Multiculturalism Watch

UK Telegraph: "Imams and their followers who fuel anti-western feeling among impressionable young French Muslims will be rounded up and returned to their countries of origin, most commonly in France's case to its former north African colonies."

I thought Lyotard, Camus, Sarte and the leading lights of French Intellectualism agreed that there is no truth and all truth statements are equally false.

I guess is France has been roused from a long slumber by the harsh light of Islamic terror reality.

But of course, rounding up Saddam Hussein and expelling him was totally wrong and groundless.

Go figure.

Nihil Fit: Porn Star Spirituality

Nihil Fit: Porn Star Spirituality: "Our faith should permeate every square inch of our lives. When I read the following story about porn star Mary Carey, it highlighted how desperately the church needs this kind of revolution."

This is a little embarrassing...

Guideposts Magazine - Table of Contents: " FINANCES 101
MAKING MARRIAGE WORK:
A GUIDEPOSTS SERIES
She overspent and he overreacted. Find out how they learned to prosper in all things.
BY ALEXANDRA MCREYNOLDS, SUPERIOR, COLORADO"






I'm afraid you'll have to subscribe to read the whole sordid story.

The Radio Equalizer: Federal Funds Diverted To Air America

The Radio Equalizer -Brian Maloney: Federal Funds Diverted To Air America: "What's the connection between Air America and Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club?

How has this stayed out of the papers for the last month, even when community activists have been aware of the Air America connection since early July?

And how has the liberal talk network managed to avoid even the slightest bit of public scrutiny over the matter?"

Sheesh. Maybe the media would pay more attention if Air America was run by former Enron guys.

Oh yeah, those guys are in jail.

I guess Air America can now take the title of "The Smartest Guys in the Room".

Compassion at Air America

Kerfuffles: "Stealing from the Poor
To Give to the RICH! And it's NOT Republicans who do it! But it is certainly their fault! Did the liberal radio station 'Air America' take money from poor kids and Alzheimer patients as was reported in the 'New York Daily News'?"

Click the link to follow the story and more.

Objective Journalism 101: Helen Thomas

DRUDGE REPORT FLASH 2005�: "
Veteran wire reporter Helen Thomas is vowing to 'kill herself' if Dick Cheney announces he is running for president.

The newspaper HILL first reported the startling claim on Thursday.

'The day Dick Cheney is going to run for president, I'll kill myself,' she told the HILL. 'All we need is one more liar.'"

FOXNews.com - Views - Straight Talk - Teen Sex and Media Hype

FOXNews.com - Views - Straight Talk - Teen Sex and Media Hype: "Once, teen-agers weren't a demographic: They were adults-in-training. They worked, did farm chores, watched children, and generally functioned in the real world. They got status and recognition for doing these things well, and they got shame and disapproval for doing them badly.

But since sometime in the mid-20th century, the role of teen-agers has been different, as a recent article by Thomas Hine in American Heritage magazine points out:

'Young people became teen-agers because we had nothing better for them to do. High schools became custodial institutions for the young. We stopped expecting young people to be productive members of the society and began to think of them as gullible consumers. We defined maturity primarily in terms of being permitted adult vices, and then were surprised when teen-agers drank, smoked, or had promiscuous sex.'

No longer adults-in-training, teen-agers became part of their own social class, on the one hand indulged and sheltered, on the other viewed as juvenile, oversexed and somehow dangerous. In fact, far fewer teen-agers were shouldering adult responsibilities. Instead, they had a new, increasingly cosseted role as high school students, social butterflies (and outcasts) and consumers.

Increased sexual activity, research indicated, was directly related to increased schooling and decreased responsibility. Teen-agers may be busy with teen activities, but not with adult responsibilities, and it shows.

Hine is right. We have infantilized teen-agers, and then we act surprised that they behave immaturely. "

This is why I would rather work with college students than High School Students: the first harsh rays of reality are breaking into the dark cocoon of modern youth culture during the college years.

