Former Vice President Dick Cheney on Christmas Bomber

"As I’ve watched the events of the last few days it is clear once again that President Obama is trying to pretend we are not at war. He seems to think if he has a low-key response to an attempt to blow up an airliner and kill hundreds of people, we won’t be at war. He seems to think if he gives terrorists the rights of Americans, lets them lawyer up and reads them their Miranda rights, we won’t be at war. He seems to think if we bring the mastermind of Sept. 11 to New York, give him a lawyer and trial in civilian court, we won’t be at war."


“He seems to think if he closes Guantanamo and releases the hard-core Al Qaeda-trained terrorists still there, we won’t be at war. He seems to think if he gets rid of the words, ‘war on terror,’ we won’t be at war. But we are at war and when President Obama pretends we aren’t, it makes us less safe. Why doesn’t he want to admit we’re at war? It doesn’t fit with the view of the world he brought with him to the Oval Office. It doesn’t fit with what seems to be the goal of his presidency — social transformation — the restructuring of American society. President Obama’s first object and his highest responsibility must be to defend us against an enemy that knows we are at war."

"MERRY CHRISTMAS" !

You SHALL buy health insurance or pay a fine!!!!! Nice Christmas present Uncle Sam!. (sarcasm) Bah Humbug!!!!!!

Christmas 1776

I posted this last Christmas and have edited to bring it up to date.

Americans in this Christmas of 2009 are still facing one of the most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression of 1929-1941. We are fighting two wars and the Iranians are developing nuclear weapons which will threaten the world. There is also a serious crisis in the confidence of the American People. In times like these it is helpful to remember when we overcame worse problems.


In the winter of 1776 George Washington kept the American Revolution alive. Gen. Washington had a long and painful summer and autumn of defeat in 1776. His American Army had been defeated across New York -- in Brooklyn, Manhattan and White Plains -- and then driven across New Jersey and forced to flee across the Delaware River into Pennsylvania. One defeat and retreat after another.

Washington's forces had dwindled until he had only about 4,000 effective soldiers left. There were another 6,000 men present, but they were so sick they were unable to go into battle.

Yet he conducted himself with honor. James Monroe, a future Precedent, described Washington during the retreat as follows:

"I saw him... at the head of a small band, or rather in its rear, for he was always near the enemy and his countenance and manner made an impression on me which I can never efface. A deportment so firm, so signified,, but yet so modest and composed, I have never seen in any other person"

Washington knew the end could be near. A majority of the citizens of the 13 former colonies were either pro British or felt the war for Independence was lost. The British were a mere 60 miles from Philadelphia. The Congress that had declared Independence only a few months before were ill or exhausted or absent. Jefferson had gone home to Virginia, John Adams was back home in Massachusetts and Ben Franklin had departed to France. At times there were not enough delegates for a quorum. Philadelphia was in a panic due to the advancing British. People in Philadelphia were getting out and taking all of the possession they could carry.

Thomas Paine who had volunteered to serve as a civilian aide to one of Washington's Generals wrote during the long retreat by the light of a campfire on a drum head:

"These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now deserves the love and thanks of man and woman."

Faced with declining morale, rising desertions, the collapse of political will in the country at large and a sense of despair, Washington decided to gamble everything on a surprise attack on the Hussein garrison in Trenton New Jersey.. It would require a night crossing of an icy river against a formidable professional opponent.

But the most telling sign of Washington's mood as he embarked on the mission was his choice of a password. His men said "victory or death" to identify themselves.


That night crossing,is immortalized in the painting above of Washington's standing in the boat as Marblehead Fishermen rowed him across the ice-strewn river. It started December 25, 1776 when all of the men were gathered at the point of embankment by 3:00 p.m. and the loading of the boats began at nightfall. Washington and a party of Virginia troops crossed over first to secure a landing site. The original plan called for the entire army to be disembarked on the New Jersey side of the Delaware by midnight, but it was not until 3:00 a.m. on December 26 that the army completed the crossing and it took another hour to get the troops organized for an attack. A hail and sleet storm had broken out early in the crossing, winds were strong and the river was full of ice floes.

As soon as the army was ready, Washington ordered it split into two columns, one under the command of himself and General Greene, the second under General Sullivan. The Sullivan column would take River Road from Bear Tavern to Trenton while Washington's column would follow Pennington Road, a parallel route that lay a few miles inland from the river. Only three Americans were killed and six wounded, while 22 Hessian's were killed with 98 wounded. The Americans were able to capture 1,000 prisoners and seize muskets, powder, and artillery

In two weeks, Washington had gone from defeated, hopeless bungler to victorious American hero and personification of the American Cause.

Much of the above information is from David McCullough's book "1776". I recommend it highly.

Home for Christmas!

Saturday night near midnight I picked up our son at the Medford/Jackson County Airport. Today about 1 pm my wife, our son and I picked up our daughter at the airport.It's good having them both home for Christmas! I love going out to the airport this time of year..... but it is sad taking them back at the end of the holidays.Tonight we all get to watch Oregon State in the Las Vegas Bowl on TV and have some chicken wings! The kids have inherited my love for college football and I do believe it is starting to rub off on my wife.

Robert Samuelson: "Passing health reform could be a nightmare for Obama"

Economist Robert Samuelson in today's Washington Post

Monday, December 21, 2009

Barack Obama's quest for historic health-care legislation has turned into a parody of leadership. We usually associate presidential leadership with the pursuit of goals that, though initially unpopular, serve America's long-term interests. Obama has reversed this. He's championing increasingly unpopular legislation that threatens the country's long-term interests. "This isn't about me," he likes to say, "I have great health insurance." But of course, it is about him: about the legacy he covets as the president who achieved "universal" health insurance. He'll be disappointed.....

the finished product will fall far short of Obama's extravagant promises. It will not cover everyone. It will not control costs. It will worsen the budget outlook. It will lead to higher taxes. It will disrupt how, or whether, companies provide insurance for their workers. As the real-life (as opposed to rhetorical) consequences unfold, they will rebut Obama's claim that he has "solved" the health-care problem. His reputation will suffer.

(To read the rest click on the title for a link)

Joy Cost writes today:

Make no mistake. This bill is so unpopular because it has all the characteristics that most Americans find so noxious about Washington.

It stinks of politics. Why is there such a rush to pass this bill now? It's because the President of the United States recognizes that it is hurting his numbers, and he wants it off the agenda. It might not be ready to be passed. In fact, it's obviously not ready! Yet that doesn't matter. The President wants this out of the way by his State of the Union Address. This is nakedly self-interested political calculation by the President - nothing more and nothing less.

