Michael Moore: "Dems Come Alive! - A Follow-Up", Plus More...

The latest email from Michael Moore is (as you've probably guessed from the title) a follow-up from a previously one sent to many of us, a while ago... So, to make sure that you guys know what the Big Guy is talking about, I've added the first one in today's post (just after the follow-up email)...

Kinda "two for the price of one" post. A bargain for you guys, and a pleasure for me as (and you probably also know that by now too) I always enjoy posting Michael Moore related stuff.

I know I keep saying that, but the Big Guy is news... whatever you/they think about him.

All the best...

Loup Dargent





Dems Come Alive!
...a follow-up from
Michael Moore

Wednesday, October 6th, 2010

Friends,

Ok! We're halfway through the week and we're off to a great start. Last week I gave the spineless Dems five friendly suggestions for things they could do on the off chance they were interested in winning the midterm elections on November 2nd:

 1. Deliver a blunt, nonstop reminder to the American people about exactly who it was that got us into the mess we're in.
 2. Declare a moratorium on home foreclosures.
3. Prosecute the banks and Wall Street for the Crime of the Century.
4. Create a 21st century WPA (hire the unemployed to rebuild America).
5. Pledge that no Dem will take a dime from Wall Street in the next election cycle.

So how are we doing 5 days later? Not bad! It turns out that at least some of these ideas were so simple even elected Democrats could come up with them!

1. Dems have started running tough, killer ads that have balls and SAY WHAT NEEDS TO BE SAID.

Check these out:

 In the California Senate race, Barbara Boxer is going after Carly Fiorina on the outsourcing Fiorina did as CEO of HP.

Rep. Tim Bishop of Long Island, New York hits his GOP opponent Randy Altschuler on how HIS business sent jobs overseas.

Richard Blumenthal half-nelsons his Connecticut Senate opponent (and former WWE CEO) Linda McMahon who said we should consider cutting the minimum wage and then lied about having said it.

 Jeez, it's like they wanna win! More of these, please -- NOW!

 2. Foreclosure Moratorium fever among the Dems has amazingly swept the nation in the last week!

Democratic Attorneys General all over the country are now demanding moratoriums for their states: California (Jerry Brown, now running for Governor), Connecticut (Richard Blumenthal, now running for Senate), Delaware (Joe Biden's son Beau), Massachusetts (Martha Coakley, who probably wished she'd done this earlier since she lost the special Senate race in January to Scott Brown), Illinois (Lisa Madigan), Texas (Greg Abbott -- a Republican!) and Colorado (John Suthers -- another Republican!). And so is Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley (at the urging of Rep. Ellijah Cummings, who you may remember from 'Capitalism: A Love Story'). Meanwhile, the Attorneys General of Iowa, Ohio and North Carolina are opening probes into the mortgage industry. And the banks are feeling the heat -- GMAC, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America have already suspended foreclosures in 23 states (with Detroit's Rep. John Conyers, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, calling on them to extend it to Michigan and the rest of the U.S.).

 Wells Fargo? Citibank? Are you paying attention? Now's the time to do something good so you can later mention it to the sentencing judge.

 Rep. Gabrelle Giffords of Arizona has called for a nationwide foreclosure moratorium, and Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey says that may be necessary.

 And it goes on and on. Check the special section on my website that I'm updating every day as more and more Democratic officials announce they will no longer allow banks to kick families out of their homes.

 3. Prosecute the bastards! Looks like that's what they're maybe finally going to do. Check out this stunning letter sent to Attorney General Holder yesterday by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and 30 other members of congress (PDF):

"...we urge you and your respective agencies to investigate possible violations of law or regulations by financial institutions in their handling of delinquent mortgages, mortgage modifications, and foreclosures. ... The excuses we have heard from financial institutions are simply not credible three years into this crisis. ... It is time that banks are held accountable for their practices that have left too many homeowners without real help."

According to the New York Times, banks will likely face a "wide range of government investigations" for years. Judges may ask for them to be indicted for perjury or obstruction of justice. The Justice Department could prosecute banks for mail and wire fraud, or for making false statements to the government. And the SEC could open civil investigations.

Now we need to hear the Justice Department announce their investigation.

And look -- Larry Summers is gone. Great move! The people's advocate, Elizabeth Warren, is in -- genius move! If that's the direction Obama is now heading in, then these bankers may be shaking in their Salvatore Ferragamos.

