Duffin' fore the Ducks '07

Tomorrow, Friday June 1st, The Oregon Club of Southern Oregon has their annual golf tournament and dinner auction at the Rogue Valley Country Club to raise money for University of Oregon Athletics. A bus from Eugene will bring down coaches and administrators to golf with Southern Oregon Duck fans. While everyone is out golfing I and some other fans will set up for the silent auction that goes with the dinner and oral auction Friday night at the Country Club. It's always hard work to run the auction but also a lot of fun and for a worthy cause.. Go Ducks!

Holiday Weekend

My wife and I worked on our house most of this three day weekend. On Saturday I painted the front of our house that faces the driveway. I also replaced the top of the wood railing on our back deck. We had a lot of snow this last winter (see Pictures) and as a result there is a lot of repair work that needed to be done. Last weekend I stained all three of the decks that surround our home.

This summer we are replacing the 28 year old carpet in our home. It was good carpet but it is starting to show it's wear. It's a very 70's burnt orange. Considering we raised two children and a dog and cat on it it has done it's duty and is ready for retirement. For the last three weeks we have been bringing home samples and have decided on the color and style for all three floor. We tried to go neutral because in a few years we will be downsizing and wanted something that will appeal to buyers.
One of the problems in getting new carpet in a house you are living in is everything and I mean everything needs to be moved. We have hired movers for the big stuff but the small stuff will be moved by my wife and I. Since we have been living in the house for over 20 years we have accumulated a lot of "stuff." Our children may have moved out but they left a lot of their "stuff." In addition we have inherited a lot of stuff of my parents. My wife spent the weekend sorting things out in our daughters room which is now my wife's sewing/quilting room. We found things of hers from grade school, jr high, high school and college. For example we found the visual aids she used in speech and debate from high school. So many memories. We found the suit she wore when she portrayed Winston Churchill in Grade school for "Night of the Notables".

I went through our record collection and reduced it substantially. In the last few years I have converted most of my music to CD's and put it on my computer and MP3 player. In fact, I have not played records for years. I have records I collected in high school, college, army and law school. In addition, I inherited a large number of records from my parent and records they inherited from Uncle Herm. It was a trip down memory lane. I ended up only keeping my Simon and Garfunkel album collection and my political/military/historical records. Oh, I also kept my soundtrack to "Breakfast at Tiffany's" with Audrey Hepburn on the cover. All of my folk, rock and roll and easy listning went in the garage sale/goodwill pile. By the way, I did keep all my John Wayne sound track album's. I also cleaned out the shelves around my computer. I had pages of "Duck football recruiting" info going back years.

Today, I went through my closet and "thinned" it out. Hated to put those 1995 Oregon Duck Rose Bowl tee shirts in the Goodwill pile.

We are having a garage sale in late June or early July. This will be a busy Summer.

Memorial Day 2007

"We will always remember. We will always be proud. We will always be prepared, so we may always be free."

President Ronald Reagan, June 6, 1984 at Omaha Beach in France.

"Ride away ..... ride away.....ride away"

A fitting end to John Wayne's 100th Birthday celebration is the ending of the Searchers (1956) and the words to the song sung by the Son's of the Pioneers during the ending credits.


"What makes a man to wander?
What makes a man to roam?
What makes a man leave bed and board
And turn his back on home?
Ride away, ride away, ride away"

Happy 100th Birthday John Wayne!

Today, Saturday May 26, 2007 is

John Wayne's 100th Birthday.

In "She Whore a Yellow Ribbon" (1949) the troop presents Captain Nathan Brittles (John Wayne)with a solid silver watch for his retirement. He puts on his reading glasses, just after this picture was taken, and reads the engraved sentiment on the back: "To Capt. Brittles from C Troop. Lest we forget."

Lest we forget!.......... That'll be the day!

Memorable John Wayne Quotes (Day 1/4 )

This line was not spoken by John Wayne but by the narrator at the end of "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" (1949)

"So here they are: the dog-faced soldiers, the regulars, the fifty-cents-a-day professionals... riding the outposts of a nation. From Fort Reno to Fort Apache - from Sheridan to Startle - they were all the same: men in dirty-shirt blue and only a cold page in the history books to mark their passing. But wherever they rode - and whatever they fought for - that place became the United States."

Memorable John Wayne Quotes (Day 1/2)

From "The Sands of Iwo Jima" (1949) one quote I could not leave out!

John Wayne as Sgt. Stryker: "SADDLE UP"

"... in spite of his reputation for invulnerability, he eagerly took on the task of playing deeply lonely men who die."

"John Wayne died in 8 films , and a further two, depending on how you want to look at it.

"Central Airport"
"Reap the Wild Wind"
"The Fighting Seabees"
"Wake of the Red Witch"
"The Sands of Iwo Jima"
"The Alamo"
"The Cowboys"
"The Shootist"

He was already dead at the start of "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance", and most of the film is a flashback to when he was alive. It is just stated that he died, but there is no actual death scene.

In "The Sea Chase" it is left to the audience to decide whether or not he died. The romantic among us like to think that he and Lana Turner were able to escape from the sinking ship at the end of the film, but it is not made clear."

Memorable John Wayne Quotes (Day 1)

Only one more day till John Wayne's 100th Birthday on Saturday May 26, 2007. I have saved for today one of my favorite John Wayne Movies, "Rio Grande" (1950).