Michael Barone put it like this:

"Because from the age of 6 to 18, our kids live mostly in what I call Soft America--the part of our society where there is little competition and accountability. In contrast, most Americans in the 12 years between ages 18 and 30 live mostly in Hard America--the part of American life subject to competition and accountability; the military trains under live fire. Soft America seeks to instill self-esteem. Hard America plays for keeps."

the evangelical outpost: Fads and Fixtures

the evangelical outpost: Fads and Fixtures

“Virtually all the people on Time magazine's list of 'The 25 Most Influential Evangelicals' share at least one glaringly significant trait,” says Phillip Johnson, “For the most part, these are the fadmakers.” Johnson goes on to list a number of “cheerleaders for whatever is fashionable”, including the usual suspects such as Rick Warren and Tim LaHaye, and explains why their programs are “fads”:

Not one of those movements or programs even existed 35 years ago. Most of them would not have been dreamed of by evangelicals merely a generation ago. And, frankly, most of them will not last another generation. Some will last a few short months (like the Jabez phenomenon did); others may seem to dominate for several years but then die lingering deaths (like Bill Gothard's movement is doing). But they will all eventually fade and fall from significance. And some poor wholesale distributor will be left with warehouses full of Jabez junk, Weigh-Down Workshop paraphernalia, "What Would Jesus Do?" bracelets, Purpose-Driven® merchandise, and stacks and stacks of "emerging church" resources.

Like Johnson, I'm concerned about the way in which evangelicals tend to embrace whatever trends and kitsch happen to be hot sellers at “Christian” bookstores. But while Johnson laments that most of the “stuff you are currently being told you must read and implement will soon seem as hopelessly out of date” I take comfort in knowing that most of this stuff is nothing more than a passing trend. It is not the dernier cri that will soon be gone that concerns me but the faddage that becomes a fixture. Fads still receive scrutiny while fixtures remain largely unquestioned."

Attention Campus Ministry Folk

My Way News: "CHICAGO (AP) - A new survey says that the Internet has all but saturated the youth market.

The report compiled for the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that nearly nine out of 10 young people, ages 12 through 17, have online access - up from about three-quarters of young people in 2000.

By comparison, about 66 percent of American adults now use the Internet."

And now for a little perspective...

As a Christian, I often hear that I am intolerant of homosexuals and "homophobic" because I don't believe the state should codify same-sex marriage in law.

Here's my definition of homophobic:

GayPatriot: "Now wait just a minute.... the Human Rights Campaign and National Gay & Lesbian Task Force have drilled it into my head that the biggest immediate threat to my safety and security is President Bush, Dick Cheney, Rick Santorum and the lack of gay marriage in the USA!!!

You mean they don't know that the Islamist terrorists are waging war against Western society? Why haven't they told me that Islamists hate gay people? What is their position on the War on Terror aside from marching with anti-American, anti-Western, anti-war groups like A.N.S.W.E.R.?

Oh... and has HRC and NGLTF heard about the hanging of two Iranian gay men earlier this week? Or are they too consumed with their pro-abortion agenda and opposition of Supreme Court nominee [INSERT NAME HERE]?"

Click the link to see pictures of the poor young men who were hanged.

If you call someone like me homophobic and intolerant, you cheapen the horror of real intolerance. Only in the peace and pluralism of modern America could someone like me be called intolerant because I don't want to extend Government sanction to same-sex marriage.

Variety.com - 'Apocalypto' now for Mel

Variety.com - 'Apocalypto' now for Mel: "Gibson will not star in 'Apocalypto' and may not use a star for the film, which is set in an ancient civilization some 3,000 years ago. The title is a Greek term which means 'an unveiling' or 'new beginning.' Consistent with such Gibson films as 'Braveheart' and 'Passion,' the script depicts abundant action and violence. Gibson has already begun pre-production; he is setting locations and has already begun casting.

Gibson had no qualms about self-financing his vision and while he is known to be collaborative, he has creative control.

Gibson had some cash laying around: 'The Passion of the Christ,' which cost Gibson $25 million to make, grossed just north of $600 million worldwide to become the most successful indie ever."

Staff Conference webcast

Click here to watch the conference that I'm attending.

Bloomberg Printer-Friendly Page

Bloomberg Printer-Friendly Page: "Many places in such states as Arizona, southern California, Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico have reported temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius) in the heat wave, which has been going on for 10 to 12 days. Las Vegas tied its all-time record of 117 degrees on July 19.

Denver, while a mile high in the Rocky Mountains, hit 105 degrees yesterday, tying a record set in 1878, the Denver Post reported. The highest temperature in the heat wave was 129 at Death Valley, California, Schmidt said. It wasn't a record for Death Valley, where the highest-ever reading is 134."

