When you come to see a picture of mine, I want you to know that I’m not going to do anything that will make you uncomfortable. I want you to know that you won’t be disappointed in me. – John Wayne

Breitbart.com reports that

Arrogant, big-mouthed, divisive Hollywood blowhards took a massive hit at the American box office this weekend. The highly-anticipated fourth and final chapter of “The Hunger Games” should have been bullet-proof. But after star Jennifer Lawrence used the film’s publicity tour to trash Christians and Republican frontrunner Donald Trump, “Mockingjay – Part 2″ is under-performing in a way no box office analyst had predicted.

“The Night Before,” an R-rated comedy starring Seth Rogen, the same big-mouthed bigot who lashed out with a “F*ck you!” to Republican Ben Carson last month, is looking like an outright disaster, as is “Secret In Their Eyes,” which was supposed to be a comeback (and Oscar) vehicle for Republican-basher Julia Roberts.

Although it was released into nearly 3000 theatres and received a ton of publicity, Rogen crashed and burned with just a $10.7 million opening. To put this in the proper perspective, just last year and in nearly the same amount of theatres, “Neighbors” opened to $49 million and “This Is the End” opened to $21 million.

Julia Roberts just sucks, and has for more than a decade. And it is beyond comprehension why anyone thought that it was a good idea to team Roberts up with box office poison Nicole Kidman. In nearly 2400 theatres, “Secret In Their Eyes” was predicted to bomb with $7.5 million and did exactly that.

Let’s move on to the weekend’s real shocker.

A mere two days ago Box Office Mojo predicted the opening weekend for “Mockingjay – Part 2″ would score $127.3 million. They were not alone. However, according to Deadline, the fourquel is not only way underperforming at $104 million but this is by far the worst opening of the franchise. The previous low was “Mockingjay – Part 1,” which hauled in a much healthier $122 million.

Granted, $104 million is not peanuts, but a final chapter of an iconic franchise should in no way be underperforming like this. As an example, the final Harry Potter film blew the doors off the opening weekend records held by the seven previous chapters. The fourth and final “Twilight” film was right up there.

So what happened?

If past is prologue, the entertainment media won’t say so out loud, but could it be that star Jennifer Lawrence using the “Hunger Games” publicity tour to reveal herself as a spoiled, nasty, bigoted whiner damaged her image — and by extension the film? Overnight, Lawrence seemed to go from a young, beautiful, approachable star to just another Hollywood A-list jerk.

In short, Jennifer Lawrence spent the better part of the summer making an ass of herself. During the eighth year of a brutally slow economic “recovery” that has only benefited the top one-percent (like Lawrence), the once universally-beloved superstar first ran to rape-hoaxer Lena Dunham to crybaby about sexism, while using eight-figure paychecks to wipe away the tears.

That was just the beginning of her bubble-diva implosion. At the worst possible moment, during the run up to Friday’s release of the franchise that made her a star, Lawrence arrogantly trashed Republican frontrunner Donald Trump.

A mere ten days before the film’s release, Lawrence went so far as to expose her anti-Christian bigotry, telling Vogue magazine that Christians are “those people holding their crucifixes, which may as well be pitchforks, thinking they’re fighting the good fight. I grew up in Kentucky. I know how they are.”

And now the profitability of “Mockingjay – Part 2″ is in question. I love the way Deadline spins this sorry truth into what sounds like a positive, but that doesn’t change the underlying truth: The once sure-fire “Mockingjay – Part 2″ might need ancillary markets to break even:

[I]t’s possible that the fourth film, which carries an estimated combined budget and P&A cost of $215M stateside, could profit off of theatrical just like MJ1, before Lionsgate counts TV and home entertainment dollars and costs.
“Possible”

Don’t be mad, Hollywood.

America is just hating you back.

We live in a time in our country where Traditional American ethics and values, including our Christian Faith, have been ridiculed and mocked by the Left and their Power Brokers as being antiquated, restrictive, ignorant, and even, bigoted.

And the majority of the movies which Hollywood has expectorated out in the last few years have reflected this skewed and intolerant view of Traditional American ethics and values.

For example, movies like Redacted, about the Iraq War, which Americans shunned like a Yoko Ono Concert.

When a movie is entertaining, and doesn’t try to run down our country, or teach anti-Christian or anti-American views and values, people turn out in droves, like they did in the case of “The Avengers”.

Americans are looking for another John Ford or Frank Capra, but instead, Hollywood’s giving us Tim Burton and Rob Zombie.

And, today’s “stars” have the staying power…and intelligence of a Dum Dum Lollipop.

The old Hollywood “Stars” respected their fans.

Like…for example…John Wayne.

When I started dating my bride, I found out that she was a John Wayne fan, as well. She owns most, if not all, of his library of films on video tape and owns a couple of collectible dolls, as well.