This was the last of Director John Ford's "Cavalry Trilogy". He actually didn't want to make this movie but Republic Studios would not finance Ford's "The Quiet Man," which it thought would be a money loser, unless he made another western for them. Some critics think this is the best of the "Cavalry Trilogy". Ford paired John Wayne with Maureen O'Hara for the first time and as a "test" for "The Quiet Man" to see if there would be a magic between them. There sure was!

The story takes place in the southwest 15 years after the end of the Civil War. John Wayne plays Lt. Col. Kirby Yorke a veteran of the Civil War who is now fighting the Apache Indians. During the war under orders of General Philip Sheridan, Wayne had burned down his wife's plantation located in the Shenandoah Valley in Virgina. As may be expected this led to a divorce or separation for 15 years. Maureen O'Hara plays the estranged wife. They have a son who Wayne has not seen since the war. The son follows in his fathers footstep and attends West Point and flunks out because of his failure in mathematics and in shame joins the army as a private. He is sent to his father's fort for training. Maureen O'Hara travels to the fort in an attempt to "buy out" her son's enlistment. As a result she and Wayne have to deal with each other and have a reunion of sorts. They still are very much in love with each other in spite of the the war.

The memorable quotes of Wayne that I love are dialogs between Lt. Col. Yorke (Wayne) and his commanding officer Lt. General Philip Sheridan (J Carrol Naish) who is inspecting Wayne's post.

Wayne has just returned to the fort after a difficult battle with the Apaches who escaped by crossing the Rio Grande river into Mexico. Gen. Phil Sheridan is waiting in Wayne's Tent.

Wayne: "Good evening sir."
Sheridan: "Have a cup of your own coffee."
Wayne: "I've been thinking of nothing else for the last two hours."
Sheridan: "Tough ha."
Wayne: "Tough Sir."
Sheridan: "I haven't had a cup of duty coffee with you since we rode down the Shenandoah together. Fifteen yours ago wasn't it?"
Wayne: "Fifteen years, two months and seven days."
Sheridan: "How did you fare on patrol."
Wayne: "Had a running fight for 30-odd miles. We captured Natchez their chief and eight others before the Apaches reached the Rio Grande and crossed into Mexico. Pursuant to orders I halted on our side of the river. Men didn't like it very much."
Sheridan: Neither did you. Neither do I, but that's the policy and soldiers don't make policy they merely carry it out."
Wayne: "The State Department could do something."
Sheridan: Yes, they'll write a sharp note of protest. If you care to read notes of protest."
Wayne: I'll disclaim them over the graves of the troopers who were guarding the water holes. Three of them staked face down on ant hills."
Sheridan: "You've got the dirtiest job in the army no doubt of that."
Wayne: I'm not complaining sir, I get paid for it."
Sheridan: "Maybe you should complain. I'll listen."
Wayne: This coffee isn't as good as it used to be."
Sheridan: "I'll make a note of that. Maybe someday it'll get better and stronger."
Wayne: "I'll drink to that sir... Stronger."

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Folks, this is not "Dances with Wolves"

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Later in the movie there is another conversation between Wayne (Yorke) and Gen. Sheridan after the Apache Indians raid the army post and kidnap a wagon full of children from the post and escape across the Rio Grande River into Mexico.

Sheridan: "Now I'll probably ruin your army career. I'm going to issue an order and give it to you personally. I want you to cross the Rio Grande. Hit the Apache and burn them out. I'm tired of hit and run. I'm sick of diplomatic hide and seek. .... be prepared to remain all winter. All next winter if necessary.
Wayne: I've waited a long time for that order sir. Which, of course I didn't hear."
Sheridan: Of course you-didn't hear. I assure you if you fail the members of your court marshal will be the men who rode with us down the Shenandoah. I'll hand pick them my self."
Wayne: "Shenandoah"
Sheridan: "I wonder what history will say about Shenandoah?"
Wayne: "How about a cup of coffee? You'll find it stronger!"

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Having grown up watching this movie and having loved this dialog I was not shocked about Lt Col. Oliver North and Iran/Contra. What will history say about Ronald Reagan!

Memorable John Wayne Quotes (Day 2)

From "The Alamo" (1960)

Davy Crockett (Wayne) "Step down off your high horse, Mister..... "

I have always wanted to use that line.

Two more days till John Wayne's 100th Birthday on May 26th!

Memorable John Wayne Quotes (Day 3)

In The Cowboys (1972) John Wayne is again on a cattle drive only this time with a group of young boys. The Liberals hated this movie because the young boys used guns to defend themselves and the herd and gain revenge!. In any case this is a good western in Wayne's late career. Memorable quote "Were burning daylight" I love that line and think of it often as I am doing yard work in the evening in the fall just before the end of daylight savings time.

Memorable John Wayne Quotes (Day 4)

Fort Apache (1948)

Henry Fonda ( Col.Thursday) plays a Custer like officer who gets his cavalry command wiped out by The Apache Indians. He leads an attack even though John Wayne (York) the more experienced officer has recommended against the attack and as a result Wayne is left with the supply waggons and lives. Later Wayne talks with reporters about the attack and sugar coats it for the good of the Army.

Newspaper reporter [speaking of Col. Thursday] "But what of the men who died with him? What of Collingworth and... "

Captain Yorke: "Collingwood."