Morgan Spurlock Watch: Watch out for Big Food

Last year I was having a meeting with a group of teachers at my child's school. During a side conversation my wife mentioned to one of the teachers present that we had just come from McDonalds and that my youngest daughter loved the fries.

The teacher suddenly had an urgent and anxious look on her face and asked us in deadly serious tones, "Have you seen that movie, "Super-Size Me"? "You should really see that movie."

Before I could respond the meeting was called to order but I was left with a disturbed feeling that one of my child's educators had been ignorantly duped into fearing McDonalds by Morgan Spurlock.

Morgan Spurlock Watch is a web site dedicated to helping folks like the teacher I mentioned to consider the source.

I first learned skepticism of Spurlock when I saw a spot on ABC Primetime where several people had eaten at McDonald for a month and actually lost weight and gotten healthier.

It turns out that Spurlock is a charlatan who peddles falsehoods to protect us all from Big Food.

Just as I suspected. It would have worked if it wasn't for those meddling kids.

Staff Conference

I've been all week at the bi-annual Campus Crusade staff conference in Ft. Collins. The highlights have included a sharp talk by John Piper regarding the importance of teaching truth to a generation that has lost it's biblical literacy.

Coming up this next week we will hear from Dr. Alice Mathews and Joe Stowell as well as the usual suspects on the staff of CCC.

All Rock, No Action - New York Times

All Rock, No Action: "Neither debt relief nor huge amounts of food aid nor an invasion of experts will change anything. Those will merely prop up the continent's dictators. It's up to each nation to liberate itself and to help itself. When there is a problem in the United States, in Britain, in France, the citizens vote to change their leaders. And those times when it wasn't possible to freely vote to change those leaders, the people revolted.

In Africa, our leaders have led us into misery, and we need to rid ourselves of these cancers. We would have preferred for the musicians in Philadelphia and London to have marched and sung for political revolution. Instead, they mourned a corpse while forgetting to denounce the murderer."

Wow.

Ex-Clinton Aide Charges Republicans 'Want to Kill Us' : from his mouth to your campus

Ex-Clinton Aide Charges Republicans 'Want to Kill Us' -- 07/15/2005: "Young liberals this week flocked to the nation's capital to hear, among other things, liberal television pundit and Democrat political strategist Paul Begala accuse Republicans of wanting to kill him and his children to preserve tax cuts for the rich.

Begala was featured at the first-ever Campus Progress National Student Conference, which was designed to provide campus liberals with the tools necessary to fight the conservative movement."

Sounds like a Campus Crusade for Liberalism. Fortunately they are too PC to call it that.

Neocon Prophecy

Captain's Quarters: "Osama bin Laden's standing has dropped significantly in some key Muslim countries, while support for suicide bombings and other acts of violence has 'declined dramatically,' according to a new survey released today.

In a striking finding, predominantly Muslim populations in a sampling of six North African, Middle East and Asian countries are also as alarmed as Western nations about Islamic extremism, which is now seen as a threat in their own nations too, the poll found. ...

Compared with previous surveys, the new poll also found growing majorities or pluralities of Muslims surveyed now say democracy can work in their countries and is not just a political system for the West. Support for democracy was in the 80 percent range in Indonesia, Jordan, Lebanon and Morocco and the highest score at 43 percent in Pakistan and 48 percent in Turkey, where significant numbers were unsure.

'They are not just paying lip service. They are saying they specifically want a fair judiciary, freedom of expression and more than one party to participate in elections. It wasn't just a vague concept,' said Andrew Kohut, president of the Pew Research Center and director of the project. 'U.S. and Western ideas about democracy have been globalized and are in the Muslim world.'"

Darn those Neocons! The got another one right.

Technorati: A New Public Utility to follow the Global Conversation

Wired News: Technorati: A New Public Utility: "'"You really felt as if you were there," Powell said of the blog posts and Flickr photos he surveyed, "as opposed to watching CNN or reading MSNBC.com, which are fine for the facts but stale and bit removed."

Powell was far from the only one who turned to the blogosphere for perspectives on the London terror attacks. David Sifry, founder of Technorati, a real-time search engine for blog content, reports that traffic to the site in the hours after the attacks was so heavy that its servers had trouble handling the load, causing performance problems.

