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 )

To Osama Bin Laden From Barack Obama

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney present during questioning. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you. Do you understand these rights?"

When Reality Catches up to Rhetoric by Victor Davis Hanson

The growing problem for the Obama administration is that the public has finally caught on that the president's tough rhetoric and soaring oratory don't match reality.

"Considering all options" and "wanting more information" essentially mean dithering and voting present on Afghanistan, even after announcing the adoption of a new bold strategy.

"Saving jobs" means conjecturing about the effects of massive borrowing and enhancing your figures through the creation of fictitious congressional districts and bogus employment reporting.

*********

The health-care mess grows worse: The Chinese have caught on that Obama wants to borrow more billions for us, who are cash poor, to create entitlements that they, who are cash rich, would not create for their own people. The new government suggestion that women not begin receiving routine mammograms until age 50 comes at a bad time, given that critics of Obamacare have been arguing that it will lead to rationing of service.

(to read more click on the title for a link to National Review online)

"The Gathering Storm" by Winston Churchill

There are certain books I read over and over. Carl Sandburg's series on Abraham Lincoln is one. Winston Churchill's 6 volume history of the Second World War is another. In fact, the Churchill set has an honored place on a bookshelf in our dinning room. Of the six volumes my favorite is the first book titled "The Gathering Storm." I first read it in high school. In fact my senior paper in English class was on the book. I have always found it interesting how the English people could not see the threat of Hitler that Churchill could see so clearly.If anyone has read this blog for any time they could not miss that I see a lot of parallels between the lead up to World War II and world events today. Churchill wrote the "Theme of the Volume" was "How the English-speaking peoples through their unwisdom, carelessness and good nature allowed the wicked to rearm." That clearly can apply to Iran, and North Korea as well at the threat from Islamic Fascist.The English people did not listen to Churchill in the years he was in his political wilderness. Then at the last possible moment they turned to him to him in desperation, as France fell to Hitler, to lead them in the defense of their island. The book ends with Churchill becoming British Prime Minister in the darkest days of World War II when England stood alone against the might of Nazi Germany. He writes:

"I felt as if I were walking with Destiny and that all my past life had been but a preparation for this hour and for this trial. Eleven years in the political wilderness had freed my from ordinary party antagonism. My warnings over the last six years had been so numerous, so detailed and were now so terribly vindicated, that no one could gainsay me. I could not be reproached either for making the war or with want of preparation for it. I thought I knew a good deal about it all and I was sure I should not fail. Therefore, although impatient for the morning, I slept soundly and had no need for cheering dreams. Fact are better than dreams."

Who will be our Churchill?

America Why I love Her

Click on the title for a treat.(Be sure your speakers one on) In these cynical times it's easy to find John Wayne talking about his love of America to be corny but I never tire of it.

Obama's Healthcare:" It's more like malpractice" by Robert Samuelson

Robert J Samuelson the economics columnist for Newsweek magazine and the Washington Post must be a lonely man at those publications. In his latest column he calls Obama's health care plan "Malpractice." A few quotes:

There is an air of absurdity to what is mistakenly called "health-care reform." Everyone knows that the United States faces massive governmental budget deficits as far as calculators can project, ....

It would create new, open-ended medical entitlements that threaten higher deficits and would do little to suppress surging health costs. The disconnect between what President Obama says and what he's doing is so glaring that most people could not abide it. The president, his advisers and allies have no trouble. But reconciling blatantly contradictory objectives requires them to engage in willful self-deception, public dishonesty, or both....


The campaign to pass Obama's health-care plan has assumed a false, though understandable, cloak of moral superiority....

The pretense of moral superiority further erodes before all the expedient deceptions used to sell Obama's health-care agenda. ......

To read the entire column outlining Obama's "deceptions" click on the title for a link .....it's well worth your time.

Oregon Ducks vs Arizona Wildcats.... "It's Only a Game"

If it is only a game why can't I think of anything else? It seems like a long long time till next Saturday in Tuscon at 5 PM PST. ESPN Gameday will be there and the game will be on ABC TV Saturday night. The Ducks MUST win!