Newspaper reporter: "Oh, of course, Collingwood."

Reporter: "That's the ironic part of it. We always remember the Thursdays, but the others are forgotten."

Captain Yorke: "You're wrong there. They aren't forgotten because they haven't died. They're living - right out there."

[points out the window]

Captain Yorke: "Collingwood and the rest. And they'll keep on living as long as the regiment lives. The pay is thirteen dollars a month; their diet: beans and hay. Maybe horsemeat before this campaign is over. Fight over cards or rotgut whiskey, but share the last drop in their canteens. The faces may change... the names... but they're there: they're the regiment... the regular army... now and fifty years from now. They're better men than they used to be. Thursday did that. He made it a command to be proud of."

Thus, for the good of the cavalry Wayne goes with the legend and not the facts. Pat Tillman anyone.

John Ford who directed this movie was drawing from his experiences in World War II ("The Good War")

Douglas MacArther and John Wayne

In the 50's, General Douglas MacArthur told John Wayne, "Young man, you represent the cavalry officer better than any man who wears a uniform." That is quite a compliment considering that Douglas MacArthur grew up in cavalry forts in the American West in the years following the Civil War. His father had won the Medal of Honor as a officer in the Union Army during the Civil War and was stationed out west after the war. Thus, MacArthur knew of what he spoke having experienced it first hand. MacArthur loved John Ford Westerns. In his early days as a director Ford met and was friends of those who had lived through the wild west. For example one of Ford's acquaintances was Wyatt Earp.

In 1964, William F. Buckley had this to say about Douglas MacArthuer:

"MacArthur was the last of the great Americans. it isn't at all certain that America is capable of producing another man of MacArthur's cast. Such men spring from the loins of nations in whose blood courage runs: and we are grown anemic. That is why so many have spoken of an age that would die with MacArthur. An age when, occasionally, heroes arose, acknowledging as their imperative the Duty, Honor, and Country which MacArthur cherished, but which the nation that rejected him has no stomach for, preferring the adulterated substitutes of the Age of Modulation, approved by the Pure Food and Drug Act and adorned by the seal of Good Housekeeping magazine.

MacArther and Wayne were anything but anemic!

Memorable John Wayne Quotes (Day 5)

The Quiet Man (1952)

Sean Thornton(Wayne) to Maureen O'Hara:

"There'll be no locks or bolts between us, Mary Kate... except those in your own mercenary little heart!"

100 years and 100 reasons to love John Wayne

Click on the title for a list by Scott Eyman of 100 reasons to love John Wayne.I agree on most.

This afternoon my wife and I drove to Shady Cove for lunch at the John Wayne Saloon.The place must have over 40 pictures and statutes of John Wayne. While there they were playing "Mr Smith Goes to Washington" starring Dukes friend Jimmy Stewart on their big screen TV. They were together in Wayne's last film the Shootist in 1976.

Memorable John Wayne quotes (Sunday Extra)

From "Red River" (1948)

Tom Dunson (Wayne)

"Take em to Missouri Matt."


Click on the title for a link to other great quotes from this movie about a cattle drive from post Civil War Texas to the rail head in Missouri.

Memorable John Wayne Quotes (Day 6)

John Wayne as Dave Crockett in The Alamo (1960)

"I'm goin' a tell you something, Flaca, and I want you to listen tight. It may sound like I'm talkin' about me, but I'm not, I'm talkin' about you. As a matter of fact, I'm talkin' about all people everywhere. When I came down here to Texas I was lookin' for somethin'. I didn't know what. It seems like you add up my life and I've spent it all either stompin' other men, or in some cases gettin' stomped. Had me some money and had me some medals. But none of it seemed a lifetime worth the pain of the mother that bore me. It's like I was empty. Well, I'm not empty any more. That's what's important. To feel useful in this old world. To hit a lick against what's wrong, or to say a word for what's right, even though you get walloped for saying that word. Now, I may sound like a Bible beater yelling up a revival meeting at a river crossing camp meeting, but that don't change the truth none. There's right and there's wrong. You got a do one or the other. You do the one and you're living. You do the other and you may be walking around, but you're dead as a beaver hat."

Good thing the defenders of the Alamo didn't believe in "cut and run".

John Wayne Could Act!

Rick Heldenfels in the Akron Beacon Journal:

John Wayne could act. Wayne himself tended to downplay this idea, declaring -- as Joan Didion once wrote -- that ``I don't act at all, I re-act.'' Nor did it help that he made so many Westerns, a film genre that seems simple even when the movies in it are not. His best actor Oscar, for True Grit, felt more like a career achievement award than an honor for a great performance.

But look at him, silent, in The Quiet Man. Or the pain on his soldier's face in Sands of Iwo Jima, when another day has passed without a letter from his son. Remember The Searchers, probably his greatest film, and possibly his best performance.The misery in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, the rage in Red River, the humor in True Grit, the courage in The Shootist.

To read the entire column click on the title for a link.

A "Test of Character"

Frederick Kagan in the Weekly Standard writes:

From time to time, nations face fundamental tests of character. Forced to choose between painful but wise options, and irresponsible ones that offer only temporary relief from pain, a people must decide what price they are willing to pay to safeguard themselves and their children and to do the right thing. America has faced such tests before. Guided by Abraham Lincoln, we met our greatest challenge during the Civil War and overcame it, despite agonizing doubts about the possibility of success even into 1864. The Greatest Generation recovered from the shock of Pearl Harbor and refused to stop fighting until both Germany and Japan had surrendered unconditionally. A similar moment is upon us in Iraq. What will we do?