What makes this all the more perversely political is that the bill's benefits do not kick in for years. Why? Politics again! Democrats wish to claim that the bill reduces the deficit, so they collect ten years worth of revenue but only pay five years worth of benefits.

Bernie Madoff would be proud!

Conservative hate the bill because it mandated insurance coverage with a fine if you don't have coverage.

Liberals hate the bill because they wanted the government to provide free medical insurance paid for by someone else.

Moderates hate the bill because it raises their insurance costs, will hurt the economy by causing employers to hire fewer people, will lessen care for the elderly and everyone else through rationing and was passed with the type political payoffs and "bribery" moderates hate.

Democrat politicians will learn to hate the bill when they eventfully loose control of the House, Senate and White House.

One Republican senator compared defeating Obama's health care "reform" to Napoleon's loss at Waterloo. I think a better analogy is Napoleon's capturing Moscow in the dead of winter and finding nothing there and having to retreat through the Russian winter back to France. He won but he lost most of his army to the elements and was not able to hold what he had gained. No single payor, no public plan, no universal coverage only a lot of angry independents, moderates, liberals, conservatives, young people who will be forced to buy coverage and senior citizens who's coverage will suffer. Yes, it will be a long retreat through a long political winter for the Democrats and not a Republican fingerprint on it.

For Napoleon, Waterloo would come later, but he was never able to recover from that reckless march into Russia where he lost the cream of French manhood..... which he badly needed at Waterloo. He also squandered his image of invincibility. Obama has squandered political capital but more importantly he has lost his aura of being a different kind of politician. . He is no longer is viewed as the political leader who will bring us together.No, he is just another political hack from Chicago!

The payoffs ("Bribes") with your money from National Review online:

Sen. Ben Nelson (D., Neb.):

—$1.2 billion over ten years for a permanent exemption from Nebraska's share of the Medicaid expansion. The only state so exempted under the bill.

—Exemption for Nebraska from an excise tax on non-profit insurers.

Sen. Carl Levin (D., Mich.), Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D., Mich.)

—Exemption from the non-profit excise tax for Michigan insurers. Michigan and Nebraska were the only two states so exempted.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.), Sen. Patrick Leahy (D., Vt.)

—$10 billion for "community health centers".

—Protections from cuts to Medicare Advantage beneficiaries in Vermont.

—$250 million over six years in expanded federal Medicaid funding.

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D., La.)

—$300 million increase in Medicaid funding in Louisiana.

Sen. John Kerry (D., Mass.), Sen. Paul Kirk (D., Mass).

—Three years of expanded federal Medicaid funding.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.), Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D., N.Y.), Sen. Bob Casey (D., Pa.), Sen. Arlen Specter (D., Pa.), Sen. Bill Nelson (D., Fla.)

—Special treatment for Medicare Advantage beneficiaries in New York, Pennsylvania, and Florida.

Sen. Daniel Inouye (D., Hawaii), Sen. Daniel Akaka (D., Hawaii)—
billions in new funding for something called “Disproportionate Share Hospital” (DSH) payments (financed, in large part, by $18.5 billion in cuts to DSH payments in other states).

Sen. Max Baucus (D., Mont.), Sen. Jon Tester (D., Mont.), Sen. Kent Conrad (D., N.D.), Sen. Byron Dorgan (D., N.D.), Sen. Tim Johnson (D., S.D.)

—Higher federal Medicare reimbursement rates for low-population “frontier” states (also qualifying under the bill’s definition of frontier states are Utah and Wyoming, represented in the Senate by Republicans).

Christmas Card from Our Daughter

This morning I was reading Winston Churchill's book "The Gathering Storm" and I remembered a Christmas card our daughter sent us in 2006. I searched for the card and found it placed inside of William Manchester's biography of Churchill on a shelf in our dinning room. The card is my favorite all time Christmas card and for Christmas I put it out on the self next to my Winston Churchill statute. I wrote about it on this blog in 2006 as follows:

This year our daughter, who lives in Washington DC, sent us one of the best Christmas cards we have ever received. It is a painting of "The White House Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony.... December 1941." The card was produced by the White House Historical Association. The painting on the front of the card is of Christmas Eve 1941 just weeks after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the U.S. entry into World War II. The Christmas trees is shown in front of the White House and on the portico speaking to the crowd is FDR and Winston Churchill. Churchill had come to Washington DC to coordinate the war effort with FDR and was staying with Roosevelt at the White House.

There is a lot of detail of Churchill's visit in the new book "Franklin and Winston, an Intimate Portrait of an Epic Friendship" by Jon Meacham managing editor of Newsweek and is a very good read. An interesting passage from the book:

The prime minister's hours kept Roosevelt up later than he was accustomed to. Churchill would wander into the President's bedroom at any hour if he had something to talk over..... The late-night conversations were fueled by war and drink... Winston... ate and thoroughly enjoyed, more food than any two men or three diplomats;and he consumed brandy and Scotch with a grace and enthusiasm that left us all open mouthed in awe....

That night they spoke to the crowd in front of the White House and to the nation on the radio. Jon Meacham described the night as follows:

There was a vast crowd, the voices drifted across the keen night air, the carols--old and yet for ever new--were sung in an atmosphere mellowed by the lights and the shadows... the voices of the President and the Prime Minister rang out with a message of hope and courage...Roosevelt introduced Churchill as "My associate, my old and good friend"

Churchill said:

I spend this anniversary and festival far from home....Here in the midst of war, raging and roaring over all the lands and seas, creeping nearer to our hearts and homes, here, amid all the tumult,we have tonight the peace of the spirit in each cottage home and every generous heart. Therefore we may cast aside for this night at least the cares and dangers which beset us, and make for the children an evening of happiness in a world of storm. Here, then for one night only, each home through out the English-speaking world should be a brightly-lighted island of happiness and peace.... Let the children have their night of fun and laughter... before we turn to the stern tasks and formidable year that lie before us. Resolve that by our sacrifice and daring these children shall not be robbed of their inheritance or denied their right to live in a free and decent world

According to Meacham, Eleanor Roosevelt had been worried that FDR would have a bad Christmas because it was the first Christmas after his mothers death but the influx of guests and increasing work made it practically impossible for him to think too much about any personal sorrow.

Churchill had heart palpitations during the ceremony and Churchill was sad to be apart from his wife Clementine at Christmas.

After that momentous night a Christmas Tree would not be lit again on the White House grounds for the during of the war.

The Christmas Card out daughter sent us is one I will aways treasure....... If you look closely you will See FDR and Churchill. Thanks, Marry Christmas, and have a safe trip back home to Oregon .

Quote of the Day

"The trouble with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.” —Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1979 to 1990.