For the last few years I have started out each football season with the attitude "let's just go with the flow." "Let's just enjoy the journey." If the Ducks win that's good but if they lose well it's been a fun adventure. NOT ANYMORE... this season is a quest and the next hurdle is ARIZONA on Saturday and we MUST win the day! Without saying the words we all know what is at stake. On this Monday morning Saturday night can not get here fast enough ! Go Ducks.... Win he Day!

Game Day !!!!

Today the University of Oregon Ducks have a night football game against the Arizona State Sun Devils at 7:20 PST on ESPN TV. Go Ducks! Win the Day!

UPDATE: The Oregon Ducks won 44 to 21. I took a charter bus to Eugene from Medford and back. The bus trip was sponsored by the Oregon Club of Southern Oregon. It was a fun trip and a cold night at the game. Did not get back to Medford till 2:30 AM Sunday morning and did not get to sleep till 4 AM. I am getting too old for this! But, I do love it.

Friday Night Lights

Tonight, the South Medford Panthers traveled to Oregon City to play the Pioneers in the first round of the 6A OSAA high school football playoffs and won 20 to 13. In the second half the lead switched back and forth several times. It looks like next week South Medford will host, here in Medford, Jesuit High school of suburban Portland.South Medford, lives to play another game and it iooks like I will get to see at least one more South Medford game this season. Jesuit is ranked #2 in the state. Go Panthers!

They watch and wait but not forever !

The enemies of the United States watch and wait but will not wait forever. Iran, North Korea, Russia, China and Al-Qaeda view Barack Obama as a weak leader in international affairs. They see indecision on Afghanistan, They see a United States President who is more interested in apologising for the alleged transgressions of his own country than standing up for it.They see a President who alienates our allies while reaching out to our enemies. They see foreign terrorist given the same rights as citizens. They see weakness!

President Obama for all his skill as a campaigner has no foreign policy experience. They see a man in over his head. If I were the Chinese, Taiwan would look mighty tempting. If I were the Russians, the former Soviet States of Eastern Europe would look mighty tempting. If I were the North Koreans, there is no reason not to develop nuclear weapon and the means for delivering them. If I were the Iranians, it would be full speed ahead on the development of nuclear weapons and the means to destroy Israel. If I was Al-Qaeda, I would be training my terrorist on the advantages of the Miranda Warning and the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney along with bomb making .

The world had become a much more dangerous place.


Sir Winston Churchill - March 1936,

"Virtuous motives, trammeled by inertia and timidity, are no match for armed and resolute wickedness. A sincere love of peace is no excuse for muddling hundreds of millions of humble folk into total war. The cheers of the weak, well-meaning assemblies soon cease to count. Doom marches on."

Sen JoeLieberman: 9/11 Terrorists Not Entitled to Federal Court Trial

From the office of Senator Joe Lieberman:


WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) today strongly differed with Attorney General Eric Holder's decision to prosecute the individuals charged with committing the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in civilian courts in the United States.

Senator Lieberman said, “The terrorists who planned, participated in, and aided the September 11, 2001 attacks are war criminals, not common criminals. Not only are these individuals not common criminals but war criminals, they are also not American citizens entitled to all the constitutional rights American citizens have in our federal courts. The individuals accused of committing these heinous, cowardly acts of intentionally targeting unsuspecting, defenseless civilians should therefore be tried by military commission rather than in civilian courts in the United States.”

Senator Lieberman continued, “The military commission system recently signed into law by the President as part of the National Defense Authorization Act provides standards of due process and fairness that fully comply with the requirements established by the Supreme Court and the Geneva Conventions. Earlier this year, when passing the National Defense Authorization Act, the Senate also passed language expressing its clear intent that military commissions rather than civilian courts in the U.S. are the appropriate forum for the trial of these alleged terrorists. I share the views of more than 140 family members of the victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks who recently wrote to the Senate urging that the individuals charged with responsibility for those attacks should be tried by military commission rather than in civilian courts in the United States: It is inconceivable that we would bring these alleged terrorists back to New York for trial, to the scene of the carnage they created eight years ago, and give them a platform to mock the suffering of their victims and the victims’ families, and rally their followers to continue waging jihad against America.”
Senator Lieberman urged the Administration to reconsider its decision and to try those charged with responsibility for the September 11, 2001 attacks using the military commission system that was created by Congress and recently signed into law by the President for that very purpose.

