Memorial Day 2010

Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address says it all on this Memorial day 2010

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Memorial Day 2010

*************************************************************************************CPL TERRY LEE ALLEN USMC, North Bend High School Class of 1965, North Bend, Oregon.

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

Birth: 29JUL47, Rank: CPL Date of Death: 09JUN68

Service: Marines, Place: Quang Tri S. Vietnam

Town of Record: North Bend, Unit: CO H 2 BN 4 MARS 3 MAR DIV

Death Code: Hostile, Died Guns, Small Arms Fire, Ground Casualty

Vietnam Memorial Name Location: Panel 58WEST - 05

Married: Single, In Service: 1 yr, Medals: Purple Heart

Tour Date: 18JUN67



Lest we Forget

Memorial Day 2010

Lest we forget!



Requiem

UNDER the wide and starry sky
Dig the grave and let me lie:
Glad did I live and gladly die,
And I laid me down with a will.

This be the verse you 'grave for me:
Here he lies where he long'd to be;
Home is the sailor, home from the sea,
And the hunter home from the hill.

Robert Louis Stevenson. 1850–1894

The Fitz Brewer Duffin Fore The Ducks 2010

Next Thursday, June 3rd, The Oregon Club of Southern Oregon has their annual golf tournament and dinner auction at the Rogue Valley Country Club here in Medford, to raise money for University of Oregon Athletics.

This year the name of the event has been changed to "The Fitz Brewer Duffin Fore the Ducks" to honor Fitz who died this past year and was know as Mr Duck in Southern Oregon. As I posted here when he died:

To generations of Southern Oregonians, and particularly many many local media reporters over the years, Fitz was the number one Duck fan in Southern Oregon who was always available for a quote, and often a humorous spiritual message about the importance of being a Duck. If there ever was a Duck 24 / 7, it has been Fitz. He was also a generous supporter of the Duck Athletic fund.....

Fitz has given much to this community, in volunteer time, money, enthusiasm, boosterism, arm twisting, and positive attitude. He has been more than a Tornado and a Duck.

On a personal note the meetings of the Oregon Club of Southern Oregon will be a duller place without his presence. He could light up a room with his stories and enthusiasm for the Ducks.

As a friend wrote in an email today "As Fitz steps inside the gates of Heaven, you can be guaranteed that God will hear about a team other than Notre Dame."

A bus from Eugene will bring down coaches,(including head football coach Chip Kelley and former head football coach and Athletic Director Mike Bellotti) and administrators to golf with Southern Oregon Duck fans. While everyone is out golfing I and some other fans will set up for the Thursday night silent auction that goes with the dinner and oral auction at the Country Club. This is the 25rd year we have had this event.




In addition to honoring Fitz and his family we will get to say good-by and thank you to Mike Bellotti who is leaving us to go to work for ESPN as a football analyst. Both Fitz and Mike Bellotti have meant a lot to Southern Oregon Duck fans and both have been regular attendees and major supporters of the Duffin Fore the Ducks Golf Tournament and Dinner Auction during it's 25 year existence.

Go Ducks!

H..J. Cohn: New DAF Representative for Southern Oregon

The University of Oregon Athletic Department has announced that H.J. Cohn will be the new Regional Duck Athletic Fund (DAF) Representative for Southern Oregon and Northern California based here in Medford, Oregon. Here is part of an email I received from the present representative Joe Ancell:

