My View of Women and Their Role in Society

Santa Fe, NM—Let me begin with the confession I love women.  I adore elegance, grace, beauty and brains.

Some believe that since I despise Hillary Clinton I must be sexist. I despise most every politician regardless of sex because they are all corrupt, freedom hating control freaks.

I’m beyond disappointed that women are routinely programed to be second-class.  They are the wives, mothers, housekeepers and they make magic in the kitchen. Because of technology and work saving devices women have much more time and ability to break out of that stereotype.

Women unnecessarily miss out on a lot of life’s fun and excitement because they think some activities are somehow not feminine or somehow too masculine.

Creating videos with drones is something enjoyed by less than three percent of women.  Why I ask?   It’s easy, fun and creative.  The women I’ve seen using drones are more skilled than the men.  

Things are changing since women are filling our medical, dental and law schools. I say bravo to that.

Actress Angelina Jolie said she would much rather play James Bond than a Bond girl. Why has Hollywood not expanded heroic and masterful roles for women? 

My all time favorite film is the World War II film Black Book.   In this film based on fact a very appealing Berlin Jewish nightclub singer hides out in the Netherlands from the Nazis.  She becomes an accentual member of the Dutch underground and a hero.

That film has an all around great cast that was led by Carice van Houten who absolutely rocked.  It was truly a role of a lifetime for a woman.  The film was far more realistic and much better those Mission Impossible or the James Bond films. 

Women need never lose their femininity or dignity to lead rather than follow men. 

As a firearms instructor I learned a lot about women.  Usually they shoot better then men simply because they listen to the instructors.  Men think that being macho is all they need so they don’t listen.   I always separate couples in those classes for obvious reasons.

The only thing holding back women are the women themselves.  I cheer on any woman that wants to break through.  

Any woman that can break out of the gender-programming mold is more attractive and sexier.   

Somehow many women juggle being wives, mothers and superheroes at the same time.  Why settle for second place?  My advice?  Don't take no for an answer!

    

Egregious Prosecutorial Misconduct Freed Debra Milke From a Conviction and Death Sentence.

Phoenix, AZ—Prosecutors went to the Court of Last Resort to salvage their soiled reputations and that of a disgraced former cop. Finally Debra Milke is free even though she already paid a price far greater than that of most convicted murderers in America. 

It was not just Prosecutorial Misconduct that freed Milke but it was really about her innocence.  

Had there been a retrial there was not a scintilla of a chance they'd have re-convicted Milke.  This was just nothing more than an "Hail Mary" effort to limit corrupt official's liability under the doctrine of Collateral Estoppel.  That's legalese that would decree in a civil lawsuit that since the judge let the trial commence, that the cops and prosecutors were acting in good faith. 

This has been a 25 yearlong odyssey that began December 3, 1989.  That day I met Milke as she was being booked into the Madison Street Jail on a charge of murdering her four-year old son Christopher.

It was just two hours earlier when Former Phoenix police detective Armando Saldate claimed Milke confessed this horrible crime to him.  He was told to record any interview with her but didn’t. He kicked out fellow officers and medical personal from a nurse’s office at the Pinal County Sheriff’s Department headquarters to preclude any witnesses.

Now at the jail using a hidden tape recorder I asked Milke if she told the police she had anything to do with the death of her son.  She became angry and responded, “That’s crazy, who told you that?  I had nothing to do with the death of my son!”

Since Milke had not been allowed to make a single phone call or get advice from anyone in that short time space it was obvious that there was never a confession.

At her trial Milke had a grossly ineffective and pathetic lawyer.  I was  never called as a witness where I could have played my crucial audio tape for the jury.  If I could record Milke why could't Saldate? 

The only evidence that convicted Milke was Saldate’s perjury where he claimed that Milke Confessed. Milke was sentenced to the Gas Chamber and spent decades in solitary confinement on Death Row at Arizon's Perryville Prison.

This changed after Milke finally got better lawyers and after more than a decade their efforts culminated in this final ruling that the case must be dismissed with prejudice.  That effectively and finally ended the 25 year nightmare of Debra Milke.