 So, not a bad start, Democrats (20 months late)! Just four weeks to go and I'm feeling that maybe, just maybe, we may prevent the All Souls Day Massacre. The pundits, who are essentially tools for the Corporate States of America, may have to eat a lot of crow. And if the Dems escape death's door, they had better not let this nonsense happen again.

 So, President Obama and Congress, let's get busy on ideas #4 (WPA jobs) and #5 (pledge to take no further campaign money from Goldman and their friends).

 C'mon everybody -- there's at least 3 million of you reading this (including the 700,000 of you who are my Twitter followers and my 300,000+ close Facebook friends). Let's pressure the Dems to quit cowering and kick some butt -- NOW!

 Tell them it's easy and to repeat after us:

* Stop the foreclosures!
* Prosecute the banks and Wall Street and war profiteer corps!
* Remind the public 24/7 who created the mess!
* Announce a real jobs program!
* Promise not to take Wall Street's dirty money!
* Win the election!

Simple!

Do it!

Yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com

P.S. On a different subject... One of the most moving, hopeful and powerful documentaries I've seen this year (or any year) opens at the Quad in NYC on Friday. It's called, "Budrus," and it's about a town by that name in the West Bank. The Palestinians in that town (and many of their Israeli neighbors on the other side of the Wall that's being constructed) come up with a way to totally undo the Israeli Defense Forces: pledge to defeat the occupiers by never firing a bullet, never throwing a stone, never causing any harm to their Jewish brothers and sisters. Whoa!
What happens next is so effed up, so incredible, you have to see this movie to believe it. The film is brilliant. It won the top Founders Prize for nonfiction film at my film festival this summer. It will soon be coming to other cities. Do not miss it!!!






(Okay, Michael Moore mentioned his five suggestions in the follow-up,
so, here they are... Fasten your seat belt!)

Five Ways the Democrats
Can Avoid a Catastrophe
and Pull Off the Mother
of All Upsets

Friday, October 1st, 2010

Friends,

The election is one month from tomorrow and, yes, it looks hopeless. November 2nd -- the day the Dems are expected to crash and burn.

Sadly, it's a situation the Democrats have brought upon themselves -- even though the majority of them didn't create the mess we're in. But they've had over a year and a half to start getting the job done to fix it. Instead, they've run scared ever since they took power. To many, the shellacking they're about to receive is one they deserve.

But if you're of a mindset that believes a return to 2001-2008 would be sheer insanity, then you probably agree we've got no choice but to save the Democrats from themselves.

Memo To: President Obama and the Democratic Party Leadership

From: Michael Moore

Subject: 5 Things Dems Can Do to Turn It Around by November 2nd

1. Immediate Wall-to-Wall TV Ads, Internet Videos, and Appearances Hammering Who the Hell Put Us in the Misery We're In.We Americans have very short attention spans (Quick: Who Won the Oscar for Best Picture last year? The World Series? Exactly.). People need to be reminded over and over that it was the REPUBLICANS who concocted and led the unnecessary invasion of two countries, putting us in our longest war ever, wars that will eventually cost us over $3 trillion. Bush and Co. also caused the biggest collapse of our economy since the Great Depression. I don't know a single person in Hollywood who wouldn't shoot and produce those spots for you for FREE. Dems: Do not pull a single punch on this. Quit being a bunch of wusses and let the bastards have it! The public will be astonished that you've found your courage and your spine. We expect you to be Muhammad Ali, not Ally McBeal.

2. Indict the Criminals.Announce that the Justice Department will seek indictments against both those who caused the economic collapse and those who became war profiteers. Call it for what it is: organized crime. Use the RICO statutes. Use the basic laws that make fraud of any kind a crime. Get in the face of those who stole the billions, make them pay for it -- and the people will love you. We want Dirty Harry, not Dirty Dancing.

3. Announce a Moratorium on All Family Home Foreclosures.
Last month (August) there were more home foreclosures than in any month in U.S. history. Worse than any month in the worst year ever, 2009. The bleeding hasn't stopped -- it's only gotten worse. And now, this week, two of the largest crime organizations who are throwing hundreds of thousands of people out of their homes (GMAC and JPMorgan Chase) have been forced to momentarily stop doing this. It turns out, they don't really have the paperwork to prove they actually own these houses! It's madness. So if you do one thing for the middle class this week, do this. It will take an hour of your time to draw up the decree and issue it. We'd rather watch "It's a Wonderful Life" than "Poltergeist."