Iam excited to announce to you that H.J. Cohn has been hired as the new Regional Director of Development for Southern Oregon and Northern California. H.J. is a very good friend of mine and I know he is going to do an excellent job for all of you. He is a man of high character and integrity. H.J. is from Lake Oswego and graduated from Lakeridge in 2004. Enrolled at U of O and worked with the basketball program as a manager, film coordinator and on scout team from 2004-2009. In June 2009 he began interning at the DAF and did some of the following: -Hosted 2009 football honorary captains where he coordinated a weekend experience for former football players that were honored at midfield during home football games-Hosted and coordinated 2nd annual football reunion to bring back former football players and their families to be honored at the Utah game last year-Last Pac-10 season at Mac Court he hosted and coordinated all home and away honorary captains including the likes of Bill Walton, Lute Olson, Ronnie Lee and Admiral John Dick-Worked over the last 8 months on creating a commemorative book for MAC Court-During his internship with the DAF he worked on the arena whether it was updating Mactomatt.net or helping Kurt Zimmerman.-Stunts and Gymnastics on court announcer -Helped set up Matthew Knight Monday Open Houses I will continue to serve as Regional Director for Southern Oregon until July 1st. H.J. will be spending time with me over the next month as this transition takes place. Please email H.J. at hcohn@uoregon.edu and introduce yourself. I will formally introduce H.J. at the Duffin Dinner and Auction. (Thursday June 3 in Medford at the Rogue Valley Country Club) See you all next week and Go Ducks!

Welcome H.J. to Medford and Southern Oregon. We will miss Joe and wish him the best with his new job for the Oregon Athletic Department in Eugene. Go Ducks!

The Rough Guide to Bob Dylan 2 *****

As a student in (and of) the 1960's I rejected it's politics (see post below) but I loved and love it's music. Last weekend while at Barnes & Noble here in Medford I picked up the book "The Rough Guide to Bob Dylan 2" on the bargain counter for $5.99 and it's the best book I have found on Dylan. I have read 4 or 5 biography's on the man, own 50 + of his Cd's, own several other books on him, and have dozens of Dylan web sites "bookmarked" on my computer;but,this book is the best overall reference guide available. I can not put it down.

This is what Amazon.com writes about the book.

In his seventh decade and still going strong, Bob Dylan is the ultimate singer-songwriter - hugely revered, baffingly idiosyncratic, an enigma and a music legend responsible for a staggering number of classic songs. Now in it''s second edition, the Rough Guide clarifies the mysteries surrounding the man and the music, looking at the lyrics, the influences, the legends and the musicians he worked with. Features include: The Life - from Minnesota to Manchester, from the Albert Hall to the Never Ending Tour, The Music - 50 essential Dylan songs and the stories behind them and Dylanology - the movies, the sayings, books and websites.

The book gives a critical analysis of each of his 54 official albums from his first, "Bob Dylan", recorded and released in 1962 through "Christmas in the Heart" released in 2009. There is also a section with analysis on the"bootleg" albums available (official and unofficial) and gives websites for more information.

The book contains the best mini biography available and brings together the conflicting biography's of the past. I love the section analysing the 50 "essential" Dylan songs including their meaning and genesis.

Click on the title above to order the book from Amazon.com or go to Barnes & Noble where it is a real bargain.

In the acknowledgement section of the book the author thanks his wife for her help even though she is not a Dylan fan. I can identify with that because my wife can not stand Dylan's music.




Another very good book on Dylan is Any Gill's "Classic Bob Dylan, 1962-69: My Back Pages" This book only covers 8 years of Dylan's career; but, in my opinion he produced the best music of his career in those 8 year. Since 1969 he has made some very good songs but also some very bad ones. I am much more a fan of the "acoustic" Bob Dylan than I am of the "electric" Bob Dylan. The book covers each song and album during that period from 1962's "Bob Dylan" through 1969's "Nashville Skyline."

This is what Barnes & Noble writes about the book:

In this book, Andy Gill assesses the circumstances behind Dylan's most famous songs, tracing the artist’s progress from young folkie to acclaimed protest singer, and through the subsequent changes which saw him invent folk-rock and transform rock’n’roll with symbolist poetry, before experimenting with country-rock just as his followers were beginning to tune in to the explosion of psychedelia in the late sixties.

I bought this book last fall in a book store in Old Pasadena, California while I was there for the University of Oregon football game with UCLA and I am constantly referring to it and have read it from cover to cover.I have also indexed it with "tabs" so I can easily find information on each of the 9 albums covered.

Why Obama Administration has a hard time calling radical Islam.... well "radical Islam" !

(60's radical Bill Ayers)

E.THOMAS McCLANAHAN, a columnist for The Kansas City Star, has an excellent column on the subject that was published in today's Medford Mail Tribune.

