Dr. Strangelove - A Cautionary Tale of Fluids, Bombs, and Paranoia

Unlike the rest of the movies we've seen, I am familiar with this one, and not by legends or rumors. It is one of the most important films of the 1960's, especially during a time of paranoia and uncertainty. Before then, Russia (then the U.S.S.R.) and the United States stockpiled on missiles and tried to best each other whenever possible, be it the economy, the space race, or education. Meanwhile, citizens on both sides feared everything would go to hell and end the world. At least, this is the context of Dr. Strangelove: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.
There are sane characters, and then there are lunatics. The so-called "macho men" of the film are the latter type. General Jack Ripper sets his men against their own side because of "fluids", Dr. Strangelove eerily keeps everything in stride, and Major Kong hoots and hollers even when he's plummeting to his death on a missile. The "feminine" characters on the other hand are the President and Group Captain (or is is Colonel?) Mandrake, who try to stop the madness before it's too late.
People like Ripper always try to compensate for something, and since he implied he's impotent, he blames the Communists for his predicament and thinks they're spying on him everywhere. What kind of spy would use radios? That's precisely the point. War is silly, and the men who are involved are even sillier.
Mr. Bennett said Kubrick took out the Dallas line because of the JFK assassination, but there was an alternate end. In the war room, there was this table full of pies. Everyone was supposed to get into a pie fight, and then the President has been struck down; one of the characters then says "Our President has been struck down in his prime of life!" Kubrick perhaps decided it was in bad taste after JFK's murder and then switched it to the ending we know today.
This is my second viewing, and it's still just as good.