4. Announce a New 21st Century WPA.
"Who's hiring? THE GOVERNMENT IS HIRING!" Put together a simple plan to hire enough people to repair our roads, fix up our aging schools, and rebuild our infrastructure. Fund this by taxing the richest 1% who have more financial wealth than 95% of Americans combined! Unemployment will drop to 5%. Can you pass it? Well, you sure can't unless you try! And as you're trying, announce that you will force the Republican senators (who until now simply have had to say they "intended" to filibuster in order to kill a bill) to have to actually filibuster! Make them stand on the floor of the Senate and read from the phone book 24/7. They won't last a day. And America will see them for who they really are.

5. Declare That No Democrat Will Accept ANY Wall Street Money in the Next Election Cycle.Pick a day in the coming week. Have all your fellow Democrats in Congress stand in front of the Capitol (with President Obama) and pledge that if America allows you to retain control of Congress, none of you will take a penny from Wall Street for the 2012 election. Instead, promise to accept donations of only $2, $5 and $10. You will also pledge not to take a job as a lobbyist or lawyer for ANY corporation for ten years after you leave Congress. The message will be a powerful one to the average American fed up with corrupt political hacks. Act like Honest Abe, not Fast Freddie -- and see what happens.

And here are two bonus suggestions: Use what sense of humor you have and go after these candidates and their agenda with all the hilarious ridicule they deserve. And quit complaining about "the base" not doing enough to help you. You want help? Do something this week to earn it. I've offered five suggestions. I'm sure the rest of "the base" has a few more.

Yours,

Michael Moore

MMFlint@aol.com

MichaelMoore.com

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Michael Moore: "Never Forget: Bad Wars Aren't Possible Unless Good People Back Them "

I've always said that whatever you think of Michael Moore, the guy is still news... and today's post is another example of that.

As you probably know by now, I (like 1000s of other people) receive emails from Michael Moore on a regular basis and that, time to time, I choose to share them with you guys... So, yep, today's one is receiving the LoupDargent.info treatment by not only being shared with you but also being published with a few extra added (hopefully informative enough) links and, of course, some pictures.


It is a very lengthy email (far more longer than the ones previously shared, so you might want to make yourselves a cup of coffee or tea before starting to read it) and its content is rather controversial (but, then again, we would not expect any less from the Big Guy)... And I sure loved it, especially the part about the death threats as that reminded me of that time when I foolishly uploaded a funny (well, I thought it was funny anyway) anti-BNP video of mine on Youtube and was branded a "traitor to my race", among other things, because of it by some BNP supporters (at the time, they believed that they would get in power and were already, and openly, making plans on how they would deal with the "traitors" and, as painful death was the most popular option, being called a "traitor to our race" by them was the equivalent of receiving a death threat). Ah, yes, those were the days...


But, enough of all that "me, me, me..."


Michael Moore's email is long enough already without me adding more stuff to this post.
So, I'll just give the floor to the Big Man instead.


All the best


Loup Dargent




Never Forget:
Bad Wars Aren't Possible
Unless Good People Back Them
by Michael Moore


September 15, 2010


I know we've been "free" of the Iraq War for two weeks now and our minds have turned to the new football season and Fashion Week in New York. And how exciting that the new fall TV season is just days away!


But before we get too far away from something we would all just like to forget, will you please allow me to just say something plain and blunt and necessary:


We invaded Iraq because most Americans -- including good liberals like Al Franken, Nicholas Kristof & Bill Keller of the New York Times, David Remnick of the New Yorker, the editors of the Atlantic and the New Republic, Harvey Weinstein, Hillary Clinton, Chuck Schumer and John Kerry -- wanted to.


Of course the actual blame for the war goes to Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld/Wolfowitz because they ordered the "precision" bombing, the invasion, the occupation, and the theft of our national treasury. I have no doubt that history will record that they committed the undisputed Crime of the (young) Century.


But how did they get away with it, considering they'd lost the presidential election by 543,895 votes? They also knew that the majority of the country probably wouldn't back them in such a war (a Newsweek poll in October 2002 showed 61% thought it was "very important" for Bush to get formal approval from the United Nations for war -- but that never happened). So how did they pull it off?


They did it by getting liberal voices to support their war. They did it by creating the look of bipartisanship. And they convinced other countries' leaders like Tony Blair to get on board and make it look like it wasn't just our intelligence agencies cooking the evidence.


