The box office hit of the weekend was Clint Eastwood's American Sniper. But a lot of Americans were not exactly blown away. (Pun intended.)

So this weekend America Sniper came out and it broke a ton of records.

However there are many who are quite put off by the subject matter.

Such as Michael Moore who sent the following tweet:

My uncle killed by sniper in WW2. We were taught snipers were cowards. Will shoot u in the back. Snipers aren't heroes. And invaders r worse
— Michael Moore (@MMFlint) January 18, 2015

Seth Rogen was less than impressed as well:

American Sniper kind of reminds me of the movie that's showing in the third act of Inglorious Basterds.
— Seth Rogen (@Sethrogen) January 18, 2015

(For those who never saw the movie, that was a Nazi propaganda film.)

Max Blumenthal was equally nonplussed:

I haven't seen American Sniper, but correct me if I'm wrong: An occupier mows down faceless Iraqis but the real victim is his anguished soul
— Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) December 25, 2014

That is only a taste of the kind of blowback this film has attracted. But THAT blowback pales when compared to the vitriol that one attracts if they dare criticize the film or its hero Chris Kyle.

And speaking of heroic just check out the jingoistic patriotism that the film inspired in a certain segment of the population: 

TheRaganBrock, whose timeline is loaded with paeans to Kyle and who saw the film earlier, tweeted, “Ngl teared up at the end of American Sniper. Great fucking movie and now I really want to kill some fucking ragheads.” 

Reece Filon, who has since made his tweets unavailable, wrote, “America sniper made me appreciate soldiers 100x more and hate Muslims 1000000x more.” 

Harshnewyorker wrote, “Nice to see a movie where the Arabs are portrayed for who they really are – vermin scum intent on destroying us. #Deblasio #AmericanSniper” 

Another tweeter, identified simply as Tim, wrote, “Seen some Arabs walk in the theater to watch American sniper, I wonder if they think this is a horror movie? Lol.” 

In another tweet, since deleted, Dex Harmon wrote, “American sniper makes me wanna go shoot some fuckin Arabs” which was followed by artwork of three handguns.

Would not be at all surprised to see an uptick in violence against American Muslims in the wake of this behemoth. 

Full disclosure, I will NOT be seeing this film as I have sworn off all military propaganda movies for the foreseeable future. I also never saw "Zero Dark Thirty" despite the fact that it has been playing nonstop on HBO for several months.

I understand that war is sometimes necessary, but the glorification of war and of the men who are sent to kill individuals who in many cases are guilty of nothing more than living in the wrong place at the wrong time, is something I just cannot stomach.

And yes I feel much the same way about drone strikes.

Let's end the day with some memorable images of 2012.

Think Progress has chosen the 12 images that they deem "the most memorable."

Here are the ones that I agree with:

Larry Duncan, 56, left, and Randy Shepherd, 48, from North Bend, Wash. get their marriage license.

Pizza owner Scott Van Duzer gives President Obama a bear hug.

During GOP convention Clint Eastwood debates empty chair.

Children led to safety after shooting inside Sandy Hook elementary school

And perhaps my favorite.

The Obama's victory hug and the most tweeted photo in history.

And here are a few more I would like to add.

A supposedly unconscious Sgt. Chase Haag reaches out for a handshake after the President awards him the Purple Heart.

Gabby Giffords leads the crowd at the DNC in saying the Pledge of Allegiance.

Mitt Romney trying to blend in with the other 47% at a Chipotles

And of course.

President Obama caught in Spider-Man's web.

Well these are my choices, feel free to add a few of your own if you would like.

Can you determine the outcome of an election via YouTube? Quite possibly.

It may not be exactly scientific, but I think it is certainly indicative of what is catching the attention of potential voters in this country.

And what they are paying attention to spells problems for a certain party and their flip-flopping candidate.

“If somebody’s dumb enough to ask me to go to a political convention and say something, they’re gonna have to take what they get.” Clint Eastwood

Eastwood sat down with Extra to discuss his new movie "Trouble with the Curve."

However during the interview he was also asked about his infamous RNC appearance with the chair.

Here are a few of his responses:

Interviewer: "Did you ever think, out of all of the moments at both the Democratic and Republican  national conventions, that YOUR speech would still be what everyone is talking about?"

Eastwood:  "Hah, hah, I didn't. You get a lot of people bugged at you."

Interviewer: "Are they bugged at you? What kind of feedback did you get?"

Eastwood: "People loved it or hated it, and that's fine.That's what it's supposed to be. I mean that was the reaction. I was just having fun. If somebody’s dumb enough to ask me to go to a political convention and say something, they’re gonna have to take what they get."