Aside of the relief for Debra Milke other victims of prosecutorial and police misconduct will benefit from the Milke ruling.   The most immediate beneficiary with be convicted killer Jodi Arias.  That's because cops destroyed computer evidence that would have supported Arias’ claim she killed her former boyfriend in necessary self-defense.

Prosecutorial misconduct is rampant in America.  Prosecutors routinely hide evidence from the defense lawyers that points to the innocence of their clients.  

Since the police investigate the cases with people are killed or injured they control nearly all the evidence that exists.  It’s here were is where the cheating begins.

Prosecutors and cops have nearly blanket immunity for their misconduct and that’s why they rarely face punishment even after they are caught red handed.   That immunity is obviously the root of the problem.

Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery went to the wall to protect the thugs in his office responsible for the Milke travesty.  Montgomery however could not succeed with the overwhelming evidence that exposed this epic misconduct.

Sadly the only people punished here with be the taxpayers.  There with be no discipline or criminal charges for cops or prosecutors. They won’t have to pay a single penny for their dastardly deeds. Taxpayer-funded lawyers will defend these creeps in court.

Milke now has serious legal help in the form of civil lawyers and they have filed a lawsuit on her behalf for the violation of her civil rights.

That 72-page complaint is a sordid saga of one outrageous act after another.  It should make every American’s blood boil.  We’d expect this kind of activity in Iran, North Korea or Hitler’s Germany but not here!

Finally! The Simpsons Meet Celebrated Dutch Actress Carice van Houten!

Carice van Houten Guest Stars on THE SIMPSONS!

Los Angeles, CA—It was no secret that my favorite actress, Carice van Houten loves The Simpsons! I knew she made a stop on her last visit to L.A. to the Pico Ave Fox Studios to the Simpsons sound stage.  Van Houten left proudly sporting a Simpson’s souvenir jacket.

Carice van Houten is probably best known as the Red Witch, Melisandre in the wildly popular HBO series, Game of Thrones.   She’s also the winner of five, Golden Calf awards (The Dutch equivalent of our Oscar Award).  

Van Houten’s amazing talent first blew me away as the star of my all time favorite dramatic film, Paul Verhoeven’s, Black Book.   Now van Houten has found herself as guest star on the Simpsons.    Her character named Anneke van Houten will debut on the May 3rd episode.

This incredibly talented actress comes from a gifted Dutch family that’s deeply routed in in art, music, television and theater.  Aside from having great music and acting chops van Houten has mastered several languages including German, English and French. 

The album, See You On The Ice is a hit in Europe but has not been promoted well in the USA.  It was a labor of love for van Houten along with co-writer, producer and master international musician, Ken Stringfellow.  I love that album that’s entirely in English and available on iTunes.

Van Houten has had limited success in the USA being cast in such films as Valkyrie, Repo Men and The Fifth Estate. 

In coming months van Houten will appear in the both the Jessie Owen’s biopic, Race and Blumhouse Production’s, Incarnate.  Of course there are other film in various stages of development waiting to exploit van Houten’s exceptional talents.

Comedy has never been lost on van Houten who was raised partially on Laurel and Hardy films. Her great sense of humor is showcased on many six second Vine.com films and pictures all over the Internet.

Hopefully Crimefile News can land a video interview of van Houten for this blog.  This actress is a real star that is Oscar quality in every respect.  I’m confident she will be cast in the right film where we will see that happen.

In the mean time very soon we will enjoy a bit of silliness that The Simpsons are known for with my favorite star! 

It’s a Sad Day For the Simpson’s and their FansT

Sam Simon and his family

Okay, I must confess to being a fan of The Simpsons...

Los Angeles, CA—One of the fathers of the Simpson family has left us too soon at age 59.   Award winning writer Sam Simon died here from colon cancer.

Simon was a writer and being a writer is a lonely occupation.  A writer’s only companion is his computer while he struggles to put significant words on paper. 

Sam Simon was an amazing and talented man.  He was also legendary philanthropist that enjoyed sharing his substantial wealth.