America has vital national interests in Iraq. The global al Qaeda movement has decided to defeat us there--not merely to establish a base from which to pursue further tyranny and terror, but also to erect a triumphant monument on the ruins of American power. Al Qaeda claims to have defeated the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, and its recruiting rests in part on that boast. If America flees the field of battle against this foe in Iraq, al Qaeda will have gained an even more powerful recruiting slogan. That is why al Qaeda fighters from across the Muslim world are streaming into Iraq and fighting desperately to retain and expand their positions there. Al Qaeda does not think Iraq is a distraction from their war against us. Al Qaeda believes Iraq is the central
front--and it is. To imagine that America can lose in Iraq but prevail in the war against jihadism is almost like imagining that we could have yielded Europe to the Nazis but won World War II.

Al Qaeda is not our only enemy in Iraq, however. Iran has chosen to fight a proxy war against us there, determined to work our defeat for its own purposes. Iranian weapons and even advisers flow into Iraq and assist our enemies, both Sunni and Shia, to kill our soldiers and attempt to establish control over Iraq itself.......

To read the rest of the column click on the title above for a link.

John Wayne 100th Birthday Countdown Extra

Michael Sragow in today's Baltimor Sun has a column on John Wayne:

"In John Wayne's best-loved non-Western, John Ford's 1952 The Quiet Man, he plays a boxer afraid of his own strength because he once killed a man in the ring. He does one of the slowest burns in film history, expressing the splutter with a hitch in his rolling walk and the way he dispatches a butt like a spear to the ground as if to say he finally means business. And his reluctance to be violent makes him likable, even noble.

Look beneath the weathered surface and raucous high jinks of Wayne's trademark Westerns, and even the tortured complexities of Howard Hawks' Red River (1948) and Ford's The Searchers (1956), and you'll see that valiant manliness at the core.
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These films reveal that "The Duke" had the true star's instinct of delivering what his followers wanted before they even knew they wanted it.

For example, in the smash romantic comedy Without Reservations (1946),(see picture above) new to DVD on Tuesday, Wayne co-stars with It Happened One Night's Claudette Colbert. But Wayne is the one who carries the comedy, especially when espousing values that aren't 19th century - they're 17th century.

He sums up his stance in a remarkable speech that memorializes the pioneers:

"Do you think these pioneers filled out form number X6277 and sent in a report saying the Indians were a little unreasonable? Did they have insurance for their old age, for their crops, for their homes? They did not! They looked at the land, and the forest, and the rivers. They looked at their wives, their kids and their houses, and then they looked up at the sky and they said thanks, God, we'll take it from here."
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More than any of his peers, he retained a rabid fan base and an image forceful enough to bring Old Western style into modern settings and make viewers of all political stripes enjoy the incongruity. His unpretentious flamboyance evoked nostalgia for wide open spaces even in urban boys and girls.

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It took Hawks to toughen Wayne's image into the grizzled patriarch who could make taciturnity seem belligerent. His most famous role for Hawks was as the Captain Bligh of the cattle drive in Red River (1948). When Ford saw what Hawks could do with Wayne, he gave him even meatier parts, especially in Rio Grande (1950). Co-star Maureen O'Hara, embodied just the kind of woman the Wayne hero would set his cap for: fiery, beautiful, independent, not standing for any guff. Few evocations of tormented love equal the scene when the regimental chorus serenades Lt. Col. Kirby Yorke (Wayne) and his estranged wife, Kathleen (O'Hara). As the couple listens to "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen," longing and sadness, sweetness and hurt play through their faces.

My favorite Hawks-Wayne collaboration is that giddy oater, Rio Bravo (1959). Wayne was so confident, so self-sufficient without seeming self-satisfied, that Hawks played the rest of the cast against him for laughs. Wayne could fall down a flight of stairs and knock himself out and risk his neck on the reliability of a wheezing drunk (Dean Martin) and an old geezer (Walter Brennan) without ever losing his dignity. It had become a trick of nature that nothing could unhinge John Wayne.

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Wayne never lost the eagerness that was his first discernible trait. In his last film, The Shootist, he used it to weld together everything he knew. The film was set up, distastefully, as a premature obituary, with Wayne playing a gunslinger who knew he was dying of cancer. But Wayne knew exactly what he was doing - he was playing an outsized character, a myth, himself. And he lived up to it. Wayne didn't truckle to our sentiments.

It was inevitable that Wayne should end his career with a Western. Wayne helped invest the form with his own brawling good nature - and in films like Red River and The Searchers, wrestled with its dark side. He created a cowboy legacy that every other Western star or filmmaker would have to grapple with. Even today, you can hear them lining up and saying, "Thanks, Duke - we'll take it from here."

(To read the entire column click on the title above for a link)

Memorable John Wayne Quotes (Day 7)

"True Grit" (1969)

Rooster Cogburn (John Wayne) confronts the four armed outlaws led by a young Robert Duval across the field.

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Ned Pepper: "What's your intention? Do you think one on four is a dogfall?"

Rooster Cogburn: "I mean to kill you in one minute, Ned. Or see you hanged in Fort Smith at Judge Parker's convenience. Which'll it be?"