Time is running out

As much as I want to stay in my "Rose Bowl World" the real world keeps intruding into my thoughts and worries. Today Iran test fired an advanced solid fuel missile capable of hitting Israel. Time for a strike by Israel is running out. The following from National Review's online blog "The Corner" sums up the situation:

Bolton: 'Precious Little Time' Before Iran Reveals Nuke [Robert Costa]



On Wednesday, Iran test fired an upgraded version of the Sejil-2, an advanced solid-fuel missile capable of hitting Israel and parts of Europe. Former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton tells National Review Online that the test is further proof of how “we have precious little time left” before Iran develops a nuclear arsenal.


“As their geopolitical sophistication grows and the accuracy of these tests improves, Iran is getting closer and closer each day to weaponizing a nuclear device,” says Bolton. “This is not about one test too far, but about the continued existence of their ballistic program and their ongoing enrichment of uranium. These are the key elements to a nuclear-weapons program.”

If the Obama administration does not address Iran’s nuclear program soon, they will be left with “undesirable options using military force,” says Bolton. “It’s foolish to believe that negotiations or sanctions will change Iran’s mind. This administration was naïve when it took office and it remains naïve today. Every day that goes by with another tut tut from the president or Gordon Brown is another day lost. For proliferation, time is the most critical element.”

Bolton adds that “every test is not a geopolitical statement” and “may just be a test.” Still, he says, if the Obama administration ignores the tests, Israel may not. “Israel has a real risk here,” he says. “If they were going to use military force, they should have done it during the Bush administration. If they use military force now, they’ll face a much more negative reaction from this White House.”

Winston Churchill: "Doom marches on"

1958 Rose Bowl Program

Oregon Ducks vs Ohio State. I wasn't there but I bought a copy off of eBay a few years ago. Go Ducks!

1995 Rose Bowl Program

Oregon Ducks vs Penn State

Fred Meyer Holiday Twist Video Ad on You Tube

(click on the title for a link to the youTube Video)


(Picture not from ad but reminiscent of it.....click on title for link)


For this old "baby boomer" this is the best TV ad of the Christmas Season. I love it. As someone who remembers the early days of Rock n' Roll it does a very good job of recreating the sound, performances and dress of that era. Let's Twist!

On a related note I received an invitation from Time/Life, which sold me the CD set "Malt Shop Memories", to go on the "Malt Shop Memories Cruise" with some of the real life performers like Bobby Rydell, Lesley Gore and Frankie Avalon. Their website describes the cruise as follows:

We’re dusting off those old 45s, turning up the jukebox and transporting you back to the birth of Rock n’ Roll. Twist and shout from morning until night to your favorite music from the '50s & '60s. Relive this wonderful era with a nostalgic, ocean cruise on the Carnival Inspiration from May 13 -17, 2010. This fun-filled trip will also include a stop in beautiful, sun soaked Cozumel.

And the best news? The music will be live, live, live! All your favorites like Frankie Avalon, Bobby Rydell, Little Anthony and the Imperials, Lou Christie, Lesley Gore, Herb Reed & The Platters and The Original Drifters will perform for you in an intimate and personal setting. Disc jockey extraordinaire, Jerry Blavat, the Geator with the Heater, will be your host. He’ll be playing the platters that matter and having you dance all night long. Plus, you’ll get to mix and mingle with stars as they take this trip down memory lane with you.

Relive the best years of your life! Remember driving your 57 Chevy to the drive-in and meeting all your friends at the malt shop for a burger and a shake? Well, break out the Brylcreem and VO-5 that beehive. Fluff up your poodle skirt and dust off that old leather jacket. Get ready for a vacation unlike any other!

I told my wife I would like to go on the cruise but it would be depressing with so many "old people" and she said: "yes, like you"!

ROSE BOWL TICKETS

Without going into too many details we learned yesterday that it looks like we got the tickets we ordered through the University of Oregon Athletic Department for the Rose Bowl game between the Oregon Ducks and the Ohio State Buckeyes for January 1st,2010 in Pasadena California. Go Ducks

UPDATE: Just got a confirming email from the Oregon Athletic Department Ticket Office. We are in, YES!!!!!!!! GO DUCKS!

Wickre Duck Bowl History

I was middle aged before I went to my first Oregon Duck Bowl. I was too young to go the 1958 Rose Bowl or the 1963 Sun Bowl. To be more precise, my parents were not football fans and thus as a kid we did not go to either of those bowls. I did watch them on TV. All through my college years and young adult years I "swore" that I would go to any bowl to which the Ducks were invited. In those years based upon Pac-8 or Pac 10 rules Oregon was mostly limited to going to the Rose Bowl and Oregon had terrible teams in those years and thus received no invitations. That all changed in 1989.


1989 Independence Bowl Oregon 27 Tulsa 24 Won
That all chanced in 1989 when Oregon Athletic Director, Bill Byrne, agreed to buy 14,000 tickets to the Independence Bowl in Shreveport Louisiana in return for a bowl invitation. My 6 year old son and I flew to Dallas Texas and I drove a rental car from there to the game. With a windchill temperate of below zero we watched the Ducks, led by QB Bill Musgrave, come from behind to win the game. During the game I kept worrying that my wife would "kill me" if our son got frost bite. He didn't and that game became a bonding experience we will never forget.

1990 Freedom Bowl Colorado State 32 Oregon 31 Lost
The next year the entire family drove down to the Freedom Bowl in Anaheim, California. We went to Disneyland and had a great time at the Disneyland Hotel. The Washington Huskies were in the Rose Bowl that year and the fans we ran into treated the Freedom Bowl as a Junior Varsity (JV) game. This is one of the reasons I learned to hate the Huskies.The loss was very disappointing but at both the Independence Bowl and the Freedom Bowl you could see the thirst of Oregon fans to go "bowling" after such a drought.

1992 Independence Bowl Wake Forest 39 Oregon 35 Lost
Fortunately we had a tailgate party at home and watched this turkey on TV. Oregon led big time at half time and managed to lose the game in the second half.

1995 Rose Bowl(1994 Season)Penn State 38 Oregon 20 Lost
Again the entire family drove down I-5 to this game and stayed at a hotel near LAX as part of an UofO Alumni "ground package" trip. It was over priced but we did get a bus ride to the game. We had a great time driving down I-5 to the game and passing other Duck fans in their "Ducked out" cars and vans. We met Ducks at every stop on the way down and back. We loved the Pep Rally at Century City, the day before the game, and it was fun just being at the Rose Bowl. It was a disappointing loss but it was the first time Oregon had been to a "big time" bowl and the entire state of Oregon was excited about the event. When we got home a friend gave my wife a tee shirt that said "I survived the Rose Bowl." Unlike our kids my wife is not a big football fan and dislikes crowds.