The number of posts on blogs tracked by Technorati increased 30 percent, from about 850,000 a day in July to 1.2 million on the day of the attacks. Nine of the 10 most popular search requests involved the unfolding tragedy in London.

If you think about it, Technorati has become a public utility on a global scale.

While Google didn't invent the internet, it made it easier to navigate by organizing billions of web pages. Today there are about 12 million blogs, with 10 new ones created every second. Since March, the number of posts has increased 40 percent a month, from about 350,000 a day to 850,000 a day.

At its essence, Technorati may be a search engine, but its approach is vastly different. Google, for instance, views the web as the world's largest reference library, where information is static. Instead of the Dewey Decimal System, Google employs its PageRank technology, which orders search results based on relevance. Google uses words like web page, catalogs and directory, which are more than just words: They convey an entire worldview.

In contrast, Technorati sees the internet as a stream of conversations. This makes it much more immediate. Google requires two to three weeks to input a site into its search engine. (Although it does post frequently updated content from news sites.)

For Technorati, it takes about seven minutes to index a post. Those who use complementary tools like LiveJournal, AOL Journals and Blogger can expect their posts to pop up on Technorati almost instantaneously.

"With Technorati, you know what is being said, when it is said, and who is saying it," Sifry said. You can track the metamorphosis of an idea, not only who commented on it last but who came up with it first."

A handy time saver...

Instapundit.com -: "CLAUDIA ROSETT has more on connections between Saddam and Al-Qaeda. I know it's an article of faith -- in the most literal sense -- of the antiwar crowd that no such connections exist, but assertions to that effect mostly serve as a time-saver, by making clear who doesn't know what they're talking about."

Who said it?

See if you can guess who said the following: "the United States should remain in Iraq until peace can be maintained by the Iraqi people, saying the mission was part of the 'long struggle against terrorism' by the U.S."

Is it:
a) George W. Bush
b) Karl Rove
c) Dick Cheney
d) Hillary Rodham Clinton

Click the link to find out.

Elite Graduate Schools Students: Israel is the problem.

Canadian Jewish News: "NEW YORK — A new survey of attitudes toward Israel among graduate students at top U.S. universities offers a disturbing if not frightening picture of increasing sympathy for the Palestinian cause and blame on the Jewish state for the lack of peace."

Looks like grad students at Harvard and Hamas have something in common.

NASA Calls Off Discovery Shuttle Launch

NASA Calls Off Discovery Shuttle Launch: "CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A faulty fuel-gauge reading forced NASA to call off Wednesday's launch of Discovery on the first shuttle flight since the Columbia disaster 2 1/2 years ago. The mission was put off until at least Saturday."

Bummer.

The End of Israel?

HughHewitt.com: "'It can be a temporary solution, for a maximum of 5 to 10 years. But in the end Palestine must return to become Muslim, and in the long term Israel will disappear from the face of the earth.'"

Wake up Western World!

Christopher Hitchens - WE CANNOT SURRENDER

Christopher Hitchens is pro-choice, liberal with regard to social and political issues. He is anti-religious in his personal life. He and I would disagree on any number of issues.

But he gets it. He understands that we are in a war, and who it is we are fighting against. I pray that the Democratic Party in the U.S. would begin to adopt the same understanding.

Read the whole column linked below.

Mirror.co.uk - News - WE CANNOT SURRENDER: "I remember living in London through the Provisional IRA bombing in the 70s. I saw the very first car-bomb explode against the Old Bailey in 1972. There was no warning that time, but after a while a certain etiquette developed.

And, even as I detested the people who might have just as soon have blown me up as anyone else, I was aware there were ancient disputes involved, and that there was a potential political solution.

Nothing of the sort applies in this case. We know very well what the "grievances" of the jihadists are.

The grievance of seeing unveiled women. The grievance of the existence, not of the State of Israel, but of the Jewish people. The grievance of the heresy of democracy, which impedes the imposition of sharia law. The grievance of a work of fiction written by an Indian living in London. The grievance of the existence of black African Muslim farmers, who won't abandon lands in Darfur. The grievance of the existence of homosexuals. The grievance of music, and of most representational art. The grievance of the existence of Hinduism. The grievance of East Timor's liberation from Indonesian rule. All of these have been proclaimed as a licence to kill infidels or apostates, or anyone who just gets in the way.