But most importantly, they made this war (and its public support) happen because Bush & Co. had brilliantly conned the New York Times into running a bunch of phony front-page stories about how Saddam Hussein had all these "weapons of mass destruction." The administration gleefully fed this false information not to Fox News or the Washington Times. They gave it to America's leading liberal newspaper. They must have had a laugh riot each morning when they'd pick up the New York Times and read the nearly word-for-word scenarios and talking points that they had concocted in the Vice President's office.


I blame the New York Times more for this war than Bush. I expected Bush and Cheney to try and get away with what they did. But the Times -- and the rest of the press -- was supposed to STOP them by doing their job: Be a relentless watchdog of government and business -- and then inform the public so we can take action.


Instead, the New York Times gave the Bush administration the cover they needed. They could -- and did -- say, 'Hey, look, even the Times says Saddam has WMD!'


With this groundwork laid, the Bush crowd ended up convincing a whopping 70% of the public to support the war -- a public that had given him less than 48% of its vote in 2000.


Early liberal support for this war was the key ingredient in selling it to a majority of the public. I realize this is something that no one in the media -- nor most of us -- really wants to discuss. Who among us wants to feel the pain of having to remember that liberals, by joining with Bush, made this war happen?


Please, before our collective memory fades, I just want us to be honest with ourselves and present an unsanitized version of how they pulled off this war. I can guarantee you the revisionists will make sure the real truth will not enter the history books.


Children born when the war began started second grade this month.


Kids who were eleven in 2003 are now old enough to join up and get killed in Iraq in a "non-combat capacity."


They'll never understand how we got here if we don't.


So let me state this clearly: This war was aided and abetted by a) liberals who were afraid to stick their necks out and thus remained silent; and b) liberals who actually said they believed Colin Powell's cartoon presentation at the U.N. and then went against their better judgment by publicly offering their support for the invasion of Iraq.


First, there were those 29 (turncoat) Democratic senators who voted for the war. Then there was the embarrassing display of reporters who couldn't wait to be "embedded" and go for a joy ride on a Bradley tank.


But my real despair lies with the people I counted on for strong opposition to this madness -- but who left the rest of us alone, out on a limb, as we tried to stop the war.


In March of 2003, to be a public figure speaking out against the war was considered instant career suicide. Take the Dixie Chicks as Exhibit A. Their lead singer, Natalie Maines, uttered just one sentence of criticism -- and their career was effectively dead and buried at that moment. Bruce Springsteen spoke out in their defense, and a Colorado DJ was fired for refusing to not play their songs. That was about it. Crickets everywhere else.


Then MSNBC fired the only nightly critic of the war -- the television legend, Phil Donahue. No one at the network -- or any network -- spoke up on his behalf. There would never again be a Phil Donahue show. (Little did GE know that, when they soon filled that 8pm hour with a sports guy by the name of Keith Olbermann, they would end up with the war's most brilliant and fiercest critic, night after night after night.) There were a few others -- Bill Maher, Janeane Garofalo, Tim Robbins and Seymour Hersh -- who weren't afraid to speak the truth. But where was everyone else? Where were all those supposed liberal voices in the media?


Instead, this is what we were treated to back in 2003 and 2004:


** Al Franken, who said he "reluctantly" was "a supporter of the war against Saddam." And six months into the war Al was still saying, "There were reasons to go to war against Iraq ... I was very ambivalent about it but I still don't know if it was necessarily wrong (to go to war)."


** Nicholas Kristof, columnist for the New York Times, who attacked me and wrote a column comparing me to the nutty right-wingers who claimed Hillary had Vince Foster killed. He said people like me were "polarizing the political cesspool," and he chastised anyone who dared call Bush's reasons for going to war in Iraq "lies."


** Howell Raines, editor-in-chief of the "liberal" New York Times, who was, according to former Times editor Doug Frantz, "eager to have articles that supported the war-mongering out of Washington ... He discouraged pieces that were at odds with the administration's position on Iraq's supposed weapons of mass destruction and alleged links of al-Qaeda." The book "Hard News" reported that "according to half a dozen sources within the Times, Raines wanted to prove once and for all that he wasn't editing the paper in a way that betrayed his liberal beliefs..."


** Bill Keller, at the time a New York Times columnist, who wrote: "We reluctant hawks may disagree among ourselves about the most compelling logic for war -- protecting America, relieving oppressed Iraqis or reforming the Middle East -- but we generally agree that the logic for standing pat does not hold. ... we are hard pressed to see an alternative that is not built on wishful thinking."