He writes:

Since the ’60s at least, those on the leftish end of the spectrum have had an annoying tendency to place themselves above the nation and what it stands for. They have a profound discomfort with the notion that the country must be defended, an effort that sometimes requires military force.

**********

It’s hard to avoid the conclusion that a lot of the people who came to Washington with Obama carry intellectual residue from this era. How else to explain the comical difficulty they have in coming up with a straightforward term for an enemy that turned airlines into missiles and revels in the slaughter of innocent civilians?

**********

Part of it, he said, is that many see a world dominated by cultures that, however impoverished, are somehow “authentic,” where the culture of the West is artificial and false and therefore inferior.

“We look at ourselves in the Western countries and we say that, if we are rich, relatively speaking, as a society, it is because we have plundered our wealth from other people,” Berman said. “Our wealth is a sign of guilt. If we are powerful … it is because we treat people in other parts of the world in oppressive and morally objectionable ways.”

Bottom line: We should feel guilty about our success and freedom, because these are only symptoms of “how morally inferior we are.”

to read the rest of this column click on the title for a link

"Doom marches on"

Regular readers of this blog will note that I have lately made few comments on world events. Quite frankly I have found it so depressing. I would rather live in a world of college athletics, movies and music. The list of depressing events keeps growing with little end in sight. For example:

The terrorist country of Iran keeps developing nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them causing grave danger to Israel and the West. The world does nothing but debate meaningless sanction resolutions.

North Korea torpedo's and sinks a South Korean navel ship in international waters killing 46 sailors and the world does nothing. North Korea keeps developing nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them and the world does nothing.

Three times in the last seven months, Islamic fascist perform terrorist attacks against the United States (including a U.S. Army base in Texas where 12 innocent people are killed) and the United States government treats them as isolated criminal acts and will not admit we are at war!

The county of Greece is on the brink of economic collapse threatening to bring down all of the Western European economies and the West gives Greece "a fix" that will last just about as long as a "a fix" for a drug addict. The United Kingdom is paralyzed by a week coalition government and Spain looks like it will follow Greece in economic collapse.Greece,Spain and much of Western Europe is living beyond it's means through the expansion of generous governmental benefit that take care of their populations from the cradle to the grave and offer little for economic development or individual initiative.

The United States, who destroyed Nazi Germany, lacks the will to control it's own southern border allowing uncontrolled migration of millions of people from their own homeland along with their drugs and drug wars. Politician attempt to capitalize on the problem by racist appeals against those who want the United States to control it's own borders.

The United States in the throws of a deep recession raises taxes and expands government while the private economy is suffering high unemployment and loss of profits and income. Politicians cynically use their power to borrow from the Chinese to keep Federal, state and local governments and their public employees from sharing the pain suffered by other Americans and thus prolonging the recession by crippling the private sector where jobs and tax income is generated. Millions of American become dependant on the government for their support and or contribute little to the burden of government creating a class division leading to class warfare to be exploited by unscrupulous politicians..

Troubling reports that the Chinese economy, which is financing Americas huge governmental deficit spending, may be a "house of cards" akin to the American housing bubble just before it broke. If the Chinese bubble breaks where will we get the money to support our deficit spending ? Even if the Chinese economy is not a "house of cards" our dependency on their loans prevents us from checking their aggression and weakens our influence over world events. For example the Chinese continually block our attempts to impose weak sanctions against Iran and North Korea for developing nuclear weapons.


Sir Winston Churchill in another time (March 1936) made comments that are relevant today:

"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."

I have been following world events for a long time and I have never been so worried by world and national events. (Cuban missile crisis excepted.)

Now let's talk about Movies.

50 Greatest Folk Music Artists

I love making lists and I love Folk Music so here is my list of the greatest American/Canadian/ English/Irish Folk singers of the last 55 years.