Afghanistan: Where are those reinforcements?

Our general, who he hand picked to fight the "good war", asked for 40,000 reinforcements two and half months ago. Now, President Obama wants to restudy his other options! This is "Black Hawk Down" all over again only on a much larger scale. Always too little too late and American soldiers and marines pay the price.

UPDATE: From the National Reviw Blog "The Corner:"

Even if the president eventually sends a significant number of additional troops and allows General McChrystal to implement a counterinsurgency strategy, this painfully drawn out process has had negative consequences and does not bode well for the future U.S. commitment in Afghanistan. As a retired Air Force Chief Master Sergeant emailed to me after reading one of my Corner posts:

"Our service members are dying and the president is dithering. I have been in the military while a president dithered or failed to make a tough decision, it is eviscerating, and a rot settles in. “Commander in Chief” is not just a fancy title. The president is the ultimate officer and like any poor officer his failure to make tough decisions is seen as a weakness by his NCOs and men. Morale, that most fragile base of any good military unit suffers immediately. When our officers are fearful and indecisive, we become fearful and indecisive.

NCOs find reasons not to patrol or to avoid high-risk areas, Convoys are diverted to avoid possible confrontation, our allies desert us and the advantage is ceded to the enemy.

And this happen quickly, weeks are all that’s left to keep the advantage in Afghanistan. After a certain point in time “mission weariness” begins to settle in and the edge is lost on our weapon and almost impossible to regain. Quite frankly I fear that the time to make a difference is quickly slipping away and even if he eventually approves the fully levy of Gen McChrystal’s request the momentum may have been permanently lost."

HAPPY BIRTHDAY !!!!

A Happy Birthday shout out!

11 Oregon Duck TV basketball games will NOT be shown in Medford, Oregon

The Oregon Ducks announced today the Men's Basketball games that will be shown on the Oregon Sports Network which are shown "exclusively on Comcast SportsNet Northwest during the 2009-10 season." The 11 games NOT to be shown in Medford are:
Nov. 15 - Colorado State, 3:30 pm
Nov. 28 - Montana State, 7:30 pm
Dec. 19 - Oakland, 7:30 pm
Dec. 31 - at Washington State, TBA
Jan. 2 - at Washington, 2 pm
Jan. 14 - Arizona State, 5:30 pm
Jan. 30 - USC, 3 pm
Feb. 13 - at Arizona State, 3 pm
Feb. 20 - California, 3 pm
Feb. 27 - at UCLA, 2 pm
March 6 - Washington State, TBA *

The good folks of Medford have Charter Cable which has been unable to work out a deal with Comcast. This is the second season this has happened. Give us a break!

VETERANS DAY 2009

On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month 1918 the guns fell silent along the Western Front and an armistice was signed ending World War I. "The war to end all wars." November 11th thus became a holiday known as Armistice Day. After World War II the name was changed to Veterans Day. In Medford, in a park near the National Guard Armory, there are trees planted for each boy from Jackson County who died in World War I. There are a lot of trees. My grandfather Lewis Holton and my great Uncle Herman Bellach (Like a grandfather to me) both served under "Black Jack" Pershing in in France in World War I. I am told my grandfather came home a chanced man after the war. Like almost all the veteran's of that war they are now gone.


IN FLANDERS FIELDS the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.