(The New York Times is so left-wing that when Raines retired, they replaced him with... Keller.)


** The New Yorker, the magazine for really smart liberals, found its editor-in-chief, David Remnick, supporting the war on its pages: "History will not easily excuse us if, by deciding not to decide, we defer a reckoning with an aggressive totalitarian leader who intends not only to develop weapons of mass destruction but also to use them. ... a return to a hollow pursuit of containment will be the most dangerous option of all." (To cover its ass, the New Yorker had another editor, Rick Hertzberg, write an anti-war editorial as a rebuttal.)


Some of the above have recanted their early support of the war. The Times fired its WMD correspondent and apologized to its readers. Al Franken has been a great Senator. Kristof now writes nice columns (check out last Sunday's).


But the support of the war by these leading liberals and the majority of the Democrats in the Senate made it safe for the Right to let loose a vicious and unchecked tirade of hate and threats on anyone (including myself) who dared to step out of line. It was not uncommon to hear the media describe me as "un-American," "anti-American," "aiding the terrorists," and being a "traitor."


Here are just a couple of examples of what was said about me over the airwaves by two of the nation's leading conservative commentators:


"Let me just tell you what I'm thinking. I'm thinking about killing Michael Moore, and I'm wondering if I could kill him myself, or if I would need to hire somebody to do it. No, I think I could. I think he could be looking me in the eye, you know, and I could just be choking the life out -- is this wrong? I stopped wearing my 'What Would Jesus Do' band, and I've lost all sense of right and wrong now. I used to be able to say, 'Yeah, I'd kill Michael Moore,' and then I'd see the little band: 'What Would Jesus Do?' And then I'd realize, 'Oh, you wouldn't kill Michael Moore. Or at least you wouldn't choke him to death.' And you know, well, I'm not sure." (Glenn Beck)


And:


"Well, I want to kill Michael Moore. Is that all right? All right. And I don't believe in capital punishment. That's just a joke on Moore." (Bill O'Reilly)


(Ironically, O'Reilly made his threat/joke the night after Janet Jackson's breast was bared at the Super Bowl -- which got CBS fined over half a million dollars because, you know, nipples are far more frightening than death threats.)


So that's how I'll personally remember the early war years: living with a real and present danger caused by the hate whipped up by right-wing radio and TV. (I've been advised not to recount certain specific incidents that happened to me, as it would only encourage other crazy people.)


So I dealt with it. And I'm still here. And I know many of you went through your own crap, standing up against the war at school, or work, or at Thanksgiving dinner, taking your own blows for simply saying what was the truth.


But how much easier it would have been for all of us if the liberal establishment had stood with us? We didn't own a daily newspaper, or a magazine with a circulation in the millions. We didn't have our own TV show or network. We weren't invited on shows like "Meet the Press," because they simply could not allow our voice to be heard.


The media watchdog group FAIR reported that in the three weeks after the war started, the CBS Evening News allowed only one anti-war voice on their show -- and that was on one night in one soundbite (and that was four seconds of me in a line from my Oscar speech) -- even though in March of 2003 our anti-war numbers were in the millions (remember the huge demonstrations in hundreds of cities?). We were around 30% of the country according to most polls (that's nearly 100 million Americans!) and yet we had no way to communicate with each other aside from through the Nation and a few websites like CommonDreams.org and Truth-Out.org.


But that was no way to build a huge mass movement of Middle Americans to oppose the war. Unless you had just lucked out and been handed an Oscar on live television in front of a gazillion people where you had 45 seconds to say something before they cut you off and booed you off the stage (hahahaha), you had no public platform. (Jeez, I sure did get booed a lot that year: simply walking through an airport, or eating dinner in a restaurant, or sitting at a Laker game where they suddenly put me up on the Jumbotron and the place went so angry-crazy that Larry David, who was sitting next to me, felt that maybe for his own safety he should perhaps slide a few seats down or go get us a couple of wieners. Instead, he stuck by my side -- and his skillful ninja moves got us out of there alive after the game.)


I know it's hard to remember, but when this war started, there was no YouTube, no Facebook, no Twitter, no way for you to bypass the media lords so you could have your own friggin' say.


Too bad for the bastards, those days are over.


The next time around, it won't be so easy to shut up a country girl band or try to silence someone while he accepts his little gold statue -- or completely ignore the millions of citizens in the streets.