1. Bob Dylan (Tie)
1. Simon & Garfunkel (Tie)
3. Joan Baez
4. Judy Collins
5. Joni Mitchell
6. Peter Paul & Mary
7. Kingston Trio
8. Gordon Lightfoot
9. John Denver
10. Ian & Sylvia
11. The New Christy Minstrels
12. The Everly Brothers
13. The Sandpipers
14. Leonard Cohen
15. The Wee Five
16. Crosby,Stills, Nash & Young
17. Neil Young
18. Don McLean
19. Darr Williams
20. Donovan
21. Arlo Guthrie
22. The Mama's & The Papa's
23. Tom Paxton
24. Burl Ives
25. Cat Stevens
26. The Brothers Four
27. Carley Simon
28. The Clancy Brothers
29. The Limeliters
30. The Highwaymen
31. The Journeymen
32. The Chad Mitchell Trio
33. Janis Ian
34. The Lovin Spoonful
35. Dion
36. Spanky and Our Gang
37. The Seekers
38. Melanie
39. Peter & Gordon
40. Chad & Jeremy
41. Glenn Yarbrough
42. James Taylor
43 Irish Rovers
44. P.F. Sloan
45. Kris Kristofferson
46. Scott McKenzie
47. Enya
48. Trini Lopez
49. Berry McGuire
50. Tim Hardin
51. Harper's Bazaar*
52. Simon Sisters* (Carly)
53. The Byrds*

(* Honorable Mention)



Note: Just because I like their music does not mean I like their politics !

State of Oregon on the road to another Greece ?

Yesterday and today most newspapers in the state of Oregon led with this story:

"Triggered by tax collections projected at a half-billion dollars less than expected, Gov. Ted Kulongoski ordered state agencies Tuesday to prepare spending cuts of 9 percent to balance the state budget."

However, I recived this email which has the rest of the story:

Keep in mind that when the folks in Salem start calling press conferences to lament a $560 million budget cut prior to June 2011, it isn't a real cut. They are not proposing cutting spending below levels of the last budget. They are proposing cutting projected spending planned in the current budget. They will still be spending more than they did in the last budget cycle.
Furthermore, the state budget for 2009-11 projects 50,970 state employees. The prior budget was 49,518. So, when the governor talks layoffs he is talking from the higher number.

When the governor says he wants to cut spending across the board, across all programs to avoid a special session why should he get away with that? If the Legislature adopted new programs then the Legislature should be called back into session to back out of those programs thereby spreading the budget across the pre-existing programs.

Oregon Biennium--Total All Funds spending

2009-11----$53,760,031.018----- 9.38%
proposed before they had the revenues in hand.

2007-09----$48,005,409,654-----13.72%
2005-07----$43,220,555,200 ----11.56%
2003-05----$38,743,009,114 -----9.11%
2001-03----$35,508,990,712 ----16.57%
1999-01----$30,462,319,439 ----11.55%
1997-99----$27,308,692,023 ----17.62%
1995-97----$23,218,655,377 ----15.85%
1993-95----$20,042,060,862 ----12.18%
1991-93----$17,866,757,268-----17.74%
1989-91----$15,174,994,031 ----20.72%
1987-89----$12,570,014,958 -----4.23%
1985-87----$12,060,094,718 ----17.97%
1983-85----$10,223,173,163 --- 14.34%
1981-83-----$8,940,741,798 --(-10.88%)
1979-81----$10,031,862,751 ----35.08%

Until Oregon like Greece, gets a grip on their public employee benefits, Oregon will not be able to deal with it's growing budget problems. Last year President Obama through loans from the Chinese was able to funnel money to Oregon and other state governments through the "stimulus bill" so the states would not have to make the hard choice as a pay off to the the public employees unions who are a big part of his election coalition. PERS ( Oregon Public Employee Retirement System) is a huge burden on Oregon's state and local governments which allows public employees to retire much earlier than those in the private sector with monthly payment that are close to what they were receiving when they were working. As a result, those of us who work outside of government are saddled with increased taxes and decreased benefits of our own. During this recession those of us in the private sector have made major cuts in our budgets and I am not talking about just a decrease in the increase but real budget cuts. Unfortunately I do not see an end to the recession and things will get worse before they get better. Public employees work hard, as we all do, but they cannot be insulated from the hardships we all must endure in this time of crisis.