George M. Cohan wrote the song "Over There" just as the United States entered World War I and it became the anthem for the American soldiers going to France to fight the German "Hun"


Johnnie, get your gun,
Get your gun, get your gun,
Take it on the run,
On the run, on the run.
Hear them calling, you and me,
Every son of liberty.
Hurry right away,
No delay, go today,
Make your daddy glad
To have had such a lad.
Tell your sweetheart not to pine,
To be proud her boy's in line.
(chorus sung twice)

Johnnie, get your gun,
Get your gun, get your gun,
Johnnie show the Hun
Who's a son of a gun.
Hoist the flag and let her fly,
Yankee Doodle do or die.
Pack your little kit,
Show your grit, do your bit.
Yankee to the ranks,
From the towns and the tanks.
Make your mother proud of you,
And the old Red, White and Blue.
(chorus sung twice)

Chorus
Over there, over there,
Send the word, send the word over there -
That the Yanks are coming,
The Yanks are coming,
The drums rum-tumming
Ev'rywhere.
So prepare, say a pray'r,
Send the word, send the word to beware.
We'll be over, we're coming over,
And we won't come back till it's over
Over there


I can still hear Uncle Herm singing this song which was a favorite of American Soldiers in France during World War I


Mademoiselle from Armentières
Par ley voo,
Mademoiselle from Armentières
Par ley voo,
Mademoiselle from Armentières,
She hasn't been kissed for forty years,
Hinky, Dinky Par ley voo.

After he died I inherited from Uncle Herm a Time/Life history book on World War I. On some of the battle maps are small "X"'s put there by Uncle Herm showing were he was during the war.

Thanks for your service and may future generations keep the freedom you paid so dearly for.

"No class" By Jay Nordlinger

Found this over at National Review online blog :

Re ‘Two Profiles in Class’ [Jay Nordlinger]

Since January 20, I have thought occasionally of that famous JFK putdown of Nixon: “No class.” I thought of it when President Obama knocked George W. Bush on foreign soil — to a group of Turkish students. I thought of it when he laughed his head off at a death-to-Rush joke. I thought of it when he told those New York donors that Republicans can’t think for themselves. And I’ve thought of it now that he has slimed conservative protesters as “teabaggers.”



Remember when we were told that the best thing about Barack Obama would be his temperament? I’m not sure it’s better than his policies.

Oregon senior running back LeGarrette Blount has been reinstated

News release from the University of Oregon:

EUGENE - University of Oregon senior running back LeGarrette Blount has been reinstated to the Ducks' football program and will be available to play Saturday when they host Arizona State in a game scheduled to kickoff at 7:20 p.m. (PST), according to an announcement from the school's head coach Chip Kelly Monday.

Blount, who has missed Oregon's last eight games after being suspended by Kelly following the season-opening loss at Boise State, has remained a member of the team and has participated in practice since the post-game incident which led to his suspension.

Kelly said he forwarded his recommendation for Blount's reinstatement to Oregon Athletics Director Mike Bellotti Sunday night, who in turn passed it along to University President Richard Lariviere and Pacific-10 Conference Commissioner Larry Scott.

Blount's suspension was originally announced to encompass the entire 2009 season, but Kelly announced on Oct. 2 the potential for reinstatement contingent upon the running back completing a series of conditions to the satisfaction of athletics department, University and Pac-10 officials. Kelly emphasized that Blount would continually be held accountable to those conditions for the remainder of the year.

"I'm grateful to Coach Kelly that he cares enough to offer me this second chance," Blount said. "Now it is up to me to prove to people that their lasting impressions of me are not what they saw in Boise.

"When I am ready to address this further with the public and the media, I will do so," Blount added. "Until that time, I feel my actions can speak louder than anything I could say. I just want to help my teammates who have been supportive of me."

The Ducks' 1,000-yard rusher from a year ago was held to minus 5 yards in his only appearance this year in a 19-8 loss at Boise State.

Long Weekend

On Friday night my South Medford Panthers were blown out by Sheldon up in Eugene in high school football . I listened to the game on the radio. On Saturday I wanted nothing better than to drive down to Standford to cheer on my Oregon Ducks. However, I had made a commitment to my sister to drive to Portland to help her celebrate her birthday. Some things are more important than a game. Did I say that! Yes, family is more important.