So now we can hope that one of our wars is over. Too bad we lost. I hate to lose, don't you? But the fact is, we lost the very day we invaded a sovereign nation that posed absolutely no threat to us and had nothing to do with 9/11. We lost lives (over 4,400 of ours, hundreds of thousands of theirs), we lost limbs (a total of 35,000 troops came back with various wounds and disabilities and God knows how many more with mental problems). We lost the money our grandchildren were supposed to live on.


And we lost our soul, who we were, what we stood for as a once-great country -- lost it all. Can we now ask for redemption -- for forgiveness? Can we be... "America" again?


I guess we'll see. The vast majority of the country eventually came around to the Dixie Chicks' position. And we elected an anti-Iraq-war guy by the name of Barack Hussein Obama.


But, please, promise yourselves never to forget how our country went crazy 7 1/2 years ago -- even though, to many people at the time, it seemed completely normal. And I'm here to tell you, no matter how much better it's gotten, no matter how normal you may think things are now, we're still halfway nuts. Just listen to the new batch of "sensible pundits" as they start to beat the drums about what we should do to Iran. One war down, one (or two or three) to go.


C'mon, Mr. President, not one more kid needs to die overseas wearing a uniform with our flag on it. We can't win like this. Let's dig a few thousand wells in Afghanistan, build a few free mosques, leave behind some food and clothing, fix their electrical grid, issue an apology and set up a Facebook page so they can stay in touch with us -- and then let's get the hell out. Your own National Security Advisor and your CIA Director have told you there are less than 100 al-Qaeda fighters in the entire country. 100???


100,000 U.S. troops going after 100 al-Qaeda? Is this a Looney Tunes presentation? "A-ba-dee-a-ba-dee-a-ba-dee -- That's All Folks!" Let's get real. I'm glad one war is "over." But I know how we got there -- and I'm willing now to fight just as hard to stop these other wars if you won't, Mr. Obama.


Your call.


Yours,


Michael Moore
Mike@MichaelMoore.com
MichaelMoore.com


P.S. Just a thought, Mr. President. Can I ask that you go back and watch this movie I made -- "Fahrenheit 9/11." There might be some answers there. I give you my permission to download it for free by going to this site: TorrentHound.com. Don't tell the studio I said it was ok! They've only made a half a billion $$ on it so far.


P.P.S. To everyone on my list: Thanks to your thousands of generous donations, we've raised over $60,000 for the Muslim community center near Ground Zero. This has made news around the world, that there are Americans who believe in our stated American principles.






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Are Aliens and Demons One and The Same?

As some of you know already from either having read some of the posts in our good old 'Forward and Share' or visited my UFOs Related Mixx Community Group, that I'm rather interested in everything having to do with UFOs and Aliens (well, anything out of this world, really) so, when I saw what T. O' Donnell, our Guest Writer for today, had sent us, I knew I would definitely be in my element...

During the last ten years, I've read many articles/stories about the theory that demons were actually on this Earth long before the human race took over and that some of the aliens we think are regularly visiting this planet are in fact, those demons (who, apparently, now live in a parallel universe)...

Of course, for some of you, they're only fairy tales and Sci-Fi stories. For some others they're like the Gospel's Truth. For me, they're "What If?" kind of stories, worth looking into, whatever our beliefs...

So, let's look into the "Aliens and Demons" theory...
With T. O' Donnell as our designated guide.

Oh, and, enjoy this "a bit out of the ordinary" trip.

Loup Dargent 

Doctor Who: 'Tooth and Claw' or 'The Origins of Torchwood'

'Tooth and Claw' - Someone is having a bad hair day...

With the news of Torchwood returning soon(ish) to our TV screens (for more details and info, see the related links at the end of this post), we thought that, while we're waiting for the Big Event, we might as well do some time travelling of our own and take you back to when (and finding out the reasons why in the process) Torchwood was originally founded...

Oh yes, the Torchwood Institute existed loooooong before the Doctor Who TV Series was even created. Never mind the good old story conveniently spread around about Torchwood being an anagram of Doctor Who and that's what gave the idea of the Torchwood story, etc... It's only a cover up, more or less like the one telling us that Santa Claus doesn't exist. See what I mean?

It's all in the Doctor Who's 'Tooth and Claw' episode (second episode of Series Two, to be precise...) anyway. So, if you haven't watched it yet, now might be a good time to do so. 