Music Collecting

Music has always been a big part of my life. I go to a good movie and the soundtrack of the movie stays in my mind for days as I relive the movie. I can hear an old song on the radio and it can take me back to another time and place in my life when the song was popular and I can remember where I was and what I was doing when I first heard it.

When I was younger, buying and playing music could be a frustrating experience. A 45 record only had one song on a side and you were limited where it could be could played. Record albums (Vinyl) typically have 5 or 6 songs on each side but they are all from the same artist and often you only like one or two of the songs. However, you have to listen to all of them to get the ones you like and again they are limited to where you can play them . Eight track tapes and cassettes helped on the mobility issue but not the fact you have to listen to 10 or more songs to hear the one or two you really like. They are also from the same artist. One of the reasons I like "Compilation CDs" is you get a real variety such as the Time/Life sets. For example: "Malt Shop Memories." However,someone else is picking out the songs.

MP3 players and ipods have solved a lot of these problems but I still like having my own albums to put on the shelf. I therefore, have been using the Windows Media Player on my computer to make my own compilation albums. I have been doing this for several years but up till now the albums were fairly "hit or miss" so I came up with the idea to make up a compilation set of CDs based upon the stages of my life. Each "album" would cover music I loved at various stages in my life starting out in the 1950's when I was young all the way to the present. I organised the albums as follows:

1950's

Junior High

High School (2 CD)

College (2 CD)

U.S. Army

Law School (3CD)

Medford, Or (2 CD)

I also did a separate CD titled "The KOOS Platter Party" based upon a radio show I listened to growing up as a teenager in Coos Bay/North Bend and another titled "Pop Hits of the 1960's" Both of these CDs overlap jr high and high school. A final CD called "Jim's Favorites" puts on one CD the best of the best from 1963 through 1981.

In total, 20 hours of music !

Not all the songs I put on a CD were popular in the time frame indicated on the CD but they were popular to me at that time. Not all the songs are top 40 hits because because I have varied tastes that include Rock,Pop,Folk,Western,Movie and Broadway. Most of the CDs have a little of all of those genre and I have tried to make sure no artist was listed back to back.

The very first song on the very first CD is "How Much is that Doggie in the Window" by Patti Page because that is the first song I remember listening to on the radio as a young child. The last song on the last CD is "The Way we Were by Barbra Streisand.
In between I have such favorites as "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" "Battle Hymn of the Republic", the music sung at our wedding (The Wedding song by Paul Stookie) and lots of Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel, Beatles, Elvis and The Beach Boys. The Music of my life.

Most of the music came from my Cd library that I have purchased through the years and downloaded to my computer. I also purchased some from Amazon.com and downloaded them. One of my first downloads was "Sugar Shack" by Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs from 1963. My wife doesn't understand it but I love that song! It was the # 1 song of 1963. The most repeated songs in various versions..... "Moon River" and "Scarborough Fair."

For each CD album cover I found a photo that reminds me of the era and typed up the song list & artists for the back of the cover.

Click on the title for a link to my CD library.

Was Robin Hood a Libertarian ?

Cathy Young over a Realclearpolitics.com ( click on title above for a link) writes that some liberals are unhappy with Russel Crow's new reincarnation of Robin Hood. She Writes:

In New York's leftist weekly, The Village Voice, Karina Longworth laments that "instead of robbing from the rich to give to the poor, this Robin Hood preaches about 'liberty' and the rights of the individual" and battles against "government greed"; the film, she scoffs, is "a rousing love letter to the tea party movement." On a similar note, the New York Times' A.O. Scott mocks "Robin Hood" as "one big medieval tea party":

"You may have heard that Robin Hood stole from the rich and gave to the poor, but that was just liberal media propaganda. This Robin is ... a manly libertarian rebel striking out against high taxes and a big government scheme to trample the ancient liberties of property owners and provincial nobles."

Whatever one may think of Scott's newest incarnation of the Robin Hood legend, it is more than a little troubling to see alleged liberals speak of liberty and individual rights in a tone of sarcastic dismissal

I knew there was a reason I loved the movie !! See review below. Maybe Ayn Rand would have loved this version of Robin Hood.