She also owns The Duke, himself. Well, not the actual Duke, but a life-size cardboard cut-out of him, that sits in the corner of our dining room.

In the other corner of the dining room, sits a John Wayne Grandfather Clock. I kid you not.

When I brought my bride home for good, I brought “The Duke” home, as well. It was a package deal.

Anyway, I was sitting at my computer this morning, trying to come up with something to write about, when a thought occurred to me:

What would John Wayne, American Patriot, think about our country and the shape we’re in, brought about by those who want to “radically change” her?

Here is what he said about the subject, back in 1975. It could have just as easily have been yesterday.

…I always thought I was a liberal but I came up terribly surprised when I found I was a right wing conservative extremist…I have always listened to every human being I’ve ever met about how I should feel.  But this so-called new liberal group… they never listen to your point of view and they make a decision as to what you think and they’re articulate enough and in control of enough of the press to force that image out for the average person.  For some reason, maybe it’s these pictures, they have not been able to do that with me…it hasn’t affected my career in popularity in spite of the fact that they’ve tried to make them do it.  There isn’t a hell of a lot we can do to change human behavior.  We keep making laws to try to change human behavior but we can’t do it…You’re being conned into Keynesianism and socialism now but it isn’t going to stop the selfishness of human behavior.  It isn’t going to stop the greed.  If you take $20 and give a dollar to every son of a b!tch in the room, you come back a year later one of the b@st@rds will have most of the money.  It’s just human nature.  We’re never gonna whip it with a lot of laws. 

As communication gets better and you make people conscious of somebody in trouble, starving or something like that, the average person will help…I think there are people who try to affect a thinking where they know more than some other son of a b!tch and try to pull a false impression on what human nature is.  We’ve proven we go back to hope at the first opportunity…and bam they’re out there ready to grab it.  So we are optimistic; we have to be optimistic.  What else would we be if you lose optimism?”

The Duke was a prophet.

In our American culture today, the art of civil discourse has degenerated into a shouting match…especially on the Social Media, such as Twitter and Facebook Political Pages.

This wouldn’t be so bad, if both sides had the right to shout equally as loud as the other side.

The problem is, as John Wayne experienced, back in 1975, for some reason Conservatives, especially Christian Conservatives, are expected to mind our manners, be meek and mild, and follow the Marquis of Queensbury rules, while Liberals, libertarians, and Moderates (Social Liberals) call us everything but a child of God.

However, this doesn’t just happen on the Internet, this happens in the Real World as well… and it all starts with the President of the United States and trickles down from there.

Before Obama became President, in a private fund raiser in Pennsylvania, he referred to us American Conservatives as bitter clingers, clinging to our guns and Bibles. Then, the Main Stream Media, totally in love with their new messiah, told everyone who would listen, that if you did not vote for Barack Hussein Obama as President, you are a racist.

When Conservatives started to dig up historical facts about Obama, both the Republicans and the Democrats told us to sit down, shut up, and know “our role”.

After Obama was elected, and the country started to find out just exactly who he was, Conservatives started to speak out again. Again, we were told to sit down, shut up, and know our “role”.

Finally, we had enough and began a groundswell which led to the formation of  what has become known as the Tea Party.

The rise of the Tea Party movement and America’s continuing return to Conservatism, which resulted in the political massacres known as the 2010 and 2014 Midterm Elections, was a complete and utter surprise to them.  In their self-imposed isolation, they actually thought that the America people wanted them to continue their deal-making, soul-selling, business-as-usual politics.

They were in shock when American Conservatives stood up on their hind legs and gave the House of Representatives back to the Republican Party.

And, you know what happened after both Midterm Elections?

“Moderate” Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner and the rest of the GOP establishment,once again, told us to sit down, shut up, and know our “role”.

Are you beginning to see a pattern, boys and girls?

You see, the Moderate or Socially Liberal Republicans, just like the Liberal Democrats, both in politics and in Hollywood, expect us to behave like a dog who has been whipped too much, and go cower in a corner or obey their orders in a dutiful fashion, coming when they call for us to vote for them in the next election, or premiere their next movie.

Their expectation of Conservative Behavior is predicated on the fact that they know that we were raised right, and that the majority of us are Christians and were raised to respect authority, and average Americans are desperate for entertainment to take our minds off of our president day-to-day lives under Barack Hussein Obama.

Therefore, Moderate Republicans and Liberal Democrats feel as if they can take advantage of the good nature of American Conservatives,the overwhelming majority of whom are also Christians, and walk all over us.

Well, I’ve got some news for them.

As a Christian American Conservative, I do my best to live my faith, every day.

However, boys and girls, don’t forget… Jesus ran the money changers out of the temple.

And, just like in those old Westerns, which I have become fond of watching, Good will eventually triumph over Evil.

As The Duke said, way back in 1975,

…we have to be optimistic.  What else would we be if you lose optimism?

Until He Comes,

KJ