Interviewer: "Don't you think it's classy that Obama still has really nice things to say about you though?

Eastwood: "I don't think he really does."

Interviewer: "No he does! He's called you a legend, an icon, I mean he was very gracious."

Eastwood: "Well I think he can be very gracious when he wants to be, that's fine. And I have no problem with him at all. I just have a problem with the situation that we're in right now. There's nothing personal. When he came in I thought it was great. I thought the multiculturalism, the multi-racialism was great, all that kind of stuff. But to me it's just about the work."

WTF? That performance wasn't personal? It sure sounded personal, and more than a little insulting.

And it certainly does not sound like Eastwood gave a shit if he helped Romney or not. He just did it as a hoot.

Eastwood goes on to express no real confidence in Romney's ability to do a better job than Obama, but simply says that he would HOPE that Mittens would be a little more organized and businesslike.

Personally I don't think there have been too many presidents more organized and businesslike than Obama, but hey I also don't talk to my furniture, so what do I know?

You can watch the video for yourself by clicking here.

A look inside Mitt Romney's crumbling campaign.

Courtesy of Politico:  

Stuart Stevens, Mitt Romney’s top strategist, knew his candidate’s convention speech needed a memorable mix of loft and grace if he was going to bound out of Tampa with an authentic chance to win the presidency. So Stevens, bypassing the speechwriting staff at the campaign’s Boston headquarters, assigned the sensitive task of drafting it to Peter Wehner, a veteran of the last three Republican White Houses and one of the party’s smarter wordsmiths. 

Stevens junked the entire thing, setting off a chaotic, eight-day scramble that would produce an hour of prime-time problems for Romney, including Clint Eastwood’s meandering monologue to an empty chair. 

Romney’s convention stumbles have provoked weeks of public griping and internal sniping about not only Romney but also his mercurial campaign muse, Stevens. Viewed warily by conservatives, known for his impulsiveness and described by a colleague as a “tortured artist,” Stevens has become the leading staff scapegoat for a campaign that suddenly is behind in a race that had been expected to stay neck and neck through Nov. 6. 

This article is based on accounts from Romney aides, advisers and friends, most of whom refused to speak on the record because they were recounting private discussions and offering direct criticism of the candidate and his staff, Stevens in particular.

This is the article that is getting mad attention on the cable  news outlets right now and the one that inspired the Romney campaign to pull Bay Buchanan out of mothballs, dust her off, and sic her on the media in defense of the clearly wounded Mitt the Twit.

Here is Politico's description of the Eastwood chair incident and the campaign's reaction to it.

The convention finale was undermined even further by Eastwood’s rambling comedy routine, which became the only glimpse that many swing voters got of the Republican show. Eastwood had been added to the program after chatting with Romney at a fundraiser in Idaho just weeks before the convention.

Stevens and his team loved the idea of the tough-talking American icon greeting the millions of viewers tuning in to the main event. But Eastwood, unlike every other speaker at the tightly controlled convention, had free rein to say or do whatever he wanted without the campaign’s approval. Eastwood has said just minutes before going live, he was handed a chair to sit on, which he promptly decided should become a prop in his speech. 

Many in the Romney high command watched in fury. Later, a poll by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press found that for many voters — especially independents and casual viewers, exactly the ones convention organizers hoped to reach — the Eastwood skit, not Romney’s speech, was the highlight of the convention. 

This morning Bay Buchanan essentially kept making the case that Romney is the one in charge of his own campaign. (Here is video of her appearance on the Daily Rundown with Chuck Todd. Listen to her gasping for breath. she is channeling Palin for God's sake!))

That actually may be EXACTLY the problem here, as a candidate is judged as to how he would run the country by how he has run his campaign. And IF this campaign were to be compared to the Titanic, it would not have simply sunk by hitting ONE iceberg, it would have careened off of every iceberg in the vicinity before sinking to the icy depths below.

So far the message most Americans are receiving from this Keystone Kops style campaign is, "Hey I'm Mitt Romney, and I can't do shit right. But hey hire me to run the country, and I promise I will figure it out somehow."

There was a new SNL on last night, with a NEW actor playing President Obama. And it was AWESOME!

Okay, I actually laughed myself sick watching this.

Brilliant, and I really like the new guy playing the President.

They also did a riff on Clint Eastwood and his chair. But it was not nearly as good as this cold opening. In my opinion of course.

Clint Eastwood gives first speech after lecturing his chair onstage at the RNC.

Courtesy of The Hill:

Clint Eastwood granted his first interview after his much-discussed appearance at the Republican National Convention and said he believed his speech helped Mitt Romney despite the mocking response of Democrats. 

