself a Republican. Here's Davis on his switch:

"While I’ve gone to great lengths to keep this website a forum for ideas, and not a personal forum, I should say something about the various stories regarding my political future in Virginia, the state that has been my primary home since late December 2010. The short of it is this: I don’t know and am nowhere near deciding.  If I were to run, it would be as a Republican. And I am in the process of changing my voter registration from Alabama to Virginia, a development which likely does represent a closing of one chapter and perhaps the opening of another…. 

On the specifics, I have regularly criticized an agenda that would punish businesses and job creators with more taxes just as they are trying to thrive again. I have taken issue with an administration that has lapsed into a bloc by bloc appeal to group grievances when the country is already too fractured: frankly, the symbolism of Barack Obama winning has not given us the substance of a united country. You have also seen me write that faith institutions should not be compelled to violate their teachings because faith is a freedom, too. You’ve read that in my view, the law can’t continue to favor one race over another in offering hard-earned slots in colleges: America has changed, and we are now diverse enough that we don’t need to accommodate a racial spoils system. And you know from these pages that I still think the way we have gone about mending the flaws in our healthcare system is the wrong way—it goes further than we need and costs more than we can bear. 

Taken together, these are hardly the enthusiasms of a Democrat circa 2012, and they wouldn’t be defensible in a Democratic primary. But they are the thoughts and values of ten years of learning, and seeing things I once thought were true fall into disarray. So, if I were to leave the sidelines, it would be as a member of the Republican Party that is fighting the drift in this country in a way that comes closest to my way of thinking: wearing a Democratic label no longer matches what I know about my country and its possibilities."

Davis’s political evolution may not be that surprising. He was the only member of the Congressional Black Caucus to vote against Obamacare. He ran for the Democratic nomination for Alabama governor in 2010 as a conservative. 

After losing the nomination, Davis announced he was becoming a political independent. His political commentary began popping up at places like National Review Online, criticizing Democrats for the same reasons he does today—the reliance on identity politics, the lack of respect for faith institutions, support for affirmative action, and a hostile relationship with business and entrepreneurs.      (The Weekly Standard)

The first Black Republican members of Congress
after the Civil War.

Big Brother comes to Detroit

The American Police State is Here.
Comrade Obama has sent Federal TSA VIPR Teams roam the American countryside to "protect" us.  The Constitution and Bill of Rights are ignored by both political parties.

POLICE  STATE  -  Obama's Homeland Security VIPR Teams "augment the security of any mode of transportation at any location within the United States"

• Obama's VIPR Team helps with local "security" in Detroit.
• The Bill of Rights 4th and 10th Amendments have no meaning.
• Bend over, spread your cheeks and prepare to feel secure.

Comrade Obama's Federal government is hell bent on keeping America safe from dangerous terrorists. The kind of terrorists that like to disguise themselves as happy go lucky electronic music festival goers.

Presumably that is why both TSA Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response (VIPR) teams AND Customs and Border Protection agents were deployed to Detroit’s Electronic Music Festival recently.

Activist John Corbett, who is involved in an ongoing lawsuit against the TSA, reports that he personally ran into armed TSA agents in the parking lot of the festival.

The agents told Corbett that they were there because “maybe Detroit police are a little short-staffed.”

“When I followed up by asking them if they were a VIPR team, they perked up a bit, and were as shocked as I was to see them that a member of the public knew what they were up to.” Corbett notes.

“It turned out that, as best I could gather, this was just an ordinary patrol for them.” he adds in a blog post.

“But, the question is: do you want to be conditioned to accept armed TSA “police” roaming about your neighborhood? Do you approve of the TSA stopping people in bus and train stations and demanding to search their bags? Will you actually be surprised when a nude body scanner shows up at your local subway station?” Corbett asks.

The TSA has also announced its intention to expand the VIPR program to include roadside inspections of commercial vehicles, setting up a network of internal checkpoints and rolling out security procedures already active in airports, bus terminals and subway stations to roads and highways across the United States.

                                                                          .
(See Infowars for full article)

Obama's Federal DHS Agents were "helping" local police at the Detroit Electronic
Music Festival.

__________________________________________________________________________

Republicans just love Big Brother Drones.
Recent actions prove the Republican Party no longer believes in the Constitution.