1996 Cotton Bowl Colorado 38 Oregon 6 Lost
We stayed home and watched this game on TV. This is where we learned to hate then Colorado coach Rick Neuheisel when Colorado went for a fake punt late in the game when Colorado lead Oregon by a big margin.

1997 Las Vegas Bowl Oregon 41 Air Force 13 Won
The entire family drove to Las Vegas for this game. On the way through the Mojave Desert a radio station was giving away Berry Manilow tickets to a concert at the MGM Grand as part of a promotion. The radio station broadcaster said that if you were near a specific exit to stop and show the DJ in the radio station van some Christmas item and they would give you two tickets to the concert. We were near the exit in the middle of "nowhere" and saw the van on top of the overpass and stopped and showed the DJ our cassette tape of Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" and got the two Barry Manilow tickets. We loved the game and my wife and daughter went to the concert. We stayed at the team hotel, the MGM Grand, and enjoyed touring the Vegas Strip.

1998 Aloha Bowl Colorado 51 Oregon 43 Lost
We had a Hawaiian Luau in our family room and watched the game on TV

1999 Sun Bowl Oregon 24 Minnesota 20 Won
We welcomed in the Millennium by watching this game on TV on the morning of New Years Eve day.

2000 Holiday Bowl Oregon 35 Texas 30 Won
What a fine game this was. Watched it on TV. Wish I had gone !

2002 Fiesta Bowl(2001 Season) Oregon 38 Colorado 16 Won
Our son and I and some friends drove all the way to Tempe, Arizona in our van to watch this game. Had a great time and enjoyed New Years Eve on Mill Street in Tempe near the stadium. It was good to finally win a big time BCS bowl and to beat Colorado.One of my favorite Oregon games of all time.

2002 Seattle Bowl Wake Forest 38 Oregon 17 Lost
Our son and I and the same friends drove to Seattle for this game and it was one of the few time I was ashamed to be a Duck. It was obvious the team did not want to be at this "lower tier" bowl and put in little effort and it showed. To top it off it rained very hard as we drove back to Portland after the game to my sisters home.The rain felt like the tears of Oregon fans. We stopped at a fast food restaurant on I-5 after the game 45 or so miles from Seattle. It was full of Oregon fans and it was so quiet!It was like we were at a funeral.

2003 Sun Bowl Minnesota 31 Oregon 30 Lost
Watched on TV New Year Eve Day.

2005 Holiday Bowl Oklahoma 17 Oregon 14 Lost
The entire family had plans to spend Christmas at Disneyland and so we extended our stay in Southern California to go to this game. Stayed at the team hotel in San Diego and had a great time. It was on the waterfront and we went to the Duck pep rally, the parade and a tour of the navy aircraft carrier Midway which is now a museum. The Ducks almost pulled out a win at the end but no luck. It was fun for the entire family to again go on a bowl trip together since our kids were now adults and living away from home.It was strange when my kids bought me a beer in the
Gas Light district of San Diego.

2006 Las Vegas Bowl Brigham Young 38 Oregon 8 Lost
Watched this on TV and was very disappointed in the Ducks. Looked like they didn't care. I cared and it hurt.

2007 Sun Bowl Oregon 56 South Florida 21 WonWatched on TV. This win helped heal the pain of the loss of Dennis Dixon to an injury in the Arizona game and the loss of the "Civil War" to the Beavers on our own field.

2008 Holiday Bowl Oregon 42 Oklahoma State 31 Won
Watched on TV. Little did we know this would be Coach Mike Bellott's last game.

2010 Rose Bowl (2009 season) Oregon 17 Ohio State 26 Lost
The four of us took another "Road Trip" to this game and had a good time. We went to Disneyland and marched up "Main Street" with the Oregon Marching Band" and spent time in Old Pasadena. We cruised the Sunset Strip" and Hollywood Blvd.We attended a wet/cold pep rally at the Santa Monica Pier. The weather on game day was perfect but the loss was a bitter pill.

Book Cover of the Day !

They say you can't judge a book by it's cover and I don't know anything about the book but if I were to judge it by it's cover I would say it made me laugh!

Be very afraid !

President Barack Obama told House Republican leaders to "stop trying to frighten the American people"

Sorry Obama; but, the American people have finally figured you out!

President Obama's job approval rating has fallen to 47 percent in the latest Gallup poll, the lowest ever recorded for any president at this point in his term

Have You No Shame !

Democrat Senate Majority leader Harry Reid on the Senate floor this morning:

"Instead of joining us on the right side of history, all Republicans can come up with is this: slow down, stop everything, let's start over," Reid said.

"If you think you've heard these same excuses before, you're right. When this country belatedly recognized the wrongs of slavery, there were those who dug in their heels and said slow down, it's too early, let's wait, things aren't bad enough."

As I remember it Abraham Lincoln was a Republican.

December 7th..........1941 !

From a article by Victor Davis Hanson of the Hoover Institution I posted a year ago:

On Dec. 7, 1941 - 65 years ago this week -(now 67) pilots from a Japanese carrier force bombed Pearl Harbor. They killed 2,403 Americans, most of them service personnel, while destroying much of the American fleet and air forces stationed in Hawaii.

The next morning, an outraged United States declared war, which ended less than four years later with the destruction of most of the Japanese empire and its military.

Sixty years after Pearl Harbor came another surprise attack on U.S. soil, one that was, in some ways, even worse than the "Day of Infamy."

Nearly 3,000 people died in the Sept. 11 attacks - the vast majority of them civilians. Al-Qaida's target was not an American military base far distant from the mainland. Rather, they suicide-bombed the United States' financial and military centers.......To defeat both Japan and Germany, we averaged over 8,000 Americans lost every month of the war - compared to around 50 per month since Sept. 11..And after Pearl Harbor, Americans believed they had no margin of error in an elemental war for survival. Today, we are apparently convinced that we can lose ground, whether in Afghanistan or Iraq, and still not lose either the war or our civilization.

Of course, by 1945, Americans no longer feared another Pearl Harbor. Yet, we, in a far stronger and larger United States, are still not sure we won't see another Sept. 11.

In many ways the Japanese in their surprise attack on Pearl Harbor did the world a favor by their treacherous attack on Pearl Harbor. The United States then,as today,was a divided nation with a majority isolationist. The treacherous attack united the United States in a war against Germany and Japan. Fortunately for the United States our aircraft carries were at sea and escaped the attack and were available for the major naval battle of the war at Midway.

Day after the "Civil War" Game !

The Ducks are going to the Rose Bowl!