Ned Pepper: I call that bold talk for a one-eyed fat man.

Rooster Cogburn: "Fill your hands, you son of a bit*h."

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John Wayne then charges across the field on horseback with the reins of his horse in his mouth a revolver in one hand and a rifle in the other. A gunfight not to be missed. He has "True Grit"

Wayne won an Academy Award for Best Actor for this part. It could have been an award for his life work because while he deserved it for this movie he deserved it more for other movies. Barbara Streisand of all people presented him with the award at the Academy Awards. Of all the Academy Award to miss this is the only one I ever missed because I was in Army Officer Candidate School at Fort Belvoir Virginia.I read about it the next day in the Washington Post. There was a big picture on the front page of Wayne and Streisand.

Memorable John Wayne Quotes (Day 8)

Today's memorable quote is from my favorite John Wayne Movie, "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon"(1949). The movie was directed by John Ford in Monument Valley in glorious color. John Wayne plays Nathan Brittles, a Captain in the United States Calvary stationed at a fort in the southwest. He has spent his life in the Calvery and is nearing retirement. The scene takes place in the evening as he leaves the fort to visit the grave of his wife and children on a hill near he fort. As he is watering the flowers planted around the graves he carries on a conversation with his deceased wife:

"Well, Mary only six more days to go and your old Nathan will be out of the Army. Haven't decided what I'll do yet. Somehow, I just can't picture myself back there on the banks of the Wabash rocking on the front porch. No, I've been thinking I'd maybe push on West. New settlements, California.

We had some sad news today, Mary. George Custer was killed. His whole command....Miles Keogh. You remember Miles? Happy-go-lucky Irishman. Who used to waltz so well with you. Yeah, I know. I guess I was a little jealous. Never could waltz myself. Well, I'm taking the troop out in the morning. Cheyennes around. I'm to pick up the patrols and drive them on back North. It'll probable be my last mission, Mary. Hard to believe, isn't it? Hard to believe."

Memorable John Wayne Quotes (Day 9)

In the lead up to John Wayne's 100th birthday, on May 26th, I thought I would list a number of memorable quotes of John Wayne from "The Searchers" (1956). There are just too many quotes to pick just one. In this movie Directed by John Ford, Wayne plays Ethan Edwards, who has returned from the Civil War to the Texas ranch of his brother, he hopes to find a home with his family and to be near the woman he obviously but secretly loves(his sister in law). But a Comanche raid destroys these plans, and Ethan sets out, along with his 1/8 Indian nephew Martin, on a years-long journey to find the niece kidnapped by the Indians under Chief Scar. But as the quest goes on, Martin begins to realize that his uncle's hatred for the Indians is beginning to spill over onto his now-assimilated niece. Martin becomes uncertain whether Ethan plans to rescue Debbie...or kill her. (Written by Jim Beaver and posted on the IMDB.

The picture is of John Wayne resting his horse knowing that he and other members of a Texas Ranger posse were lured by the Comanches away from their isolated ranches so they could raid their homesteads. His nephew Martin rides off to the ranch even after Wayne has advised him the horses need rest and will not make it back to the ranch with out it. On the other the hand he knows and is thinking about what is happening to his brother and his family and knows he will be too late! Look into his eyes and tell me he is not a great actor!

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Reverend Clayton( Ward Bond): "Well, the prodigal brother. When did you get back? Ain't seen you since the surrender. Come to think of it, I didn't see you at the surrender."
Ethan( John Wayne): "I don't believe in surrenders. Nope, I've still got my saber, Reverend. Didn't beat it into no plowshare, neither."

Ethan(John Wayne): "Figure a man's only good for one oath at a time; I took mine to the Confederate States of America."

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(Reverend Clayton delivers a prayer at the Edwards' funeral for Aaron, Martha, and Ben]
Ethan: "Put an amen to it!" Reverend Clayton: "I ain't finished yet."
Ethan: "There's no more time for praying! AMEN!"

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Reverend Clayton: "You wanna quit, Ethan?"
Ethan: "That'll be the day."

(Upon seeing this movie Buddy Holly wrote the song "That'll be the day")

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Ethan: ".... Seems like he never learns there's such a thing as a critter that'll just keep comin' on. So we'll find 'em in the end, I promise you. We'll find 'em. Just a"s sure as the turnin' of the earth."

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Ethan: "What you saw was a buck wearin' Lucy's dress. I found Lucy back in the canyon. Wrapped her in my coat, buried her with my own hands. I thought it best to keep it from ya."

Brad: "Did they...? Was she...?"

Ethan: "What do you want me to do? Draw you a picture? Spell it out? Don't ever ask me! Long as you live, don't ever ask me more."

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Ethan: "Let's go home, Debbie."

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John Ford directed the movie in Monument Valley.

Memorable John Wayne quotes (Day 10)

John Wayne as Dave Crockett in the Alamo (1960):

"Republic. I like the sound of the word. It means people can live free, talk free, go or come, buy or sell, be drunk or sober, however they choose. Some words give you a feeling. Republic is one of those words that makes me tight in the throat - the same tightness a man gets when his baby takes his first step or his first baby shaves and makes his first sound as a man. Some words can give you a feeling that makes your heart warm. Republic is one of those words."