Big Brother Republican Governor of Virginia says "It's great" to have drones spy on the American people

•  Political hacks and police join forces to spy on Americans.
• The GOP Governor appears to have never heard of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Bill of Rights.  What Bill of Rights?  James Madison who??????  The Tea Party?  Well they are all idiots and will vote Republican no matter how I screw them.

Police drones flying over Virginia would be "great" and "the right thing to do" for the same reasons they are so effective in a battlefield environment, the state's GOP chief executive.

Big Brother loving Republican Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, says he is open to any technology that makes law enforcement more productive. 

The use of drones, which was recently endorsed by the police chiefs of Fairfax County and D.C., would make better use of valuable police resources.

Increased safety and reduced manpower are among the reasons the U.S. military and intelligence community use drones on the battlefield, which is why it should be considered in Virginia, he says.

"It's great," he said while speaking on WTOP's "Ask the Governor" program. "If you're keeping police officers safe, making it more productive and saving money...it's absolutely the right thing to do."

Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, said he "proudly supported" the FAA Modernization and Reform Act that allowed for the domestic use of drones. There are many institutions in his home state that FAA has cleared for drone use.

The 1984 police state is not marching.  It is running a 100 yard dash.

Just last month the so-called "small government" Republican House of Representatives joined with the Democrat Senate to force car manufacturers to install black box recorders on every car in America.
                                                              .
See our article THE FEDERALIST - "Congress abolishes the Bill of Rights".  The GOP and the Democrats have joined forces at every opportunity to grow an Orwellian police state.
                                                              .
(WTOP News)

Escape from New York

Taxpayers and job creators are escaping from New York.

Liberalism in Action  -  Over 3,400,000 New Yorkers flee the high tax state.

• Insanity  -  Like California, New York imports poverty from other nations and exports job creators and wealth.
• The idiots from both parties support the bi-partisan Marxist Big Government State.

New York has been running out of tax money simply because the state's greatest export is sending the producers, job creators and taxpayers to other states.

The GOP is a failure  -  Liberal Republicans have controlled the Governorship of the Empire State until 2006.  Except for a couple tiny, short periods the GOP has controlled the State Senate since 1939.  The Republicans need only look in the mirror to see their failure.  Being copycat Socialists is not the path to wealth and freedom.

New York State accounted for the biggest migration exodus of any state in the nation between 2000 and 2010, with 3.4 million residents leaving over that period, according to the Tax Foundation.

Over that decade the state gained 2.1 million, so net migration amounted to 1.3 million, representing a loss of $45.6 billion in income reports CNS News.

Where are they escaping to? The Tax Foundation found that more than 600,000 New York residents moved to Florida over the decade – opting perhaps for the Sunshine State’s more lenient tax system – taking nearly $20 billion in adjusted growth income with them.

Over that same time period, 208,794 Pennsylvanians moved to Florida, taking $8 billion in income.

“Many of these New York and Pennsylvania residents no doubt moved to Florida for the warm weather,” says the foundation, a nonpartisan research group. 

“[B]ut many more may have moved there because the state does not have an individual income tax, an estate tax, nor an inheritance tax.”
                                                      .
The Tax Foundation has created a “migration calculator” based on data from the Internal Revenue Service, tabulating the number of individuals moving between states each year, and income affected by the shifts.
                                                                                     .
The calculator shows that 612,520 people renounced their citizenship in New York State and moved to Florida in the 10-year period, taking with them $19.7 billion in adjusted growth income.
.
Between 2009 and 2010 alone, 40,195 New York residents moved to Florida, taking $1.3 billion in income.        (CNS News)

Romney fails to bring Massachusetts to the GOP

A weak candidate.
Woodrow Wilson of New Jersey was the last winning candidate for President who failed to carry his home state in the super close election of 1916.  Wilson was a weak candiate who nearly lost re-election.

A Very Weak Romney brings nothing to the GOP electoral college table.  He won't even try to carry his home state of Massachusetts.

• Comrade Obama and his Fellow Travelers must be defeated, but Romney has near zero real support in his own party.
• Romney's only strength is NOT being Obama.

If Mitt Romney wins the White House this fall, he will in all likelihood do so while beating some very long historical odds.

Polls suggest the presumptive Republican nominee has little chance of carrying Massachusetts, the state he served as governor from 2003 to 2007, against President Obama in November. It’s been nearly a century since a candidate captured the White House while losing the state that was his electoral base.

Governor Grover Cleveland brought the
swing state of New York to Democrats.