“President Obama is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people,” Eastwood told the Carmel, Calif., Pine Cone in an interview. “Romney and Ryan would do a much better job running the country, and that’s what everybody needs to know. I may have irritated a lot of the lefties, but I was aiming for people in the middle.” 

Eastwood told the newspaper in Carmel, where he used to serve as mayor, that he came up with his now infamous "empty chair" routine just minutes before going on stage. 

“There was a stool there, and some fella kept asking me if I wanted to sit down,” Eastwood said. “When I saw the stool sitting there, it gave me the idea. I’ll just put the stool out there and I’ll talk to Mr. Obama and ask him why he didn’t keep all of the promises he made to everybody.” (Here's a hint Clint, the Republicans would not let him!)


The movie icon said that while Romney's campaign had asked for details about his speech, he told aides he would be improvising. 

“They vet most of the people, but I told them, ‘You can’t do that with me, because I don’t know what I’m going to say,’” Eastwood said. (Yeah I think THAT part was pretty clear.)


“It was supposed to be a contrast with all the scripted speeches, because I’m Joe Citizen,” the actor continued. “I’m a movie maker, but I have the same feelings as the average guy out there.” (WTF?)

Eastwood acknowledged that the speech was "very unorthodox," but noted it was warmly received by the convention audience. 

“They’ve got this crazy actor who’s 82 years old up there in a suit,” he said. “I was a mayor, and they’re probably thinking I know how to give a speech, but even when I was mayor I never gave speeches. I gave talks.”

So wait, CLINT EASTWOOD is also "Joe Citizen?" Isn't THAT the same claim made by Sarah Palin?

Is that who the Republican party believes represents the average American, famous millionaires?

Look if Clint Eastwood and Sarah Palin want to make the case that THEY represent the average GOP voter, then I support that 100%. So from this day forward we have to realize that the average  Republican voter is either an aged old man who talks to his furniture, or a batshit crazy female narcissist with an eating disorder and impossible to predict mood swings.

Works for me.

The Twitter account made famous by Clint Eastwood's RNC appearance has a poll for you.

Quick poll: Who was more invisible during the Convention: Me, Sarah Palin, or George W. Bush?

— Invisible Obama (@InvisibleObama) September 2, 2012

Ooh, ooh, I know this one!

Remember you can't be positive something is a stupid idea unless Sarah Palin does it too.

Okay so on Sunday I wrote a post about some Teabaggers deciding to, instead of express embarrassment at Clint Eastwood's bizarre Grampa Simpson rant to a chair during the GOP convention, instead embrace that metaphor and put their OWN empty chairs out on their lawns, on their balconies, or post pictures of them to their Facebook or Twitter accounts.

We all laughed, and laughed, and laughed at their stupidity, because of course the longer people keep addressing this incredibly embarrassing episode the longer it lasts in the public psyche and that can only be a good thing for the liberals and Democrats.

So guess what?

America's kids are going to be stuck paying for Obama's Empty Chair Style of Leadership #EmptyChairDay twitter.com/SarahPalinUSA/…

— Sarah Palin (@SarahPalinUSA) September 4, 2012

Are we absolutely SURE that this idiot is not working as a double agent for the DNC?

President Obama shows his class, while Conservatives scramble to cover their ass. Update!

President Obama meets Sisssy Spacek in Charlottesville,Virginia

Courtesy of USA Today:  

President Obama wants to make it clear that, in his own words, "I am a huge Clint Eastwood fan." 

"He is a great actor, and an even better director," the president said in an interview with USA TODAY aboard Air Force One, on his way to campaign rallies in Iowa Saturday. "I think the last few movies that he's made have been terrific. 

However, Obama seemed less eager to review Eastwood's latest performance, on stage at the Republican National Convention Thursday. The 82-year-old Hollywood icon preceded Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney with a rambling 12-minute improvisation that included a rude "interview" with an empty chair purportedly occupied by an invisible Obama. 

Was he offended? 

"One thing about being president or running for president — if you're easily offended, you should probably choose another profession." Obama said with a smile. He said there would be no effort to counter with a similar stunt at the Democratic National Convention, which opens in Charlotte Tuesday. 

"I think we'll be playing this pretty straight," he said.

In my opinion this is very magnanimous of  the President.  Especially since he may be just about the ONLY Democrat willing to give Eastwood a pass on this.

But what can we say? The guy is just too classy to take the easy shot.

However that has not stopped conservative Teabagger types from trying to turn a negative into some bizarre positive, by actually embracing Eastwood's empty chair rant, and turning it into a metaphor for, well...something.