John Wayne risk everything to make this movie and almost killed himself getting it made. He was both actor and director. It is not a perfect movie but you find the soul of John Wayne in this movie.I was a teenager when I first saw this movie on my birthday and I have watched it dozens of times since. I love this movie!

Democratiac Congress lower than Bush in New Gallup Poll

A new Gallup Poll finds continued low levels of public support for both the Democratic Congress and President George W. Bush. Twenty-nine percent of Americans approve of Congress, down slightly from last month's reading (33%) and this year's high point of 37%, while Bush's approval rating is holding steady at 33%

APPROVAL RATING:

CONGRESS CONTROLLED BY THE DEMOCRATS 29%

PRESIDENT GEORGE W BUSH 33%

Thanks, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. Any more trips to Syria or "we have lost" in Iraq statements!

Memorable John Wayne quotes (Day 11)

John Wayne as Captain Rockwell Torry in the World War II naval war movie "In Harm's Way":

"A fast ship going in harm's way - a lousy situation, Commander Eddington."

Kirk Douglas said John Wayne is the only actor that could get away with that line!

Memorable John Wayne Quotes (Day 12)

Since yesterdays quote came from Stagecoach the movie that made him a star in 1939, I thought I would "book end" John Wayne's movies with a quote from "The Shootest" his last movie made in 1976. The Quote:

To the boy (Ron Howard) he is teaching how to handle a gun, John Wayne the dying gunfighter, John Books, says,

"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to others, and I require the same of them."

Almost everything I learned in life I learned from watching John Wayne movies. 12 more days till his 100th Birthday. I sure wish he was still making movies. However, "The Shootest" is a fine movie to end a career on and prophetic too.It even has Jimmy Stewart, as the doctor, who tells him he is dying of cancer.

Memorable John Wayne Quotes (13 days)

"Well, there are some things a man just can't run away from."

The Ringo Kid in Stagecoach.(1939) Directed by John Ford

Democrats are you listening?

In the lead up to John Wayne's 100th birthday on May 26, I though it would be fun to post a quote a day .

Ducks Win Pac-10 Chamionship in Track

The University of Oregon Men's Track Team won the Pac-10 Championship today at Stanford. This is the second year in a row. Eugene Oregon is again "Track Town USA" Bring on the Olympic Trials in 2008. Congratulations and Go DUCKS

John Wayne Film Collection

To celebrate John Wayne's 100th birthday the movie studios are releasing or re releasing a number of his movies on DVD. The one set I am most excited about is the above set of 5 movies that have not previously been issued on DVD. The movies are: Without Reservations (1946), Allegheny Uprising (1939), Tycoon (1947), Reunion in France (1942), Big Jim McLain (1952), Trouble Along the Way (1953). None of these are great John Wayne movies but if you are attempting to collect all of John Wayne's movies since 1939 (year he became a star in Stagecoach) these are welcome additions to the collection. I particularly like Trouble Along the Way with Donna Reed. Wayne plays a football coach at a small poor Catholic College that has scheduled Nortre Dame and has to put together a team that can win. He also has custody of a little girl and has to deal with social worker Reed.... you know how it ends.(hint he is not married)Big Jim McLain is not a very well done movie but it is an anti communist flick that drives the Liberals up the wall and it is good for that reason alone.The set will be release on May 22 and you can pre order them on Amazon.com. No, this is not a Fathers Day hint to my kids as I have already pre orderd the movies.

Plan B for winning in Iraq

Mort Kondracke has a column today on an alternative plan for winning in Iraq if "The Surge" does not work .... he calls it "winnning dirty":

Without prejudging whether President Bush's "surge" policy will work, the administration and its critics ought to be seriously thinking about a Plan B, the "80 percent solution" - also known as "winning dirty." Right now, the administration is committed to building a unified, reconciled, multisectarian Iraq - "winning clean." Most Democrats say that's what they want, too. But it may not be possible.

The 80 percent alternative involves accepting rule by Shiites and Kurds, allowing them to violently suppress Sunni resistance and making sure that Shiites friendly to the United States emerge victorious....

Winning dirty would involve taking sides in the civil war - backing the Shiite-dominated elected government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and ensuring that he and his allies prevail over both the Sunni insurgency and his Shiite adversary Muqtada al-Sadr, who's now Iran's candidate to rule Iraq. Shiites make up 60 percent of the Iraqi population, so Shiite domination of the government is inevitable and a democratic outcome. The United States also has good relations with Iraq's Kurdish minority, 20 percent of the population, and would want to cement it by semipermanently stationing U.S. troops in Northern Iraq to ward off the possibility of a Turkish invasion.

Ever since the toppling of Saddam Hussein, Sunnis - representing 20 percent of the population - have been the core of armed resistance to the U.S. and the Iraqi government. The insurgency consists mainly of ex-Saddam supporters and Sunni nationalists, both eager to return to power, and of jihadists anxious to sow chaos, humiliate the United States and create a safe zone for al-Qaida operations throughout the Middle East.

If the surge doesn't work then this is a good option in place of just pulling out.Keep in mind this would not be a partition of Iraq but just letting the majority run the country.

(To read the rest of Mr Kondracke's column click on the title for a link)

John Wayne's 100th Birthday!!!!

Click on the title above to see how you can celebrate John Wayne's 100th Birthday where he was born in Winterset,Iowa.

