Inside the Asylum

 With bags of popcorn and soft drinks in their laps, the crowd of more than 300 cheered, whistled and clapped when the first scenes of the movie hit the screen and the film's score erupted in surround sound.

This doesn't sound like such a big deal, now does it? The big thing about it is the venue: Riyadh's huge King Fahd Cultural Center. No movies have been shown in the Saudi capital in decades. 

"This is the beginning of change," said university student Ahmed Al-Mokayed, attending with his brother and cousin.

 Religious conservatives are utterly opposed to it, and gathered to protest.

Police at the venue had to fend off a small band of conservative Muslims who warned that films were bringing disasters on the country, citing a recent series of minor earthquakes in western Saudi Arabia. "Allah is punishing us for the cinema," one said.

Now we know why we get so many earthquakes in California. Blame Hollywood!

I really like Jim Cramer. I've only followed one of his stock picks, and only after waiting for it to fall a considerable distance after he recommended it ... but buying at $12 and selling at $20 isn't to be sniffed at. I wouldn't have bought the share without hearing about it from him, so unlike most of the MSM, this man has not only given me advice I can use, he's made me money. If you read the story over at Huffington Post, you also get to see the snide unwillingness of the left to face facts. Here's another excerpt.

Cramer insists, without evidence, that "when Americans hear health care reform, it just means tax increases." No chance that Americans think it might just mean, "Oh! You mean I might be able to afford asthma inhalers for my family, and what not?"

Yeah ... Cramer's wrong and everyone really really wants to pour trillions of dollars down the drain on health care. No one thinks record deficits are a problem ... as long as they get their inhalers, who gives a crap if the US dollar collapses, inflation sky-rockets, lots of people lose their jobs, the economy falls apart ... just as long as we have our inhalers. I think we've found a new left wing slogan: "Let them eat inhalers."