Ducks Win "CIVIL WAR" !!!! ....Go To ROSE BOWL

(Oregon Ducks 37, Oregon State Beavers 33, Ducks smell roses as in Rose Bowl)



(Oregon Duck Fans celebrate as shown on Autzen Stadium's big Screen TV)




(Two Happy Ducks from Medford!)

The Oregon Ducks have received a formal invitation from the Rose Bowl to pay Ohio State University on January 1st, 2010 in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena California. Go Ducks beat the Buckeyes.

"CIVIL WAR" Gameday

Ducks it's finally here! Time to strap it on and beat the Beavers! The University of Oregon expects that every player and fan will do his duty! Players need to play out their hearts and fans need to be very loud on every Beaver offensive play from the time they go into there huddle until the play is over. Autzen is our home and we need to be polite to their fans who are guests but there will be no hospitality on the field.....sportsmanship yes,.... but "no quarter" within the rules. WIN THE DAY... BEAT THE BEAVERS..... GO DUCKS!

Oregon
"Mighty Oregon"

Oregon, our Alma Mater
We will guard thee on and on
Let us gather round and cheer her
Chant her glory Oregon
Roar the praises of her warriors
Sing the story Oregon
On to victory urge the heroes
Of our mighty Oregon!
Go Ducks Go!
Fight Ducks Fight!
Go!
Fight!
Win Ducks Win!

Osu may fight to the end but we will win

UPDATE: The front page of both the Oregonian and Medford, Mail Tribune had stories about the "Civil War" Even the Wall Street Journal" has a story about the game and the rivalry. On the way into work as I was pulling out of our circle a car all "Ducked out" with flags flying passed me. Near the I-5 underpass I passed a Beaver car with flags flying. I pulled into my office parking lot and there were two cars all "Ducked out." with flags and pom poms.Even Safeway had a full page ad just inside the front page of the Mail Tribune with a "Civil War" theme. From Medford to Portland, from Coos Bay to Ontario Oregonians are ready for this game. Go Ducks.... win the day! Make us proud !

White House aides insisted F-22 be removed from Obama speech venue

From the Weekly Standard Blog:

When President Obama spoke to troops at Alaska's Elmendorf Air Force Base last month, the unit there parked a shiny new F-22 fighter plane in the hangar. But according to multiple sources, White House aides demanded the plane be changed to an older F-15 fighter because they didn't want Obama speaking in front of the F-22, a controversial program he fought hard to end.

"White House aides actually made them remove the F-22-said they would not allow POTUS to be pictured with the F-22 in any way, shape, or form," one source close to the unit relayed.

Stephen Lee, a public affairs officer at Elmendorf, confirmed to The Cable that the F-22 was parked in the hangar and then was replaced by an F-15 at the White House's behest.

Click on the title for a picture of Obama with the F 15 in Alaska and the original article.

The airmen there took offense to the Obama aides' demand, sources told The Cable, seeing it as a slight to the folks who are operating the F-22 proudly every day. They also expressed bewilderment that the White House staff would even care so much as to make an issue out of the fact that the F-22 was placed in the hangar with the president.

Click on the title for a picture of Obama with the F 15 in Alaska and the original article. F 22 pictured above.

Waiting for the "Civil War" game

I leave tomorrow about noon for the "Civil War" game in Eugene.The Oregon Club of Southern Oregon has chartered a bus to take us to the 6:00 PM Thursday night game and we will return to Medford right after the game. This is the biggest "Civil War" game in Oregon Duck football history and I will be there. Never before have both teams been guaranteed a trip to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California if they win the game. In 1964 the Pac-8 had to vote because other teams were in contention. This game has been weighing heavily on my mind for at least three weeks. I believe the Oregon Ducks have across the board superior talent. On the other hand, the Oregon State Beavers have often beaten Oregon Duck teams due to more desire. That could be the case tomorrow. Oregon State teams often come out like rabid dogs and play their hearts out.I respect them for that!I have been told that this Oregon Duck team has more of a "blue collar" ethic, than past teams, and they will need it tomorrow. Last year we spoiled Oregon States bid to the Rose Bowl by beating them on their own field and they will be out for revenge.I don't want to see any roses at the game. We have only one mission and that is to beat the Beavers. The Vegas gamblers have Oregon favored but I don't believe it.

Thomas Hobbes once wrote that "the life of man,(is) solitary, poore, nasty, brutish, and short." Hobbes never won a "Civil War" game.... but he was dead on if you lose.

As former Oregon State football coach Dee Andros, once said about the "Civil War" "it's for the right to live in the State of Oregon."

Time goes so slowly waiting for the game.

Go Ducks! Win the Day!

Medford Mail Tribune sports story on joint "Civil War" Lunch

Click on the title for a link to a story in the sports section of Medford's Mail Tribune newspaper on yesterdays Joint "Civil War Lunch."

Photos from Medford's joint "Civil War" lunch

Click on the title for a link to photos taken by the Mail Tribune Newspaper at yesterdays joint "Civil War" lunch. Over 300 Ducks and Beavers attended in the only joint gathering of fans in the State of Oregon. Congratulations to the Oregon Club of Southern Oregon and their Beaver counterparts for making this happen.

Obama's Speech on Afghanistan at West Point

Too little... too late...too equivocal !

Victor Davis Hanson fron National Review online:

Stanley Baldwin, not Winston Churchill. Not a word about the horrific nature of al-Qaeda and their nightmarish Taliban sponsors, and why both of them are going to fail in the manner that the terrorists and their supporters lost in Iraq. Somewhere in this cerebral but flat speech there is the good news that we won't quit Afghanistan — at least for 18 months — but otherwise it was the sort of talk a college provost gives to the faculty at the September back-to-school assembly.

I am happy that for another 18 months, Obama will fight the Taliban. But I think that, in times of war, when troops are headed into battle, Americans would rather hear "smoke 'em out" and "dead or alive" than a Noble Peace Prize preamble.

Obama mentioned himself 44 times and "Victory" not once!.

Medford's Joint "Civil War" Lunch Today!

For the first time in about 10 years there will be a JOINT "Civil War" lunch between the Oregon Club of Southern Oregon and the Oregon State fans in Southern Oregon. The clubs had joint lunchs for many years but about 10 years ago there was a fight between a Duck fan and a Beaver fan over in Klamath Falls at a joint function leading up to the "Civil War" football game between the University of Oregon and Oregon State University. As a result both universities withdrew support for the joint meeting. Both groups of fans continued to have "Civil War" functions, just not joint! Well, last year the Oregon Club of Southern Oregon on it's own approached the Beavers and their AD said no. This year the clubs got together with the passive support of the two schools and will have a joint lunch of friendly rivalry. Last I heard there were 295 fans scheduled for Medford's Red Lion Hotel at 11:45 today.