In fact, the last candidate to do it was Woodrow Wilson, who served as governor of New Jersey only to lose the state during his successful 1916 re-election bid against Charlie E. Hughes, a New York Republican.

The only other president to win the general election while losing his own state was Democrat James K. Polk, who won in 1844 despite losing Tennessee to Whig Henry Clay of neighboring Kentucky.

“It is fairly rare because the winner in any election usually wins most of the states,” said H.W. Brands, a presidential biographer and a professor of history at the University of Texas at Austin. “The ‘favorite son’ element usually works in candidates’ favor in their home states.”

“That’s not been a topic of discussion,” Kevin Madden, a Romney adviser, told the Associated Press last month when asked whether the one-term governor would compete in the liberal state. The Romney camp did not respond to follow-up questions from The Washington Times.
(Washington Times)

U.S. Senator Richard Nixon
Nixon brought the key state of California to the Republican Party in five national elections.

Romney will not select Rubio.
A weak candidate himself, I predict Romney will not select a strong running mate such as Marco Rubio from the vital state of Florida.  A strong Rubio will only point out Romney's weakness.

Freedom slowly vanishes in South Africa

Leftist supporters of South African President Zuma wearing Communist Party tee shirts burn a newspaper to intimidate the press.

Freedom of the Press . . . . not in South Africa

• Communist thugs burn a newspaper that the President does not approve of.
• President Zuma has sued media companies 11 times for so-called "defamation".
• When Nelson Mandella dies there will be nothing to stop the ending of democracy, constitutional law and freedom.

After a campaign of press intimidation a South African newspaper has removed from its website an image of a controversial painting of President Jacob Zuma with his genitals exposed.  It appears freedom of the press and freedom of the artistic community are under attack.

The painting has been taken down from the web-site "in the spirit of peacemaking... and from fear too," editor Ferial Haffajee has written in a City Press editorial.

The ruling African National Congress called for a boycott of the paper and last week went to court demanding the painting be removed from public view reports the BBC.

Protesters vandalised the painting.
 
The Spear painting - by Brett Murray, an artist known for his political and provocative work - has sparked a storm in South Africa.

Thousands of people have taken to the streets in protest saying President Zuma's right to dignity has been violated, while supporters say this is a question of freedom of expression - both of which are protected in South Africa's constitution.

A City Press reporter has been prevented from covering a trade union meeting, copies of City Press set on fire and the editor and others subjected to threats, Haffajee says.

"Out of care and as an olive branch to play a small role in helping turn around a tough moment, I have decided to take down the image," she said.

"That we are now a symbol of a nation's anger and rage is never the role of media in society," she said.

"For any editor to respond to a threat to take down an article of journalism without putting up a fight is an unprincipled thing to do, so we've fought as much as we could."
                                                                       .
The ruling party said the painting was "rude, crude and disrespectful" towards President Zuma and wants all images of the painting online and elsewhere taken down.

South African President Zuma

The gallery has said it will not remove The Spear, a $14,000 (£9,000) acrylic painting that had already been sold before protesters defaced it, daubing it in red and black paint.

The BBC's Milton Nkosi in Johannesburg says the ANC has called on its supporters to march to the gallery on Tuesday.

In an affidavit served on the City Press newspaper paper, Mr Zuma said he was shocked by the work.

"The portrait depicts me in a manner that suggests I am a philanderer, a womaniser and one with no respect," he said.

President Zuma, who has four wives, has sued local media companies 11 times for defamation.   (BBC News)

24.9% Unemployment

24.9% teen unemployment and Big Government says:  "Screw you."

• Countless millions are unemployed.
• Both political parties fall all over themselves to import millions of brand new LEGAL immigrants to compete with American workers.
• With one hand Congress pays Americans not to work, while importing foreigners with the other.

The Obama administration is going to great lengths to make sure some 100,000 foreign student workers being brought to this country are not disappointed and get summer jobs in America . . . . while Americans go unemployed.  Federal programs help foreigners get jobs in the U.S. with no thought given to American citizens.  Foreigners get to enter a U.S.-sponsored work-travel program.
                                                                                         .
Today, more than 50 ­million Americans of traditional working age are not employed, and yet a growing number of domestic jobs — from hotel clerks to nurses to computer scientists — are being performed by foreign-born workers.

Yes they do become Americans.  But there are billions of people in the world
and America cannot even find jobs for those born here.