FOR a few moments yesterday, Londoners received a taste of what life is like for the people of Iraq and Afghanistan, whose Muslim faith does not protect them from slaughter at the hands of those who think they are not Muslim enough, or are the wrong Muslim.

It is a big mistake to believe this is an assault on "our" values or "our" way of life. It is, rather, an assault on all civilisation. I know perfectly well there are people thinking, and even saying, that Tony Blair brought this upon us by his alliance with George Bush.

A word of advice to them: try and keep it down, will you? Or wait at least until the funerals are over. And beware of the non-sequitur: you can be as opposed to the Iraq operation as much as you like, but you can't get from that "grievance" to the detonating of explosives at rush hour on London buses and tubes.

Don't even try to connect the two. By George Galloway's logic, British squaddies in Iraq are the root cause of dead bodies at home. How can anyone bear to be so wicked and stupid? How can anyone bear to act as a megaphone for psychotic killers?

The grievances I listed above are unappeasable, one of many reasons why the jihadists will lose.

They demand the impossible - the cessation of all life in favour of prostration before a totalitarian vision. Plainly, we cannot surrender. There is no one with whom to negotiate, let alone capitulate."

Pin the tail on the Islamofascist...

Bloomberg.com: Europe: "Van Gogh's Self-Confessed Killer Declines to Testify in Trial

July 11 (Bloomberg) -- Mohammed Bouyeri, the self-confessed murderer of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh, declined to testify as prosecutors opened their case against him in Amsterdam today. He faces a maximum penalty of a life imprisonment.

Bouyeri, 27, is on trial in a specially secured courthouse called ``the bunker'' in Osdorp, a district in the southwest of Amsterdam. The case is scheduled to last, at most, until July 13. The court expects to give its verdict two weeks later.

At the trial's start, on Jan. 26, Bouyeri's lawyer Peter Plasman said his client took full responsibility for Van Gogh's killing, according to a the Web site of the public prosecutor. Bouyeri today refused to be defended and exercised his right to remain silent, prosecution spokesman Robert Meulenbroek said.

Van Gogh's mother and sisters testified in court today.

Van Gogh was stabbed and shot to death on Nov. 2, 2004, in an Amsterdam park. He had received death threats following the showing of his movie ``Submission,'' about the treatment of women in Islamic societies. He was 47 at the time of his murder.

The same day, police arrested Bouyeri, who has Dutch and Moroccan passports. Amsterdam District Attorney Frits van Straelen will put in his sentencing request tomorrow.

``Submission,'' a 10-minute film, features images of a Muslim woman wearing a transparent veil, which reveals her breasts. Koranic texts describing physical punishments for ``disobedient women'' are written on parts of her body."

If you can find the connection between this and the 7/7 Bombings in London, 9/11 and the war in Afghanistan and Iraq, then your smarter than many of the leading lights in the Democratic party.

Sigh.

Swiss Family Robinson (1960)

On the way back from New Mexico yesterday we put in the DVD player this classic Disney adventure movie: Swiss Family Robinson

The kids loved it. I had to listen to it since I was driving but the kids (Ages 11, 9, 6) in the rear view mirror were alternately riveted and laughing hysterically.

Where have you gone Walt Disney, the nation turns it's lonely eyes to you.

My Rating: Rentable

On the ranch...

I've been out of pocket for a few days. I spent this weekend at the V7 Ranch thanks to the generosity of the Van Sweden Family. I spoke at their church yesterday. Our kids had the time of their life riding horses, 4 wheelers and playing with the many Van Sweden grandchildren. It truly is God's country.

Report: Islamic group makes claim of responsibility

Report: Islamic group makes claim of responsibility: "CAIRO, Egypt-- A group calling itself 'The Secret Organization of al-Qaida in Europe' posted a claim of responsibility for Thursday's blasts in London, saying they were in retaliation for Britain's involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan."

If this is true it raises an important question: Why is it that the left-wing of the Democratic Party can't see the relationship between Iraq and Global Terrorism.

To me, this bombing is a sign that we are winning in Iraq and Afghanistan and the terrorist thugs are trying to shift focus in a desperate attempt to regain credibility.

Eric Swanson: My son stands watch tonight

Eric Swanson: My son stands watch tonight: "My son stands watch tonight as July 4th sees its final hours in Baghdad.
The fireworks he has seen today are not symbolic--they are the 'bombs bursting in air.' He has seen the 'rocket's red glare.'
The youthful days of backyard barbecues and sitting on a blanket at the golfcourse looking with other innocents into the Colorado sky have been replaced with the soldiers reality of peering into the Baghdad night.
Because he is awake we sleep in peace.