Go Ducks beat the Beavers!


Oregon
"Mighty Oregon"

Oregon, our Alma Mater
We will guard thee on and on
Let us gather round and cheer her
Chant her glory Oregon
Roar the praises of her warriors
Sing the story Oregon
On to victory urge the heroes
Of our mighty Oregon!
Go Ducks Go!
Fight Ducks Fight!
Go!
Fight!
Win Ducks Win!

“OSU may fight to the end, but we… will… win!”

7 stories Barack Obama doesn't want told

Click on the title for a link to a news story on Politico.com on seven storie lines Barack Obama does not want told.

A year into his presidency, however, Obama’s gift for controlling his image shows signs of faltering. As Washington returns to work from the Thanksgiving holiday, there are several anti-Obama storylines gaining momentum.

The Seven are:

1. He thinks he’s playing with Monopoly money

2. Too much Leonard Nimoy

"Obama, a legislator and law professor, is fluent in describing the nuances of problems. But his intellectuality has contributed to a growing critique that decisions are detached from rock-bottom principles."

3. That’s the Chicago Way

On domestic politics

4. He’s a pushover

On foreign policy

5. He sees America as another pleasant country on the U.N. roll call, somewhere between Albania and Zimbabwe

He does not believe in "American Exceptionalism"

6. President Pelosi

No explanation needed!

7. He’s in love with the man in the mirror

No explanation needed!

(Again, click on the title for a link to the entire analysis)

"Taking Chance" 2009 *****

Last night I watched the movie "Taking Chance" a movie I rented from Netflix. Taking Chance is a 2009 HBO movie that is a historical drama based upon the experiences of Lt. Col. Michael Strobl (Kevin Bacon) escorting the body of a Marine, PFC Chance Phelps (posthumously promoted to LCpl), back to his hometown in Montana from the Iraq War.

The film was selected for showing at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival and premiered on HBO on February 21, 2009 and is a very good movie. I recommend you have some tissue available when you watch it because it is very emotional.

The movie is based upon a detailed report written by Lt.Col. Michael Strobl (Kevin Bacon)about his trip from Dover Delaware across America to a small town in Montana for burial. In his report he details the reactions he received from ordinary Americans. It makes you proud to be an American . Click on the title above for a link to his report

The movie has home videos of the real Chance Phelps in the "Special Features" portion of the DVD as well as interviews with his real parents and sister.

"CIVIL WAR" WEEK; BEAT THE BEAVERS !!!!!

Hear, hear, Denis Dixon

Former Oregon quarterback Dennis Dixon started tonight for the Pittsburgh Steeler's against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday Night Football on TV. Watching Dixon run for a touchdown tonight brought back all the great memories of when he played for the Ducks. In particular the game against Michigan in Ann Arbour.

Long Holiday Weekend

THANKSGIVING DAY;

My wife spent hours planning, buying, and preparing Thanksgiving dinner. We were joined for dinner by my mother in law and brother in law. It was very good and we have been eating the leftover all weekend. After dinner, I spent hours washing dishes and putting the food away and generally cleaning up. That evening we went to Medford's Tinseltown to see the movie "Pirate Radio"**** which was a lot of fun. If your are a baby boomer like me and believe the best Rock n' Roll came out in the mid 1960's this is the movie for you. It also has a moral that British socialism is bad regardless of whether it is government run medical care or government run radio stations. In the mid 1960's the only radio stations in the UK were run by the BBC and they played very little Rock n' Roll and so an entrepreneur had a tramp steamer made into an offshore radio stations and broadcast Rock n' Roll 24 hours a day until the government crushed them. If Obama care becomes reality will we have off shore hospitals on ships where we can get the medical care we want? The movie has a great soundtrack of music. I highly recommend it.

UPDATE: From a post on the Internet Movie Data Base (IMDB)

The Government minister in charge of closing down the pirate radio stations is depicted as a right-wing reactionary, with a grand home with servants. In fact the responsible minister was Tony Benn, then the Labour government Postmaster General at the time, who is known as one of the most left-wing and socialist senior politicians ever.

Hollywood almost always likes to make Conservatives the bad guy even when the true facts get in the way. Look up Tony Benn on Google and you will find out the above quote is true!

"BLACK FRIDAY":

Friday morning I got up about 4 am to hit the "Black Friday" sale at Target! Big mistake! I got to Target at about 5 pm expecting a crowd of hundreds. Well, it was more like thousands. Medford's three TV stations all had their remote vans there. It took me about 15 to 20 minutes to get into the store and then the "fun" began. My main reason for going was to get the "single disk" Blu Ray DVD version of "Gone With the Wind" for only $12.98. "Gone With the Wind" has just come out in Blu ray on DVD but they are selling it for at least $45.98 on Amazon with lots of special features and booklets with 4 discs. Well, I have all the features on regular DVD and only want the movie in Blu ray. Target had an "exclusive" of the one disk version. Well I got in and fought the crowd, found the movie and then the hard part began. I had to find a line to the check stand. Well, I found the end of the line in the electronics department ( going away from the check stand area!) and the line snaked it's way through out the store. I was in line for 2 hours! I also got a special edition to Alexander" in blue ray for $8.98. and a couple of Christmas presents for a relative. I then went home an helped my wife get out our Christmas decorations in the garage and put up our tree. I put on the lights on the tree and then took a nap while my wife finished decorating the tree and fireplace area. We always put the Bing Crosby's movie "White Christmas" on while we decorate the tree. After my map I helped my wife put away the Christmas boxes and then watched some college football on TV.

SATURDAY:

It was my wife's turn to hit the early sales so I slept in and watched ESPN's Game Day. When she got home we started to put up our outside Christmas decorations. It was cold but sunny. All in all we put up 20 plus strings of lights, A light up Santa face, light up rain deer, light up full Santa, light up Frosty the Snowman, and two large light up candles along with associated wreaths and other decorations. One string of lights would not work and I spent about an hour trying to get them to work. I finally gave up and made a trip to "Fred's" and replaced them in the dark. I finally finished about 7:30 pm and finished the day by watching some college football. The lights look good. If our kids were not coming home for Christmas I probably would not have put them all up but there is a little (a lot) of the dad in "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" in me.

SUNDAY:

After a late start I went shopping for some items for the joint "Civil War" lunch we are having here in Medford between the Oregon Club of Southern Oregon and the Beaver Club on Tuesday. Now that the weekend is coming to an end I can concentrate on the "Civil War" game on Thursday night on ESPN TV. I will be going to Eugene for the game. Let's go Ducks... win the day... Beat the Beavers!