Top Teen Unemployment

1) California 36.2%
2) South Carolina 31.2%
3) Rhode Island 29.8%
4) Washington 29.0%
5) Arizona 29.0%
6) Nevada 28.8%
7) Idaho 28.4%
8) North Carolina 28.2%
9) Missouri 27.7%
10) Louisiana 27.6%
** District of Columbia 51.7%

As summer break approaches and school seasons conclude, teens in California will have a more difficult time finding a job than their demographic counterparts in every other state, according to Census Bureau data released by the Employment Policies Institute.

With 36.2 percent of its teens unable to find employment, California leads all other states in teen unemployment — only the District of Columbia, with its 51.7 percent teen unemployment rate, surpasses the Golden State.

Overall, teen unemployment rose in 17 states and Washington, D.C., between April 2011 and April 2012, and fell in 32 states.
                                                                       .
Nationally, the teen unemployment rate stands at 24.9 percent, and has averaged above 20 percent for over 40 months. The number of employed teens fell by 14,000 from March to April 2012.
                                                                            .
(The Union)                (Washington Post)

Muslim Morality Police vs. Nail Polish

The Saudi Arabian Morality Police.
Through all of history governments and religions have been frightened to death that people might dare to enjoy themselves without their permission.

"Theology is never any help;  it is searching in a dark cellar at midnight for a black cat that isn't there.  Theologians can persudae themselves of anything."   ---- Robert A. Heinline



A brave Saudi woman confronted members of the country's religious police after they accused of breaking strict modesty rules with her freshly painted nails.

The woman, who has not been identified, refuses their demands that she leave the mall where she is shopping and tells them that her nails are 'none of [their] business' reports the UK Daily Mail.

After she filmed the incident on her mobile phone and it was posted it to YouTube, her row with the members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (CPVPV) has gone viral.

The video shows several men in traditional Saudi dress, who have apparently stopped the woman to chastise her for the immodesty of her freshly manicured nails.

One of the men orders the woman to leave the mall, but she refuses and the pair become embroiled in a heated argument in the middle of the mall's concourse.

'The government didn't send you to follow me,' she yells at the men. 'The government said there would be no persecution [of women].

'Your job is to advise people and move on. You have no right to harass anyone.'

Known as the mutaween, or religious police, members of the CPVPV are granted power to enforce Sharia Law in Saudi Arabia by the order of King Abdullah himself.

They are known for their callous brutality and strict interpretation of Islamic law. In 2002 mutaween reportedly stopped girls from escaping their burning school because they were 'not properly covered'.

They locked the doors of the school from the outside and attacked firefighters to stop them from entering the building to rescue the girls.

Fourteen of the youngsters died of burns or smoke asphyxiation. Since then the powers of the mutaween have been curtailed but they still have a powerful hold over Saudi society

(UK Daily Mail)

Caught on camera
The brave woman refused to give in to the men's demands that she leave the mall where she was shopping

Sunday Comics

“Over the past few months there’s been an increasing buzz that Mitt Romney will pick a vice president who’s safe, white, and duller than him. Which pretty much narrows it down to a piece of chalk.” –Jay Leno

“After losing billions of dollars, Mark Zuckerberg is being sued for hiding Facebook’s weak financial report. Apparently he put it somewhere no one will ever look – MySpace.” –Jimmy Fallon

“Congratulations to former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. The city of San Francisco has named a street after her today. It’s called Botox Avenue.” –Jay Leno

“Al Gore has a new girlfriend. Apparently, it’s getting pretty serious. He’s already been over to bore her parents.” –Jay Leno

Top Ten Superhero Movies

1951  -  The very first Superhero movie.

The Superhero Movies are back big time this summer


By Gary;

I just finished seeing the new Avengers movie yet again.  It was a long time coming for us fans, and that got me thinking about Superhero films in general.

The Superhero movie.  It all began with Superman and the Mole Men, a 1951 superhero film starring George Reeves as Superman and Phyllis Coates as Lois Lane. It is the first theatrical feature film based on the DC Comics character Superman they appeared in a serial format. The 58 minute film was shot in 12 days on a studio backlot.
                                                                                  .
One of the Mole Men was played by now 92 year old Jerry Maren, a surviving dwarf munchkin from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. 