Simon was a true friend of animals, funding veterinary care for critters in need.  Simon also funded a vegetarian food bank for the needy.  He constantly donated money to a long line of very deserving causes through his Sam Simon Foundation.

After being diagnosed with cancer in 2012, Simon started buying zoos and circuses just to free their animals.

Simon went public with his cancer fight and battled it as nobly as anyone ever could.   I always wonder what additional works we lose when prolific creators like Simon leave us so early.

Simon’s clever writing brought him fortune and fame.  He’s a co-creator of The Simpsons and wrote for so many other projects on the small or large screen.   Simon left his pen scratches on shows like, Taxi, The Tracy Ullman Show, Anger Management and many others.

We must always remember that the talented actors we seem to enjoy so much exist only because of the words people like Sam Simon put on paper.

Every great film or TV show begins with a book or script written by storytellers.  For Sam Simon and his fans, sadly, there are no more stories.

Carice van Houten to Play Leni Riefenstahl the beautiful actress, singer and Pioneer Film Director

Leni Riefenstahl

Carice van Houten

Berlin, Germany—I first talked about this last February when there was a tease article in Variety Magazine.

The Jessie Owens story is coming to the big screen.  The film titled, Race is starring Stephan James as Owens and he is joined Jeremy Irons and William Hurt in this film.  Stephen Hopkins is directing the film.  Shooting began this week in Berlin.

The multi-talented Dutch actress, Carice van Houten who happens to be my personal favorite has signed on to play the legendary German film director Leni Riefenstahl.

Van Houten was cast in the once in a lifetime role of the accidental Dutch resistance hero, Rachel Stein / Ellis de Vries in Paul Verhoeven’s film, Black Book (2006).   That’s still is my favorite film of all time!

Today, van Houten graces the Game of Game of Thrones cast as the Red Priestess, Melisandre.

Riefenstahl was a gorgeous dancer and actress and genuine contemporary of the late great Marlene Dietrich.  The events of 1933 in Germany would change her life. 

Riefenstahl was an incredibly talented woman who took advantage of an opportunity within Adolf Hitler’s emerging Third Reich to make films with virtually unlimited budgets.

Riefenstahl was not anti-Semitic or any kind of a racist.  She was an opportunist that simply rose to the occasion when she got her chance.

One of her trademark masterpiece films, Triumph des Willens or in English Triumph of The Will is banned today in Germany.  It’s filled with amazing camera shots both static and aerial that had never been done before in cinema.  

That film was an epic propaganda piece designed to make Germany love their new leader who promised them hope and change and during a very bleak period in German History.  

Riefenstahl matched her stunning images with music and the film became an undeniable hit.  Nazi propaganda aside Riefenstahl did exactly what film directors are supposed to do.

Riefenstahl’s greatest epic was her documentation of the 1936 Olympics. Hitler decreed that Blacks and Jews could not take part in this event but relented when Germany would not be allowed to host the event

We all know what happened with that legendary African-American track star Jessie Owens, to Hitler’s chagrin defeated all of the world’s greatest runners.

Riefenstahl’s spectacular film of Owens' victory has been seen millions of times and it’s still being shown today nearly 80 years later! Riefenstahl created the template that sports photographers everywhere still follow today.

Riefenstahl invented camera movements using aircraft, sliders, dollies and jibs that are being used by filmmakers everywhere today.  Imagine what she would have done with the multi-rotor camera drones in use today.

Riefenstahl was sought after by Walt Disney but her alliance with Hitler spoiled that.  She was nearly tried as a war criminal and found herself punished and precluded from doing what she preferred in Hollywood.

Riefenstahl became a documentary film maker that made groundbreaking films of African tribes and oceanographic scientific films until her death at age 100 in 2003.

Riefenstahl was also known for having a boyfriend some 40 years her junior! 

Okay i admit that I’m in love with van Houten’s amazing talents. I know this woman is exactly what the Oscar’s Best Actress Award is all about.  I love her singing too! I often listen to van Houten’s album, See You On The Ice as I drive around L.A.

I only hope that van Houten is able to book more of the blockbuster films she deserves.  If I was somehow van Houten’s agent, I’d make that happen!