Happy Thanksgiving

THANKSGIVING during the real Civil War

Things are unsettled for me this Thanksgiving waiting for the " War for the Roses" the Oregon vs Oregon State "Civil War" game the Thursday after Thanksgiving. However, to put it all in perspective I re post the following from last year from Newt Gingrich the History Professor:

The Civil War was raging. Three months earlier, the Battle of Gettysburg had left 50,000 Americans killed, wounded or missing. Riots were tearing apart American cities.

In the midst of this chaos, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed in October 1863 that the last Thursday of November should henceforth be set aside as a day of thanksgiving.

Lincoln acknowledged that the nation was "in the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity." But he focused instead on the nation's blessings, urging his fellow Americans to remember that "No human counsel hath devised, nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the most high God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy."

And Lincoln, too, proclaimed that all Americans set aside the day for a public expression of gratitude to God. He wrote, "It has seemed to me fit and proper that they [gifts of God] should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American people."

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

UPDATE: The full proclamation by Abraham Lincoln:

By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

A bottle of wine and "Civil War" History

Before last years "Civil War" game Doug Binder of the Oregonian has put together a history of every Oregon vs Oregon State game since they first started playing in in 1894.... yes 1894! My favorite game was the 1994 game I watched at home on TV with my family.

1994 The most important Civil War in 30 years is also one of the best of the entire series. Oregon needs to win the Civil War to secure a Rose Bowl berth and the Beavers hope to stop them in front of a frenzied home crowd at Parker Stadium. Trailing 13-10, quarterback Danny O'Neil leads the Ducks on a 70-yard fourth quarter drive. A screen pass to Dino Philyaw goes for 19 yards and a go-ahead score. Earlier, the Beavers had a chance to put the Ducks away but quarterback Don Shanklin tripped on guard Darin Borter's foot on fourth-and-two from the Oregon 14 and went down for a three-yard loss. Oregon's Cristin McLemore left the game to have X-rays but returned to make two key catches on the game-winning drive. After a 17-13 win, the Ducks go on to a Rose Bowl date with Penn State.

A few year before 1994 I had won a bottle of "Len Casanova" wine at a Duck function. Prior to 1994 Oregon had not been to the Rose Bowl since 1958 when Oregon was coached by Len Casanova. Well, Casanova came to Medford for a Duck function and I got him to autograph the bottle. I then pledged I would not open the bottle until Oregon again went to the Rose Bowl. I fully expected I would not live to see that day and would have to "will" the wine to my son. On that day in 1994 the bottle sat on top of the TV until the end of the game. I can remember not being able to just sit and watch the game on TV. I paced all over our home and several times went out on the side deck to cool off. I can still remember the 70 yard drive in the 4th quarter and the return of the injured Cristin McLemore to catch two balls on that drive. What a warrior! After the game we opened that bottle of wine and had a drink and the entire family went to the Rose Bowl.


Well, I still have that bottle of Len Casanova wine and there is still some wine in it. I don't care if the wine is any good or not that bottle will be on our TV for good luck and when I get home from the game in Eugene I will have a drink from it, if the ducks are going to the ...........

The War for the Roses!

Go Ducks Beat the Beavers!

UPDATE: I got a call from my son after he read the above post. He is somewhat of a wine connoisseur and he suggested drinking from a wine bottle that has been opened for 15 years would not be a good idea. I protested that it had a cork in it and he said it didn't make any difference. However, the bottle will be on the TV during the game and I will smell the bouquet after the game if the ducks are going to the..........

SNL destroys Obama over spending

If you didn't see it last night on Saturday Night Live click on the title for a link to a SNL skit of of a mock press conference between President Obama and the head of the Chinese communist government.It is devastating! The Chinese leader grills Obama on United States deficit spending, the health care bill "Cash for Clunkers" the stimulus package and how Obama is financing the deficits with loans from the Chinese and how we are going to pay the loans back. You know Obama is in trouble when Saturday Night Live goes after him. It's also very funny.

Ugly Scene In Tuscon Arizona

Click on the title to a link to an ugly scene on you tube in Tuscon Arizona after the Oregon Ducks beat the Arizona Wildcats in double overtime 44 to 41. The Oregon players came over to the Oregon fans section to thank them for coming to the game, as the do at all away games, and the Arizona fans started to throw full plastic bottles at the players and other staff. I counted at least 12 bottles being thrown in a very short period . An Oregon female cheer leader was hit on the head and fainted with what appeared to be a concussion. She was taken by ambulance to a local hospital for an MRI. There is NO excuse for this. Before overtime when the Arizona fans though they were going to win the game they came in mass out of the stands on to the field an surrounded the playing field and created a very dangerous situation. This is NOT the first time this has happened in Tuscon and the University has not taken corrective action. Shame on them!

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: OREGON VS OREGON STATE

Here in Oregon this is Civil War Week. (Actualy more than a week as the game will be played on Thursday night December 3rd on ESPN TV)For the first time since 1964 both teams have a Rose Bowl invitation waiting for them if they win the game. Some one said the "Civil War" game "is for the right to live in the State of Oregon" or at least the right to live in the State of Oregon with your head held high. This is one of college footballs oldest rivalries. Here in Oregon, Ducks and Beavers can be found in most offices, families and neighborhoods. It's brother vs brother, neighbor vs neighbor and coworker vs coworker so it truly is a Civil War. These two teams and their fans do night like each other.

One of my favorite Civil War stories is from World War II. One of the Band of Brothers featured in the HBO mini series, Don Malarkey, is a University of Oregon alum. His studies were interrupted by World War II and he was in the paratroopers in England preparing for the D-Day landings. Eisenhower and Churchill came to view his unit before the beginning of the invasion and Ike asks Malarkey what he did before the war. He said he was a student at the University of Oregon in Eugene, and Ike asks him who won the last Oregon vs Oregon State Football game. Of course Ike played football for Army at West Point.

It is fun to walk around the tailgate parties before the game because you see Ducks and Beavers together. There is a scene in the movie Gettysburg where a confederate general tells a British Army officer who is there as an observer just before Pickett's charge that "All Virginia is here today". At each Oregon vs Oregon State Football game I like to think "all Oregon is here today." I wonder how many tailgate parties there will be for a Thursday night game?

Jon Wilner, of the San Jose Mercury news in California rates the rivalry football games in the Pac-10 and rates the "Civil War" game as the #1 rivalry game when he writes:

1. The Civil War.

These days, Oregon-Oregon State has the best combination of passion, significance and competitiveness.

The passion takes the form of hatred — much closer to the Arizona-ASU situation than a healthy dislike.