Plus, it's one of those episodes when Rose Tyler was still the Doctor's companion (aaaah, those were the days)...

⏩ NB: All the pictures used in this post are from  the BBC's official Doctor Who site...

Today's post is filled with opportunities that I couldn't humanely pass even if I wanted to... Not only we have both timely opportunities to refresh our memory about Torchwood's history and populate the almost neglected "It's a Wolf Thing" Category in the process, but we also have the golden opportunity to see our favorite chav, Rose Tyler, once again (and, I don't mean only Billie Piper's pictures either, nope, we have a video-clip with her in it as well)... How's that for value for money?

Enjoy!

Loup Dargent

'Tooth and Claw' - "I do look good with glasses. Maybe I should wear a bow tie as well. Hmm, perhaps another time..."

'The Origins of Torchwood' aka the 'Tooth and Claw' episode

In 'Tooth and Claw', the Tardis is back to its goold old self and, instead of taking The Doctor and Rose to Sheffield 1979 (so that they could see Ian Dury and the Blockheads live in concert), it takes them to Scotland... in 1879.

That's also when Queen Victoria is expected to visit Sir Robert McLeash and his wife at their house, the Torchwood Estate...

But It looks like the Tardis, didn't bring the Time Lord and his companion to that time and place by accident: There have previously been a possible assassinat attempt against the monarch and the Torchwood Estate has been taken over by a cult's members who have some rather sinister plans for Queen Victoria and the British empire...

'Tooth and Claw' - Rose... in a cage.

Some nice little treats

• Rose (probably) making the guards' day with her "nakedness" 
• Rose in a cage (well, it worked for some of us) 
• Some Kung-Fu fighting during the taking over of the Torchwood Institute
• A Were-Wolf and a full moon
• A rather interesting and funny joke about the modern British Royal Family

'Tooth and Claw' - "Have you got rats in your attic?"

What's on the continuity front

• The werewolf's host saw a ‘wolf’ inside Rose (reference to "Bad Wolf" in Season One)
• The 10th Doctor called himself James McCrimmon, (the full name of one of his previous companions)
• The Time Lord took credit for crashing Skylab in 1979.

The origins of Torchwood

What we learn in the "Tooth and Claw" episode is that Queen Victoria was actually not amused at all with the way The Doctor has been dealing with the events and, seing him as a threat to the British Empire and her world, (she has seen now that Great Britain has enemies beyond imagination and must defend its borders on all sides) she decided to found the Torchwood Institute.

"There shall be an institute, who shall investigate these occurrences and to fight them. It shall be christened after the house, the Torchwood Institute and should the Doctor ever return then he should beware, because Torchwood will be waiting…" 

Talk about royal ingratitude... Wow! 

'Tooth and Claw' - "Wow, that's a big one!"

'Tooth and Claw' - a great Doctor Who episode, written by Russell T. Davies and directed by Euros Lyn. With David Tennant as "The Tenth Doctor", Billie Piper as "Rose Tyler" and Pauline Collins as "Queen Victoria".

Doctor Who Fan Video:

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• Torchwood gets ready for fourth series
• Torchwood to return in BBC / Starz deal with 'explosive and global' story
• Torchwood returns for new series
• Torchwood to return for fourth series
• Davies talks Torchwood
• Starz Brings Torchwood Back From the Dead
• Doctor Who: 'Tooth and Claw' or 'The Origins of Torchwood'
• New 'Torchwood' Gets A Title Change; BBC Releases Plot Details
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Lawn Games for Good and Inexpensive Summer Family Fun

In today's post, Rachel Paxton - our Guest Writer for the day, shares with us some tips to help make Summer time a great and fun family time...

I'm quite lucky where I live, because it's not too far from the sea front (5 minutes walking distance) and the local park. So when the kids come visit me, there is always somewhere to go during the summer. But, while it's great to be able to go to the beach or/and the park whenever we want, the kids do tend to get bored very easily and quickly and that's when the unexpected added expenses (extra drinks, ice-cream cones, etc...) that are not always easy to pay for when you are on a very stretched budget (hey, I need to save some money if I want to go that ideal holiday destination suggested in the other post, don't I?) get in the way...

Lawn games look like the solution for me. It involves a bit of shopping, of course, but whatever I'll buy will definitely pay for itself after a few weeks.

Enjoy, and have (an inexpensive) fun this Summer!