Movie: "Robin Hood" (2010) *****

Just got back from Medford's Tinseltown where my wife and I saw 'Robin Hood". Yes, it's 5 *out of 5*. What a great movie ! If you liked "Braveheart" you will like this movie. It's only a notch below "Braveheart" but the fact it is close makes this a very good movie I will buy it on Blu-ray when it's released to home video. It's the kind of BIG historical movie they used to make such as "Lawrence of Arabia," "Spartacus" or "The Longest Day." Unlike prior Robin Hood movies this deals more with the history of England with lots of big battles and political intrigue.The movie centers around a plot by the French King to invade England. Robin has returned to England after the Crusades and helps repel the French invaders. There are emotional moments of personal loss and a love story too. Russel Crow is the muscular kind of hero we used to see on the Big Screen years ago before the "sensitives" guys took over. He's the best man's man making movies since John Wayne died and Clint Eastwood got old. I give it my highest recommendation!

As a side note, while we were waiting in line inside the lobby I noticed just about every group had an "old guy" like me who was taking his wife and or kids to see this movie. This is the kind of movie they used to make and we "old guys" remember. They showed about 5 previews before the movie started and there is not one I would even rent on Netflix!

My Netflix movie tonight is "Piece of Cake" a BBC movie about the RAF in WW II which is about another group of Englishmen who were also trying to stop an invasion of England a "few" years latter.

Beatles Song: "When I'm Sixty-Four"

I have been thinking about this Beatles song this month.

From Wikipedia:

"When I'm Sixty-Four" is a love song by The Beatles, written by Paul McCartney (credited to Lennon/McCartney) and released in 1967 on their album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

According to Ian MacDonald, the song was "aimed chiefly at parents, and as a result got a cool reception from the group's own generation."

Click on the title for a YouTube video of the song.

When I get older losing my hair,
Many years from now.
Will you still be sending me a valentine
Birthday greetings bottle of wine.

If I'd been out till quarter to three
Would you lock the door,
Will you still need me, will you still feed me,
When I'm sixty-four......

Give me your answer, fill in a form
Mine for evermore
Will you still need me, will you still feed me,
When I'm sixty-four.

Military Court Marshal finds Navy Seal NOT guilty

The Navy SEAL was charged with assault for allegedly roughing up a prisoner in his custody. The prisoner is Ahmed Hashim Abed, who is the suspected masterminded the grisly killings of four American contractors in Iraq six years ago. Now all three of the charged Navy Seals have been found not guilty at their Court Marshal trials. This reminds me of a scene in the John Ford Directed Movie "Rio Grande" (1950) staring John Wayne as Lt. Col Kirby York and J Carol Nash as Lt. General Phil Sheridan. Both served together for the North in the Civil War and now are fighting Apache Indians in the Southwest in the United States Calvary. This movie was one of John Ford's "Calvary Trilogy".



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

Sheridan: "Now I'll probably ruin your army career. I'm going to issue an order and give it to you personally. I want you to cross the Rio Grande. Hit the Apache and burn them out. I'm tired of hit and run. I'm sick of diplomatic hide and seek. .... be prepared to remain all winter. All next winter if necessary.

Wayne: I've waited a long time for that order sir. Which, of course I didn't hear."

Sheridan: Of course you-didn't hear. I assure you if you fail the members of your court marshal will be the men who rode with us down the Shenandoah. I'll hand pick them my self."

Wayne: "Shenandoah"

Sheridan: "I wonder what history will say about Shenandoah?"

Wayne: "How about a cup of coffee? You'll find it stronger!"

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

I wonder if Lt. Col Oliver North saw this movie ?

