The other night I watched the movie, "The Post" on HBO

[mtnsnake]

starring Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks, which was about the horrible time when Nixon issued a restraining order to the Washington Post in a nefarious attempt to prevent them from publishing their findings about the Vietnam War and in effect overriding the Freedom of the Press. With their backs against the wall and with a chance that the editor of the Post could actually go to prison if she lost her battle against Nixon, the Post pretty much told Nixon to fuck off and fought back vigorously instead. Fortunately for the Post, and more importantly for the entire country, the Supreme Court ruled 6 to 3 in favor of the Washington Post.

The situation today with Trump trying to thwart Freedom of the Press is eerily similar, only it's much more frightening, considering who sits on the Court today and considering that Trump is much more of a lunatic even than Nixon was. If you haven't seen that movie yet, it's very good, and it reinforces all of our beliefs on just how hard we must continue fighting the good fight for our freedoms no matter how hard the situation appears to be, especially against this evil sociopath who we're up against today.

[thbobby]

1. I agree, it was a great movie!

Comparing trump to Nixon is like comparing WWII to a bar fight.

[mtnsnake]

3. Excellent analogy about the Trump/Nixon comparison

I agree that as bad as Nixon was, Trump is a thousand times more dangerous because he not only is trying to thwart freedom of the press and other freedoms, but because he could also get us all killed and take the entire planet as well.

[elleng]

2. I've seen it again recently, too,

enjoyed it, hope they rerun it again, to bring back the Good Old Days!

Amazing what we're hoping for!

[Hekate]

4. Great movie & gives me chills. Just one correction: Katherine Graham was the owner of the Post...

It was at the time a family business. Strangely (so it seems today) her father willed it to her husband when he died, instead of her, because -- woman, right? Anyway, she was raised to be a marvelous hostess and other unpaid women-type work, because that was her place in the scheme of things.

However, her husband committed suicide when she was 45, and she had to take over, completely unprepared. The movie really grapples with the way she struggled, and the way the men overlooked her, talked down to her, and generally "little ladied" her.

Until she found her own strong self. Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks) apparently helped goad her along. In the movie, there are two crucial scenes on that journey: one where she goes directly to Robert McNamara, an old friend, to confront him unflinchingly; and the other, where she consults with one of her advisors about the consequences of going ahead with the story, and says, "I am asking for information. I am not asking your permission."

We also saw it on HBO recently, and it was just as good as I remembered. They had some delicious little details in the movie, which were a massive undertaking to create: hot-lead printing presses no longer exist, and that all had to be recreated so that when the phone call came to hit the presses with the Pentagon Papers the journalists' office began to shake and the pencils in the cup began to jiggle and click.

Those were terrible times -- as they are again.

[allgood33]

6. A WOMAN after my own heart.

That's what the right still hates.

[suffragette]

7. Important point, Hekate. And very good summary.

[mtnsnake]

8. Thank you for that excellent account of the movie!

And yes, I stand corrected. Katharine Graham (Meryl Streep's character) was indeed the owner, not the editor. Brain cramp on my part when I posted.

I agree how interesting it was to see how they re-created those scenes of the vintage printing presses. It was truly amazing to watch the process.

[dembotoz]

5. Watched capitalism a love story by mm this past week

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