We left Medford at about 9 am and had an uneventful trip to Eugene. We stopped at Track Town Pizza across the street from the University of Oregon for lunch. We were able to see the construction on Matt Court the new basketball arena that is rising where the Williams Bakery used to be. At Track Town Pizza I had a great pizza and watched the end of the Iowa game and then the first 10 minutes of the Oregon vs Stanford game on TV. We then drove over to the Duck Shop at the "Mo Center" and watched part of the game on TV there. We then headed for Portland and listened to the game on the radio with Jerry Allen, Mike Jorganson and AD Mike Bellotti. Just about the time we got on I-5 it started to rain very hard. It rained as hard as I have ever seen on the freeway. It reminded me of our trip back to Portland after the Seattle Bowl. It could have been an omen on the game. The game on the radio was not going well for the Ducks. However I liked Mike Bellotti and his insights into the game as a former head coach. As we got near Portland the radio faded out and I could not find the game on the AM dial. We got to our motel near my sister's and I raced into the room to watch the end of the game on TV. However, they did not have FOX Sports Northwest and I went back to the car to see if I could get it on the radio. I then found it on an FM station and listened as the Duck cut the Stanford lead to 6 points but could not close the deal. I went back to our motel room and we received a cell phone call from our daughter in Washington DC who was following the game at work. We then called my sister who came over and we took her out to dinner at Old Chicago near the motel. There were a lot of Beavers there watching their game with Cal on the many TV's at the restaurant. I was able to follow the Beaver and U$C game with ASU while we had dinner. WE then went by my sisters home and we had birthday cake and she opened her presents. We fooled around with her electric piano/organ and then she dropped us off at our motel where it was still raining hard. We then heard the news that the Democrats on a very narrow vote in the US House had passed a government takeover of health care in this country with a trillion dollar price tag. Still has to go to the Senate. Sunday we got up and checked out of the motel and had a nice breakfast with my sister at Elmer's across the street from the Motel and then we met her at Clackamus Town Center Mall and I found a DVD of the Peter Bagdonovich Documentary "Directed by John Ford." We then said goodbye to my sister and had headed back to Medford. We stopped for gas in Cottage Grove and ice cream at the Seven Feathers Truck stop in Canyonville. It rained but nothing like it did on Saturday.

It could have been a depressing weekend what with the Ducks losing and the House passage of the government take over of health care but it was nice seeing my sister and I am glad we made the trip as it distracted me from the bad news of the weekend.

Happy Birthday Sis!

Bumper Sticker of the Day

Time to Get Ready for Arizona State!

Let's not cry over spilt milk! We need to give Arizona State a nice Autzen Welcome. At 7:20 pm PST Saturday night on ESPN TV nationwide. Let's Go Ducks!

10.2% UNEMPLOYMENT

I guess borrowing more money from the Chinese to create more public employee jobs is not working in the short term either!

Double digit unemployment.... highest in 26 years!

Oregon needs to be ready for Stanford!

"Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it,"George Santayana

In 2003 the Oregon Ducks and their fans were feeling very good about themselves when they beat Michigan 31 to 27 in Eugene at Autzen Stadium. The next week at home against Washington State the Ducks lost 16 to 55..... yes, Washington State scored 55 points against the Ducks and were not interested in reading newspaper stories about the Ducks big win against Michigan! The Ducks then lost to Utah, Arizona, Washington & to Minnesota in the Sun Bowl. We need to win the the day and take it to the Stanford Cardinal !