His celebration of freedom will have to wait. One day he will return again to warm summer evenings with his wife by his side and his children at his feet. They will lie on their backs gazing into the sky watching the fireworks. And perhaps his mind will think back to this July 4th in Iraq, when he was setting the captives free.
He stands watch tonight to protect life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness of people he will never meet and for their sons and daughters yet to be born.
He stands watch tonight for ideals too important to let die...so he puts his own life on the line to preserve and protect them.

My son stands watch tonight.
If I could I'd take this watch for you so you could be home for a few hours and lie on your trampoline with your wife in your back yard and talk about your dreams together. But for now all we can say is thanks...for standing watch tonight."

As my friend Cody Banks did last July 4, so this year the watch was kept by Jeff Swanson.

Thank you for your service. May your tribe increase.

Straight, Gay or Lying?

Straight, Gay or Lying? Bisexuality Revisited - New York Times: "The study, by a team of psychologists in Chicago and Toronto, lends support to those who have long been skeptical that bisexuality is a distinct and stable sexual orientation.

People who claim bisexuality, according to these critics, are usually homosexual, but are ambivalent about their homosexuality or simply closeted. 'You're either gay, straight or lying,' as some gay men have put it.

In the new study, a team of psychologists directly measured genital arousal patterns in response to images of men and women. The psychologists found that men who identified themselves as bisexual were in fact exclusively aroused by either one sex or the other, usually by other men.

The study is the largest of several small reports suggesting that the estimated 1.7 percent of men who identify themselves as bisexual show physical attraction patterns that differ substantially from their professed desires."

Pelosi Turns In Delinquent Reports for 3 Sponsor-Funded Trips

Pelosi Turns In Delinquent Reports for 3 Sponsor-Funded Trips: "House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) filed delinquent reports Friday for three trips she accepted from outside sponsors that were worth $8,580 and occurred as long as seven years ago, according to copies of the documents.

The filing is among hundreds of revisions from members of both parties who have amended missing or incomplete reports as scrutiny of lawmaker travel has intensified.

The most expensive trip was not reported on Pelosi's annual financial disclosure statement or on the travel disclosure form that is required within 30 days of a trip.

A more common violation among members filing corrections was to list a trip on the annual statement but not file the more detailed form about a specific trip. The House ethics committee plans to examine the tardy disclosures after being stalled since January in partisan disputes."

"Partisan disputes" means a witch hunt to single out Tom Delay. Looks like Nancy Pelosi is just as "corrupt" as Delay.

Do movies show Americans in decline?

Do movies show Americans in decline? - Glenn Reynolds - MSNBC.com: "So ask something of us, movie-makers. You don't need to demand as much as religion does, but at least challenge us to understand a little science along with the action. Neal Stephenson thinks that Americans are in decline because we've lost our interest in science and that movies simply reflect our decline. But maybe movies are in decline because they've underestimated us."

The comment above stems from the steady decline in movie sales over the last 17 or 18 weeks. Even Star Wars couldn't change this. I think the crucial flaw in the Star Wars movies is not a lack of science but a lack of religion and philosophy. In a nutshell: right action, without right thinking.

The return of the Jedi left me cold because it is so morally confused. The Jedi are to care about no one; but they sure seem to care a lot about the Republic. Why? The Jedi don't deal in absolutes; but they are absolutely sure that the dark side is bad (evil?). The Sith are the "bad" guys but at least they care if their spouse is going to die. Yoda, the ultimate Jedi, should care the least about anything right? Yet he looks awfully pained by all the Jedi who are murdered. Is he a hypocrite or is Jedi philosophy and steaming pile of incoherent nonsense.

I think the first Star Wars film in 1977 was so overwhelmingly popular because it had the advantage of being morally coherent. Good guys vs. Bad Guys. Ever since then it's been mostly cool special effects on top of a ridiculous moral universe.

I think movies have waned in popularity for other reasons as well. Video games and Tivo make movies less important. And let's face it: Movies are expensive. In the age of Netflix, I think more and more people evaluate movies on whether it's worth it to see it in the theatre. There used to be no choice.