Between 1951 and 1978 there was a grand total of one Superhero film released.  That was the horrible 1966 Batman film based on the truly crappy TV show.  The Superhero lived on the small TV screen, but Hollywood had no interest in big budget films.

Then comes the 1978 release of Superman.  In 1978 dollars it made a staggering $300 million at the box office.  That would still be considered a good take in today's money.  Back in the 1970s you were taking mega-bucks.  And Superhero films are big business.

A weak girly-man Superman.

I have been disappointed that the Superman films never satisfied my vision of the character.  Clark Kent was always supposed to be the mild mannered alter ego as a cover.

But the Superman films from 1978 to 2006 turned Superman in a weak girly-man pussy.  Superman has become a soft, non-threatening chick flick character.  So very sad.

But then comes 1989 and the floodgates start to open wide.  Tim Burton releases Batman.

Sitting in that theater on opening night I was not prepared for the new Gotham City and the hard ass Dark Knight.  Then comes Jack Nicholson's totally insane Joker.  I decided no one could ever do a better Joker.  Boy was I wrong.

With computer special effects things just keep getting better and better.  The magic of Hollywood to entertain is America's greatest gift to the world.

My Top Ten Superhero Movie Picks

• Please feel free to post your own top ten in the comments section below.

As of today there have been some 86 Superhero movies released with even more on the way this summer.  There appears to be no end to the planned productions.

#1)  The Dark Knight
The late and very great Heath Ledger put this film over the top in so many ways.  Many of us loved Heath's work over the years.  To see him give us the character of the Joker and then die at age 28 was cruel beyond words.  As wonderful as Christian Bale is, Ledger made "The Dark Knight" the all time classic that it is.

#2)  Watchmen
The thinking man's superhero movie.  The even longer director's cut proves what a classic film it is.  Plots and sub plots, vigilante justice, alternate universes, insanity, rape, does time exist?  Does it even matter?  With each viewing the movie goes deeper and deeper.

#3)  Iron Man
Robert Downey is a national treasure.  He brought Tony Stark to life in a way I never thought possible.  Iron Man is a perfect blend of humor, drama and superhero action.

#4)  Batman (1989)
Those of us who had been subjected to the pure crap of the Superman films were blown out of our theater seats by Tim Burton's Batman.  Jack Nicholson's Joker was a psycho crazy bastard we never knew existed.  This movie took the superhero genre to a place we never dreamed it could be.  Suddenly the comic art form had become serious drama.
.

#5)  X-2:  X-Men United
The best of the X-Men films.  Everything comes together:  a perfect cast, script, special effects and action.  I do not know of a comic fan who was not glued to his seat in wonder while watching Nightcrawler's attack on the White House.

#6)  Spider-Man
The first of the Spider-Man films was an incredible event to see in the theater.  Again, near perfection in balancing comedy, drama, action and special effects.

#7)  The Avengers
Favorites of mine since childhood.  I waited a long time to see this come to the big screen.  Director and writer Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel) showed a big screen talent that should have been put to use years ago.  Wonderful film from start to finish.  There is a good chance that with repeated viewings the Avengers will rise higher on the top ten list.

#8)  X-Men Origins:  Wolverine
This film has grown on me with every viewing.  It treats the superhero subject with respect and adult drama. Liev Schreiber brought the character of Sabretooth to life.

#9)  The Incredible Hulk
Edward Norton is Bruce Banner and William Hurt is General Ross.  Outstanding cast and excellent special effects.  You get a feel for the old TV show where Banner is a lost soul with no home.

#10)  Hellboy
In any top ten list when you start getting to the end you get angry.  There are so many fine films.  How can they be left off?  Such is life.  But you gotta love Hellboy.  Fantastic humor, great action, good plot.  Ron Perlman is always a pleasure to watch in any role.

Also Ran  -  The Almost Top Ten
--- Superman (1978)
--- Blade
--- Daredevil (Director's cut)
--- Thor
--- Fantastic Four


Full List of Superhero Movies

"They had a choice, all of them. They could have followed in the footsteps of good men like my father or President Truman. Decent men who believed in a day's work for a day's pay. Instead they followed the droppings of lechers and communists and didn't realize that the trail led over a precipice until it was too late. Don't tell me they didn't have a choice. Now the whole world stands on the brink, staring down into bloody Hell, all those liberals and intellectuals and smooth-talkers... and all of a sudden nobody can think of anything to say."
.
Rorschach  -  (Watchmen)