"Cowboys of the Silver Screen" Stamps

Yesterday my wife and I stopped, during the lunch hour, at the Medford Post office to mail some tee shirts to a Duck fan in North Carolina. While there, I notice some new commemorate stamps pictured above. Now, I don't normally collect stamps but I do have some John Wayne commemorative stamps framed and hanging in my collection of John Wayne memorable. However, when I saw these stamps I could not resist the temptation and bought a sheet to frame and hang with my other movie posters. The U.S. Post office issued the following press release regarding this stamps:

With the issuance of the “Cowboys of the Silver Screen” stamps, the U.S. Postal Service honors four extraordinary performers who helped make the American Western a popular form of entertainment. Film stars from the silent era through the singing era are featured on the stamps: William S. Hart, Tom Mix, Gene Autry, and Roy Rogers. The stamps go on sale April 17.

William S. Hart

William S. Hart (1864-1946) brought a powerful presence and serious approach to early Westerns. Tall and trim, with acting skills honed by years of experience on the New York stage and in productions across the country, Hart became one of the most popular leading men of the silent film era. In his movies, the actor insisted on authentic depictions of the Old West and its people, from their clothes to their lifestyles and complex personalities. He frequently played the stalwart, tough-as-nails cowboy, and his favorite horse was a brown and white pinto named Fritz.

The stamp art is by freelance illustrator Robert Rodriguez, whose work has been featured on more than a dozen previous stamps. Rodriguez based his portrait of William S. Hart on a likeness of the actor that appeared on a poster for the epic film Tumbleweeds (1925).

Tom Mix

Tom Mix (1880-1940) was one of the most celebrated Western film stars of the 1920s. He wowed movie crowds and live audiences alike with his daredevil riding, expert rope handling, unerring marksmanship, and rugged good looks. He also served as a role model for a generation of schoolchildren, maintaining a wholesome screen persona that involved “no cussin’ and no drinkin’” by his characters. A legend in his own time, Mix wore oversize Stetsons, fancy suits, and handmade Texas boots with engraved silver spurs. He rode “Tony, the wonder horse,” who also became an audience favorite.

The stamp art is by freelance illustrator Robert Rodriguez, whose work has been featured on more than a dozen previous stamps. Rodriguez based his portrait of Tom Mix on a likeness of the actor that appeared on the Cupid’s Round Up (1918) movie poster.

Gene Autry

For more than two decades, Gene Autry (1907-1998) entertained movie audiences and won the hearts of millions of fans with his distinctive singing style and easygoing personality. His sorrel-colored horse, Champion, often played a major role in his films, as did frequent sidekicks Smiley Burnette and Pat Buttram. Aside from being one of the most admired cowboys to ever appear on the silver screen, Autry left behind a legacy that includes many hit records, a long-running radio show, and a successful television series.

The stamp art is by freelance illustrator Robert Rodriguez, whose work has been featured on more than a dozen previous stamps. Rodriguez based his portrait of Gene Autry on a likeness of the actor that appeared on a poster for the film Gold Mine in the Sky (1938).

Roy Rogers

Roy Rogers (1911-1998) was a silver screen cowboy who sang his way to stardom. He always played the Western hero, with a warm smile, good character, and strong values. Although he found great success in show business—beginning with his first starring role, in a 1938 film—his modest roots kept him a down-to-earth country boy that Americans couldn’t help but admire. For decades, children across the country aspired to be like him and tried to live by the Roy Rogers code of conduct, which stated that boys and girls should “be neat and clean” and “always obey their parents.”

The stamp art is by freelance illustrator Robert Rodriguez, whose work has been featured on more than a dozen previous stamps. Rodriguez based his portrait of Roy Rogers on a selection of vintage Rogers materials.

"Happy Trails to you........"

The Face of Evil !

We are at war with Islamic Fascist ! In the last 7 Months:

November 5, 2009:

At Ford Hood Texas, Nidal Malik Hasan, a U.S. Army major serving as a psychiatrist killed 13 people and wounded 30.

Christmas Day 2009:

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab attempted to detonate plastic explosives hidden in his underwear while on board Northwest Airlines Flight 253, en route from Amsterdam to Detroit, Michigan.

May 1, 2010:

Faisal Shahzad attempts to explode a car bomb in Times Square in New York City.

This is hitting close to home. My wife, daughter and I visited Times Square last summer and stayed in a nearby hotel.