2003 Duck Football Season
Sat, Aug 30 Mississippi State - - at Starkville, Miss. 42 - 34 (W)
ESPN2

Sat, Sep 06 Nevada - - Eugene, Ore. 31 - 23 (W)
OSN

Sat, Sep 13 Arizona - - at Tucson, Ariz. 48 - 10 (W)
TBS

Sat, Sep 20 Michigan 22 3 Eugene, Ore. 31 - 27 (W)
ABC

Sat, Sep 27 Washington State 10 21 Eugene, Ore. 16 - 55 (L)
ABC

Fri, Oct 03 Utah 19 - at Salt Lake City, Utah 13 - 17 (L)
STATS ESPN2

Sat, Oct 11 Arizona State - - at Tempe, Ariz. 14 - 59 (L)
STATS ABC
Sat, Oct 25 Stanford - - Eugene, Ore. 35 - 0 (W)
STATS
Sat, Nov 01 Washington - - at Seattle, Wash. 10 - 42 (L)
STATS TBS
Sat, Nov 08 California - - Eugene, Ore. 21 - 17 (W)
STATS TBS

Sat, Nov 15 UCLA - - at Los Angeles, Calif. 31 - 13 (W)
STATS
Sat, Nov 22 Oregon State - - Eugene, Ore. 34 - 20 (W)
STATS ABC (OR)

Oregon: "don't screw up against Stanford."

Oregon's football coach Chip Kelly was the Dan Patrick show again today. As the interview was winding down Dan told Chip "don't screw up against Stanford." Chip laughed and said that was now his pre-game speech. He told Dan he was going to tell the team, "one of the most famous people in American said to not screw up against Stanford. Let's go win."

That's the word for the week "don't screw up against Stanford!"

Let's Go Ducks.... Win the Day!

ELECTION DAY 2009

Has it really been a year! I will update this blog as election results come in from Virginia, New Jersey and the 23 Congressional District of New York.

VIRGINIA GOVERNOR: Bob McDonnell (R)(Winner) vs Creigh Deeds (D)

From a blog over at National Review online:

Earlier today, the Democratic Party of Virgina left this on my door to remind me that the outcome of the Virginia Governor's race does not reflect upon the popularity or public support of Barack Obama

(sarcasm)


UPDATE: AP says Bob McDonnell (R) the winner in Virginia !!!!!!

Republicans win Governor, Lt Governor and Attorney General races in Virginia!

************************************

NEW JERSEY: Chris Christie (R)(Winner) vs Jon Corzine (D) Chris Daggett (I)

CNN, Fox News, MSNBC project Republican Christie the winner. big night for Republicans


********************************

NY 23rd Cong Dist. Doug Hoffman (C) vs Bill Owen (D)(winner)

Stanford Week !!!

Yes, this is Stanford week. The Oregon Ducks will travel to "The Farm" to take on the Stanford Indians....er... Cardinal on Saturday and it is Oregon's most important game of the season. In 2007, a mere two years ago, ESPN Gameday came to Eugene and Oregon beat U$C and had the inside track to the Rose Bowl. Oregon QB Dennis Dixon then went down and Oregon lost three games down the stretch and ended up in the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas and U$C ended up in the Rose Bowl. Stanford is a good team and Oregon better be ready.

In 2001 an Oregon team led by Joey Harrington would have played in the National Championship game BUT FOR a loss to Stanford in Eugene! Oregon was leading going into the 4th quarter 42 to 28 but lost when Stanford scored 21 unanswered points in the 4th quarter to win the game 49 to 42. The box score is as follows:
*********1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
STANFORD 14 - 7- 7 -21- 49
OREGON (5) 21 -7 -14 -0 -42 FINAL

That was Oregon's only loss that season. Oregon still won the Pac-10 but because the National Championship was being played at the Rose Bowl, Oregon went to the Fiesta Bowl and beat Colorado.

One game at a time and it's time to take on the Cardinal..... Let's go Ducks ! Win the Day!

OREGON DUCKS 47.... U$C TROJANS 20

The strangest things can happen on a wild Halloween! What a glorious night to be an Oregon Duck. I got back to Medford at 12:30 AM and this morning my ears are still ringing from the sound of the 59,000 plus crowd. I and most of the crowd yelled at the top of our lungs whenever "Southern Cal" (they hate that term) had the ball from the beginning of their huddle till the play was over. Oregon QB Jeremiah Masoli passed for 222 yards and rushed for 164. Oregon piled up 613 yards against Southern Cal. 47 points is the most points Oregon has ever scored against U$C in the history of Duck football. Standford next! Let's Go Ducks!