In his closing years on earth, someone asked the Duke how he wanted to be remembered. He said...'Feo, Fuerte y Formal' A Spanish proverb meaning 'He was ugly, strong and had dignity'

VETO part II ?

Looks like the House Democrats didn't learn from the last Veto of a "cut and run" funding bill of the U.S. military they drafted. Bush should learn to "love Veto's" the way Mitt Romney did in Massachusetts. When our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan run out of bullets it will be the Democrats who will be at fault!

35% of Democrats are in the "Twilight Zone"

According to a recent Rasmussen poll 35% of Democrats believe George W Bush Knew About The 9/11 Attacks in Advance

"Democrats in America are evenly divided on the question of whether George W. Bush knew about the 9/11 terrorist attacks in advance. Thirty-five percent (35%) of Democrats believe he did know, 39% say he did not know, and 26% are not sure."

Thus, according to this poll 35 % of Democrats hate George Bush so much that they believe he would sacrifice all of those lives at the World Trade Center on 9/11 so he could get us into the war on terror. They must really hate him a lot! It's "Loony Toons" time !

(To look at the entire poll click on the title above for a link)

Romney Wins GOP Debate!

John McCain is a courageous man of principle who I support for President in 2008. However, tonight I thought Mitt Romney looked very Presidential. He was smooth and authoritative. He looked in command and also appeared to know the issues. He had what they call Gravitas. He has a commanding presence and confidence. He looks handsome and has a great voice. I think if the American people can get past his religion they will feel comfortable with him as their leader.(I have no problem with his religion.) After all he was elected governor of Massachusetts. He was positive like Reagan. Giuliani was OK but did not shine. McCain said what I believe is the truth on Iraq and Iran and the comments on following Osmama bin Laden to the gates of hell got my adrenalin flowing. I am not sure the American people are buying what he is saying even if he is speaking the truth. The campaign has a long way to go but at the least Romney showed himself as a serious candidate in the top three.

Red Friday

I found this on the Internet today and I wanted to get the massage out: .

Last week, while traveling to Chicago on business, I noticed a Marine sergeant traveling with a folded flag, but did not put two and two together.

After we boarded our flight, I turned to the sergeant, who'd been invited to sit in First Class (across from me), and inquired if he was heading home.

No, he responded.

Heading out I asked?

No. I'm escorting a soldier home.

Going to pick him up?

No. He is with me right now. He was killed in Iraq , I'm taking him home to his family.

The realization of what he had been asked to do hit me like a punch to the gut. It was an honor for him. He told me that, although he didn't know the soldier, he had delivered the news of his passing to the soldier's family and felt as if he knew them after many conversations in so few days.

I turned back to him, extended my hand, and said, Thank you. Thank you for doing what you do so my family and I can do what we do.

Upon landing in Chicago the pilot stopped short of the gate and made the following announcement over the intercom.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to note that we have had the honor of having Sergeant Steeley of the United States Marine Corps join us on this flight. He is escorting a fallen comrade back home to his family. I ask that you please remain in your seats when we open the forward door to allow Sergeant Steeley to deplane and receive his fellow soldier. We will then turn off the seat belt sign."

Without a sound, all went as requested. I noticed the sergeant saluting the casket as it was brought off the plane, and his action made me realize that I am proud to be an American.

So here's a public Thank You to our military Men and Women for what you do so we can live the way we do.

Red Fridays.

Very soon, you will see a great many people wearing Red every Friday. The reason? Americans who support our troops used to be called the "silent majority." We are no longer silent, and are voicing our love for God, country and home in record breaking numbers. We are not organized, boisterous or overbearing.

Many Americans, like you, me and all our friends, simply want to recognize that the vast majority of America supports our troops. Our idea of showing solidarity and support for our troops with dignity and respect starts this Friday -- and continues each and every Friday until the troops all come home, sending a deafening message that .. every red-blooded American who supports our men and women afar, will wear something red.

By word of mouth, press, TV -- let's make the United States on every Friday a sea of red much like a homecoming football game in the bleachers. If every one of us who loves this country will share this with acquaintances, coworkers, friends, and family, it will not be long before the USA is covered in RED and it will let our troops know the once "silent" majority is on their side more than ever, certainly more than the media lets on.

The first thing a soldier says when asked "What can we do to make things better for you?" is. "We need your support and your prayers." Let's get the word out and lead with class and dignity, by example, and wear something red every Friday

Mitt Romney on Leno

I saw Mitt Romney who was on Leno last night via "You Tube" and was impressed by his humor and demeanor. Check it out yourself by clicking on the title above for a link to the "You Tube" recording of his appearance. I have seen him on other interview programs and he is very good on one to one discussions. We will see how he does in a debated tonight. The Republican candidates for President will have a debate from the Reagan museum tonight at 5 pm PDT time. It will be on MSNBC(why them!) and on CSPAN. Will post my review of the debate later tonight.

Tom Poston RIP 1921-2007

Tom Poston died April 30th,2007. Most people will remember him from his association with Bob Newhart, some of his funniest stuff was on the old Steve Allen show in New York with Louis Nye and Don Knotts as part of the "man on the street" skits(1956-1960). I loved that show and that skit

The following I did not know until I read his obituary today.

He was a USAAF pilot in World War II, dropping paratroops over Normandy on D-Day.He won medals for his courage under fire, and rose to the rank of captain He is survived by his wife, Suzanne Pleshette, who is best remembered playing Bob Newhart’s wife on multiple shows. He was a funny guy with an extensive filmography. To read the rest of his biography click on the title above for a link to his page on the Internet Movie Data Base (IMDB).