All of the above acted because of their religious hatred of our pluralistic society where freedom of religion is accepted and celebrated. Rather than tolerating those who believe differently their religious fanaticism drives them to kill the "infidels." They are still in the "dark ages" of religious tolerance. They have declared war on the West and we better be willing to fight back.

(It is important to note that there are many good and kind believers in Islam who should be treated with respect)

Great Day in Eugene !

Saturday I took a charter bus sponsored by the Oregon Club of Southern Oregon from Medford to Eugene to watch the University of Oregon Spring football game and then on to a baseball game between the Ducks and the Washington State Cougars.

I was picked up at my house by my friend Bob at about 8:20 AM and we stopped by Donut Country here in Medford to pick up 3 dozen donuts for the fans on the bus. We got to the parking lot where we were to meet the bus and we left at 9 AM. We took I-5to Grants Pass and picked up some more fans and drove up I-5 to Eugene. We played highlight DVD's of past Oregon football games on the bus TV system.

We got to Eugene about 12 noon and took a detour to get to Franklin Blvd so we could drive by the construction of the new "Matt Court" basketball arena as well as the construction of the new Alumni Building next door. We than drove by the super modern new academic building build for Oregon's student athletes (thanks Phil Knight). We then took the Ferry Street Bridge over to Autzen Stadium.

Bob and I then walked over to the Duck Shop at the Machofsky Center to get the new Nike "support the troops" Oregon tee shirts (see post below for picture). There was a big line out the back door for those waiting to buy the tee shirts. After we had been in line for about 10 minutes those who were in-line were told they were out of "extra large" but there were more available in Autzen Stadium at the Duck booths on the concourse. We then did some more shopping in the Duck Shop and headed over to Autzen. Bob and I each got in a separate line at the Autzen Duck Shop booth and I was able to get the tee shirts. Before I left I had received an email from a North Carolina Duck fan who had read this blog, and my posts below, and who's son had served in the Marines ("Iraq (twice) and once in Afghanistannd")he had asked me to get him four shirts for him and his three sons. I was happy to do it and got him his shirts as well as one for me. It's little enough for the sacrifice of his son in protecting our freedom.

We then got our seats in the covered section on the South Side and watched the Spring Game and had hot dogs and Pepsi. There was a lot of scoring and Oregon has a good group of running backs. The competition between the two QB's ( Thomas & Costa) was interesting but no one separated himself. Costa looked good early as a 5th year Senior but Thomas while shaky to start showed flashes of being a "play maker." With a "running clock" in the second half the game ended too soon for me. Over 25,000 duck fans were in attendance the largest attendance in the Pac-10 for a Spring Game. At half time there was a flag ceremony similar to a military funeral and they fired off three howitzers in the stadium parking lot. It was GREAT! After the game the players formed a line on the field opposite members of the military who are bound for overseas or are just back and the players gave the military members the jerseys off their back and the military members gave the players a coin. It was very nice and moving. Oregon Coach, Chip Kelly, got this idea after he attend a military funeral in Roseburg for an Oregon fan who was killed in combat overseas while in the military. Chip has a very big heart!

After the Spring game we headed over to the new P K Park baseball stadium to watch the Oregon baseball team play Washington State. I am not a big baseball fan (It's like watching paint dry) but I did enjoy checking out the new stadium and we got to watch most of the game up in a sky suite and enjoyed the company of Duck fans. I got my third hot dog of the day and eat some peanuts. I saw Pat Kilkenny (P K Park) and Dan Fouts and Ahmad Rashad who were the honorary coaches for the Spring Football Game throw out the "first ball." The Ducks won the game and at about 8 pm we headed back to the charter bus for the trip back to Medford. Three hours later at about 11 pm we arrived back in Medford and Bob dropped me off at my house.

What a great day to be a DUCK.

Sunday morning I got up and watched the live ESPN broadcast of the game my wife had recorded for me while I was gone. I then put the recoding away to watch again in the "dog days of Summer" when I need an Oregon Duck Football "fix." in preparation for the Fall 2010 season. GO DUCKS !