Loup Dargent 

Lawn Games 

for Summer Family Fun

by Rachel Paxton

Summer is a great time to play lawn games outside with your

family. There are many affordable games available to choose

from, and most games are portable so you can take them camping or

to the local park for large gatherings of family and friends.

The last time I went to Walmart I found all of these lawn games

for $20 or less.

Ladder Ball

Ladder Ball has been very popular for the past couple of years.

The game comes with two "ladders" and balls that are attached

together with short nylon ropes. Each rope has a ball on each

end. Each player gets three of these ropes to throw at a ladder.

Points are based on which rung of the ladder the rope wraps

around. This game is fun for all ages. For young children you

will have to let them stand really close to the ladder so they

can hit it, but even adults have a great time playing this game.

Bean Bag Toss

I just picked this bean bag toss game up the other day. It was

only $19 at Walmart. It is the classic bean bag toss game. It

comes with two collapsable platforms that each have a hole in

them to throw bean bags through. This game is also suitable for

children of all ages. Even toddlers will love this game. Our 1

year old loves running up to the platform and dropping the bean

bag through the hole. This game comes with a portable carrying

case. The platforms have removable legs and everything folds up

and fits in the bag so you can take it with you. This game can

also be played in the house. It is great for rainy days!

Horse Shoes

This is the classic game of horse shoes, also $19 at Walmart. It

comes in a portable carrying case so is easy to take along with

you to wherever you want to play it.

Magic Mitts / Rally Ball

This game is a little different but fun. It is only $5 and is two

games in one. It comes with two mitts that have velcro on one 

side of them. Each player wears a mitt and you throw a ball back

and forth to each other, using the velcro to catch the ball. The

game also comes with two flat paddles and a rally ball to hit

back and forth to each other.

Croquet

When I was a child, croquet was one of my favorite lawn games.

It was one of the only lawn games that my family played together,

and I always looked forward to when my parents got it out for us

to play. Walmart also has an inexpensive portable version of

this favorite game. This game is great for children that are old

enough to be able to use a mallet to hit a ball on the ground.

The object of the game is to be the first to hit a ball through a

series of wickets that are set into the ground.

Hopefully these lawn game ideas will inspire you to go out and do

something fun with your family this summer. Kids love to spend

time with their parents, and lawn games are a great way to spend

time together and have some fun at the same time.

About The Author:

Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom of five. For

resources for the Christian family, including parenting, toddler

and preschool activities, homeschooling, family traditions, and

more, visit Christian-Parent.com 

Tags : Lawn Games, Ladder Ball, Summer Family Fun, Bean Bag Toss

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Facebook Apps: Welcome To Your Own Personalised Holiday Match Maker

If your Facebook profile was a holiday destination, what would it be? 

Of course, you know what your ideal holiday destination is, don't you?

I mean, who knows you better than... well... you?

Plus, you don't need anyone to tell you what you want, do you? 

Not only you know what you want, but you also recognise quality when you see it...  
After all, you do read LoupDargent.info. 

(Hmmm... okay, that last bit might not really help your case, but we/you know what we/you mean.)

But, to come back to the ideal holiday destination topic, have you ever wondered what your Facebook profile would be if it was a holiday destination? 

We know that you know what you want it to be, of course, but humour us for a few minutes and let's find out with that nifty Facebook application conveniently called  The Holiday Match Maker, okay?

The Holiday Match Maker is a Facebook App from Halifax. It’s one of those rare things, a Facebook application that is genuinely useful and entertaining at the same time. 

It’s quite clever too. By analysing the content of your profile, it will ’calculate’ what your ideal holiday destination is, where you should stay, what you should do, what the weather’s like at the moment and how many plastic Eiffel Towers you can buy for a fiver. Now it doesn’t get much more useful than that. 

It will also point you in the direction of Halifax Travel Money, something you might find handy when going on holiday (fair enough, it's an App from Halifax after all...). 

So, what is your real  ideal holiday destination? 

Mine is... wait for it.... 

Nope, not Paris.... 

Not Southend-on-Sea either... 

it's... yes.... Chamonix!

Hold on, there is more....

"Being an adventurous kind of guy, you'll love testing out the slopes and of course enjoy the après-ski! The beautiful mountain landscape will make Chamonix a great destination for your birthday celebrations. The kids will love it too! Why not bring along Christy Guichard?"

Brilliant! 

(Just in case you were wondering, Christy is one of my daughters...)

Please, do let us know what your results are...

But, most of all, have fun! 

Loup Dargent

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