Jon Stewart can barely contain his joy at Clint Eastwood's performance during the GOP convention.

Part One:

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Part Two:

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

That is almost TOO much awesomeness for this early on a Saturday.

I swear NOBODY does this better than Jon Stewart. Nobody!

Now this quote below is not included in the two clips embedded above, but ti was in fact my Favorite part of last night's show.

The absolute MUST SEE moment from last night's GOP convention, Clint Eastwood argues with his chair. Update!

Just in case you, like the majority of us, simply cannot believe what you are seeing, here is the transcript.

(Talking to an empty chair) So, Mr. President, how do you handle promises that you have made when you were running for election, and how do you handle them I mean, what do you say to people? Do you just -- you know -- I know -- people were wondering -- you don’t -- handle that OK. Well, I know even people in your own party were very disappointed when you didn’t close Gitmo. And I thought, well closing Gitmo -- why close that, we spent so much money on it. But, I thought maybe as an excuse -- what do you mean shut up? 

(LAUGHTER) 

OK, I thought maybe it was just because somebody had the stupid idea of trying terrorists in downtown New York City. 

(APPLAUSE) 

I’ve got to to hand it to you. I have to give credit where credit is due. You did finally overrule that finally. And that’s -- now we are moving onward. I know you were against the war in Iraq, and that’s okay. But you thought the war in Afghanistan was OK. You know, I mean -- you thought that was something worth doing. We didn’t check with the Russians to see how did it -- they did there for 10 years. 

And yes the audience did indeed laugh and applaud all the way through his very public display of dementia, which might very well have been the MOST disturbing thing of all.

I swear that was the freakiest thing I have EVER seen at a major political convention!

Update: This bizarre routine even inspired a sarcastic response from team Obama in the form of this tweet.

This seat's taken

 And speaking of Twitter it also immediately inspired somebody to come up with the handle InvisibleObama which blew up last night.

Eastwood says Chrysler ad was not in support of Obama, and that it was "just about job growth and the spirit of America."

If any Obama or any other politician wants to run with the spirit of that ad, go for it."

As expected the conservatives were up in arms over the Eastwood ad and so an O'Reilly producer contacted him to get his side of the story:

"I just want to say that the spin stops with you guys, and there is no spin in that ad. On this I am certain. 

l am certainly not politically affiliated with Mr. Obama. It was meant to be a message about just about job growth and the spirit of America. I think all politicians will agree with it. I thought the spirit was OK. 

I am not supporting any politician at this time. 

Chrysler to their credit didn’t even have cars in the ad. 

Anything they gave me for it went for charity. 

If any Obama or any other politician wants to run with the spirit of that ad, go for it." 

Okay I buy that, but I think it STILL came off as supporting Obama's bailout of the auto industry.

And I am not alone, apparently Turdblossom feels the same way:

"I was, frankly, offended by it," Rove said on Fox News Monday. "I'm a huge fan of Clint Eastwood, I thought it was an extremely well-done ad, but it is a sign of what happens when you have Chicago-style politics, and the President of the United States and his political minions are, in essence, using our tax dollars to buy corporate advertising and the best-wishes of the management which is benefited by getting a bunch of our money that they'll never pay back."

Seriously? The REPUBLICANS are upset that there might be a little quid pro quo between Chrysler and the Obama administration? Aren't they the ones who invented selling influence to big businesses?

After all what are those 4 billion dollars in subsidies to the oil companies, which the Republicans fight tooth and nail to retain, if not an insurance policy that the big energy companies will continue to finance the GOP reelection campaigns?

Okay so MAYBE Eastwood did not make a pro-Obama commercial. But you know what? It was close enough for me.

Clint Eastwood makes the most powerful pro-Obama campaign commercial thus far, and it was for a car company.

Wow, that gave me chills.

Read this from the National Journal:

President Obama's ad-makers may have to pay royalties to Clint Eastwood after a remarkable two-minute Chrysler commercial that aired on the biggest of all stages - the Super Bowl - and gave a pretty good preview of what the president's reelection commercials might look like. At the very least, the ad and Eastwood's powerful narration make it much, much more difficult for Republican front-runner Mitt Romney to keep pushing his line that Washington should have let the automakers go into bankruptcy.

"Yeah, its halftime America and our second half is about to begin." I don't think that the Obama campaign staff could have said it better themselves.

I have no idea if Eastwood did this on purpose or not, but it is kind of hard to believe this was an accident.

It looks like the High Plains Drifter might have drifted over into the President's camp.

If true that kind of "makes my day."

Sorry, couldn't help myself.