To paraphrase a line from the end of the movie "Saving Private Ryan: Tom, "You lived a good life." You made the world laugh and the world needed that.

"Hooked on Trivia While Threats Fester" by Victor Davis Hanson

This article really says it all!

So why then fixate on Anna Nicole, Rosie, Imus and Alec? (Alec Baldwin)

Simple -- they are the modern equivalents of grotesque carnival freak shows that used to provide a perverse sense of escapism from what people dare not face. Yet as our dependency on such tabloid distraction grows, so, too, do the real dangers that we ignore.

The ghost of Anna Nicole, foul-mouthed Rosie and trash-talking Imus turn out to be the best friends Ayman al-Zawahiri, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Vladimir Putin have.

To read the entire article click on the title for a link.

Fred Thompson is no Reagan.

Many of my fellow Conservatives are unhappy with the current field of Republican candidates for the Republican nomination for President of the United States. As a result, they are promoting Fred Thompson and hope he will announce his decision to run for President. I like Fred Thompson but he is not the leader they hope for. I have followed Fred Thompson's career since his service as Republican counsel on the Senate Watergate Committee in 1973-1974. He was hired by fellow Tennessean Senator Howard Baker. I remember thinking at the time that Baker must have got a crony of his from Tennessee because Thompson did not shine in his role as minority council. A few years later I read Thompson's book on his experiences as Minority Council titled
"At That Point in Time: The Inside Story of the Senate Watergate Committee" published in 1975. I found the book interesting but also confirmed that this guy was a crony of Senator Baker as I had suspected earlier. A few years later I started to see Thompson in small parts in movies such as "The Hunt for Red October" He then ran for Senator from Tennessee and was elected and then did not run for reelection in 2002. He had a good voting record in the Senate but did not show leadership qualities. I was particularly disappointed by his lack of leadership during the Senate impeachment trial of Bill Clinton. He then retired in 2002 when the country needed leadership in the Senate in the days following 9/11. He lacks "fire in the belly" to be a good candidate for President. I watched his interview on Fox News last night by Shaun Hanity and again he has a certain reticence that bothers me. He also looks tired and and old both in looks and personality. I like him, but not as a leader in a time of war. Of course, I will support anyone we Republicans nominate. I just think John McCain or Rudy Giuliani would be better candidates even if they are not as conservative as I am.. I support John McCain. Again, I like Fred Thompson but he isn't willing or able to do the "heavy lifting" required to run for President of the United States. He lacks the "fire in the belly". Don't run Fred!

THE VETO (Update: Upheld)

May 1, 2007

TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:

I am returning herewith without my approval H.R. 1591, the "U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act, 2007."

This legislation is objectionable because it would set an arbitrary date for beginning the withdrawal of American troops without regard to conditions on the ground; it would micromanage the commanders in the field by restricting their ability to direct the fight in Iraq; and it contains billions of dollars of spending and other provisions completely unrelated to the war.

Precipitous withdrawal from Iraq is not a plan to bring peace to the region or to make our people safer here at home. The mandated withdrawal in this bill could embolden our enemies -- and confirm their belief that America will not stand behind its commitments. It could lead to a safe haven in Iraq for terrorism that could be used to attack America and freedom-loving people around the world, and is likely to unleash chaos in Iraq that could spread across the region. Ultimately, a precipitous withdrawal could increase the probability that American troops would have to one day return to Iraq -- to confront an even more dangerous enemy. The micromanagement in this legislation is unacceptable because it would create a series of requirements that do not provide the flexibility needed to conduct the war. It would constrict how and where our Armed Forces could engage the enemy and defend the national interest, and would provide confusing guidance on which of our enemies the military could engage. The result would be a marked advantage for our enemies and greater

danger for our troops, as well as an unprecedented interference with the judgments of those who are charged with commanding the military.

Beyond its direction of the operation of the war, the legislation is also unacceptable for including billions of dollars in spending and other provisions that are unrelated to the war, are not an emergency, or are not justified. The Congress should not use an emergency war supplemental to add billions in spending to avoid its own rules for budget discipline and the normal budget process. War supplemental funding bills should remain focused on the war and the needs of our men and women in uniform who are risking their lives to defend our freedoms and preserve our Nation's security.

Finally, this legislation is unconstitutional because it purports to direct the conduct of the operations of the war in a way that infringes upon the powers vested in the Presidency by the Constitution, including as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. For these reasons, I must veto this bill. GEORGE W. BUSH

THE WHITE HOUSE,

May 1, 2007.

UPDATE: May 2, 2007 - The United States House vote to overturn the VETO of President George W Bush failed today The Veto Stands!

Good News!

Our son who is a graduate assistant/researcher in History at a Midwest University has received word he has been awarded a research grant and assistantship for the summer . He will earn as much as he would have had he worked his old job in retail here in Medford which he has done the last four summers.

Thus he can spend the summer doing what he loves researching US history. His schedule is flexible enough he will be able to come home for a few weeks and spend the 4th of July and his birthday with his mom and dad. Our family loves spending the 4th of July in Ashland where they have an old fashioned parade, and concert in the park where before the concert an orator reads the Declaration of Independence.

We are very proud of him!