OSU looks with jealousy at its richer, more-famous, more hip neighbor and wonders what might have been if Phil Knight had gone to OSU. The Ducks hate OSU because they’ve been told to hate OSU for decades.

The games are usually high scoring, although not always close, and the home team has dominated this decade.

Most importantly, you can’t go more than two or three Civil Wars without the stakes being high — sometimes for both teams.

Five times this decade, the Ducks have won at least eight games. The Beavers are on the verge of doing it for the fourth time.

Without question, Oregon and Oregon State have been the most successful natural rivals in the conference in recent years. And that makes the Civil War the league’s best rivalry.

I learned to hate the Beavers a long time ago in the late 1960's and early 1970's when the Beavers regularly under coach Dee Andros,( The Great Pumpkin) beat the shi* out of Oregon Duck Teams and did it with such relish.


A few years ago Dee, long retired, not too long before his death, came to a joint Duck/Beaver "Civil War" lunch in Medford and gave a passionate speech about the "Civil War" game that made me want to strap on a helmet and start playing right there. When Dee Andros walked into the banquet room he was wearing a god awful bright orange blazer and a black and orange striped tie. A local young TV sports reporter, who had probably just moved to this area, walked up to him and asked him if he was an Oregon State fan ..... it brought a smile to my face.

(Dee Andros was a veteran of World War II where he served four years in the U.S. Marine Corps. He was awarded the Bronze Star and spent more than a month under heavy fire on Iwo Jima. He was present at the famed moment when Marines raised the American flag on Iwo Jima.)

In my lifetime I can remember twice when the Duck were denied a trip to the Rose Bowl because of a loss to the Beaver..... The first, was in 1964 when I was in high school and listened to the game on a transistor radio at a speech tournament I was competing in. The Beavers won and went to the Rose Bowl. The second, was in 2000 when I spent part of the game at a hospital with a dying relative.

Last year we denied the Beavers a trip to the Rose Bowl when we beat them on their own field. This year they will come to Autzen and I don't want to see any roses before or during the game! Let's go Ducks Win the Day!

Go Ducks beat the Beavers.

For Conservative Movie Lovers: John Ford/ John Wayne & "They Were Expendable" Part 6

Leo Grin continues his loving series on John Ford's movie "They Were Expendable." In part 6 he writes about Robert Montgomery, Donna Reed and Ward Bond who stared in the movie along with John Wayne. He also writes about the many character actors in the movie who were part of the "John Ford Stock Company":

Throughout the decades in which he worked, John Ford collected about himself a motley assortment of character actors, stuntmen, ex-soldiers, and personal friends, people he particularly enjoyed working with. Together they became informally known as the John Ford Stock Company, and over the course of thirty years they matured into an experienced acting troupe much greater than the sum of their parts, to the point where you can usually judge the merit of a Ford film based on how many members of his Stock Company are listed in the credits. Astoundingly versatile, they were by turns raucously hilarious or deeply affecting, depending on Ford’s whims. For fans of the director’s films, the sight of one of their weathered, well-loved faces on screen is always a cause for rejoicing

.....

One of the members of the "John Ford Stock company was a former soldier , Jack Pennick who in addition to acting in the movies was somewhat of an informal military advisor to Ford:

When today’s filmmakers, flush with the power of CGI and modern camera techniques, declare their gloomy anti-war films more realistic and thus superior to the hokey military movies of yore, I can only think of guys like Jack Pennick, men who infused old movies with their patriotism, optimism, loyalty, and expertise. One of John Ford’s greatest gifts to posterity is his immortalization of such people on screen, reminding future generations of their caliber.

(Jack Pinnock, John Wayne, Robert Montgomery & Ward Bond)
(To read a lot more click on the title for a link.... it also has links to parts 1 through 5 of the series)

UPDATE: Last night (Sunday) I re watched the movie and there is a lot to love in this movie.The scenes between John Wayne and Donna Reed are magical and some of the best scenes to be found in any movie.

Oregon Ducks...... GAME DAY (UPDATE: OREGON WINS!!!!!)

Oregon Ducks vs Arizona Wildcats in Tuscon at 5 pm on ABC TV. This game has been weighing on my mind all week. Win the Day! Let's Go Ducks!


UPDATE: OREGON WINS IN DOUBLE OVERTIME 44 TO 41 The Ducks trailed by 10 points midway through the 4th quarter and tied the game with 6 seconds in regulation play.I swear I am getting too old for this!I have been a Duck fan for a long time and they never do it easy!

Bring on the Oregon State Beavers in the "Civil War Game" on Thursday December 3rd on ESPN TV.... winner goes to the Rose Bowl!

Friday Night Lights!

Tonight here in cold and wet Medford, the South Medford, Panthers take on Jesuit from suburban Portland in the second round of the OSAA 6A state playoffs in high school football. We have our tickets and will be there to cheer on our Panthers. Regardless of who wins this may be the last game in Medford this season. Go Panthers!

UPDATE: Turn out the Friday Night Lights! South Medford's season came to an end tonight. On to South Medford basketball.

Obama in China: A wake-up call! by David Gergen

Obama is in trouble when liberal moderates like CNN analyst David Gergen start criticising him. Gergen writes on CNN's website:

Barack Obama has recently been reading up on the presidency of John F. Kennedy. Coming home from China, he might well focus on Kennedy’s first summit overseas with the leader of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev. Indeed, we all could learn from that episode......

According to Kennedy biographer Richard Reeves, Khruschev left the meeting telling associates, “He’s very young… not strong enough. Too intelligent and too weak.” Khrushchev concluded that he could push Kennedy around and started causing mischief from Berlin to Cuba......

Obama went into those sessions like Kennedy: with great hope that his charm and appeal to reason – qualities so admired in the United States – would work well with Hu. By numerous accounts, that is not at all what happened: reports from correspondents on the scene are replete with statements that Hu stiffed the President, that he rejected arguments about Chinese human rights and currency behavior while scolding the U.S. for its trade policies, and that he stage-managed the visit so that Obama – unlike Clinton and Bush before him – was unable to reach a large Chinese audience through television....

But it is equally clear that this was not at all the kind of summit that an American administration would want – and it does bear some ominous similarities to the Kennedy-Khrushchev talks in Vienna.....

For the President, the challenge is whether he will start approaching international affairs with a greater measure of toughness, standing up more firmly and assertively for American interests....


For the United States, this trip should also send a clear message that the balance of power is changing in the world....

We need to wake up, too, recognizing that we have to pull ourselves together to solve the challenges before us – living beyond our means for too long, building up too much debt, allowing China to become our biggest creditor, ....

(To read all of David Gergen's column click on the title for a link to CNN...it must be getting bad out there for Obama when I start linking CNN )