Happy Anniversary

This weekend my wife and I are celebrating our Wedding Anniversary. 34 years ago we were married outside in Lithia Park in Ashland, Oregon at the Preozii Fountain. Congratulations to my wife for putting up with me for so long.

You are never too old for Popsicles

Particularly on a hot day. It wouldn't be Summer with out them. It's 100 degrees in Medford, Oregon

Dog Days of Summer

It's 104 degrees in Medford, Oregon at 4 pm.

"Where have you gone, Barack Obama"

Michael Goodwin, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the New York Daily News, has a devastating column today on President Obama. Some Quotes:

Writing about his "campaign stops" for his health care proposals

It all seemed a campaign ritual, dulled by time and beleaguered by circumstance, prompting a flashback in my head to the Paul Simon song about Joe DiMaggio.

Where have you gone, Barack Obama? Where is the sunny-side-up young man who promised to inspire and unite an unhappy nation?

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

Obama fatigue occasionally surfaced during the campaign, but this is different. He's the President, and if the country tunes him out, there is no Plan B. He's the rock star-turned-salesman, and everything in his administration depends on his stage act.

That the novelty is wearing thin is obvious. The danger is that the health care fiasco turns him into an unpopular and ineffective President.

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

With stubborn wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and an economy still bleeding, you'd think a new President would have challenges enough. Yet Obama has plunged into the health care mess as though it is a battle of absolute necessity.

It isn't. It is his choice. And it is a mistake.

If he's the man we thought he was, he'll now choose to make peace, before the country concludes he's the mistake

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

John Wayne: America Why I Lover Her!

Gallup: Conservatives outnumber Liberals

Self-identified conservatives outnumber self-identified liberals in all 50 states of the union, according to the Gallup Poll. Nationwide, 40% identify themselves as conservative. 35% as moderate and only 21 % as liberal.

Even in Oregon Conservatives outnumber Liberals with 33% calling themselves Conservative vs 27% calling themselves Liberal with moderates the largest group at 37%. The bad new for Oregon is it is one of the most liberal states with only the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Vermont and Hawaii having a larger percentage of Liberals.

Click on the title for a link to the news story and detailed Gallup results.

Bob Novak 1931-2009

Legendary columnist and journalist Robert Novak died today. I will miss him. I knew this was coming but it is sad that he is gone. As a political junkie since I was a kid I never missed a Novak column. He was a voice of sanity on CNN in the days before FOX NEWS. I sometimes didn't agree with him but I always respected him and his sources. He was a columnist who actually did real reporting rather than just relying on opinion. Rest in Peace Bob. The Fighting Illini of the University of Illinois lost a big fan today.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following statement Tuesday regarding the passing of Robert Novak:

"For more than half a century, Robert Novak explained the politics and the personalities of Washington to readers across the country through a mix of tireless shoe leather reporting and the kind of keen insight that can only be gained through years and years of dedication to a craft. He was a Washington institution who could turn an idea into the most discussed story around kitchen tables, Congressional offices, the White House, and everywhere in between. Elaine and I extend our deepest sympathies to the entire Novak family.”

The following from an editorial today in the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper the flagship newspaper of his column:

Bob saw America as the inheritor, greatest manifestation and guardian of the best of Western civilization. He was introduced to those values at the University of Illinois through a freshman course on the history of Western civilization. Recalling that time in his 2007 memoir The Prince of Darkness: 50 Years Reporting in Washington, Bob wrote, “It was a golden moment for a 17-year-old boy from Joliet, leading to four years of exploration in the riches of our heritage: Plato, Aristotle, Chaucer, Castiglione, Machiavelli, Shakespeare, Milton, John Donne, Hawthorne, Melville, T.S. Eliot — dead white men all. How barren would be my life without that background?”

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

Happy Birthday!

Pretty nifty look whose...........

Long Weekend

My wife and I have had a very nice weekend.

Friday, after work we stopped by the Rogue Valley Mall to get the Sports Illustrated with the Oregon Ducks on the cover. Thanks to a tip from a friend we found it at Walden Books and got the last two copies. We then walked the full length of the mall and I found a Bob Dylan album I didn't have call "Real Live" from 1984 on sale for less than %5.00. It was recorded on a European tour and the audience really gets into a couple of songs that makes the album. I normally do not like Dylan's "live" albums but this is an exception along with a couple of others. We then went home and did our house cleaning and ended the day watching the blu ray copy of the movie "27 Dresses" we had checked out of the Jackson County Library. The movie was cute and the lead resembled someone we know real well!

Saturday, we got up early (for me on a Saturday) and did our yard work before it got too hot. For lunch I had hot dogs on the back deck. I then went to the Jackson County Library to pick up some movies I that had put on "hold" for me. After getting gas for the car I returned home and we watched a Netflix blu ray copy of the movie "Annapolis" ( OK but not very original..... can you say "Officer and a Gentleman") and then we watch a library blu ray copy of "Juno" which was very good. I ended the day watching several episodes of a BBC series call "The Edwardians." Good writing but poor production values... to be expected from an early 70's BBC program.

Sunday we got up and read the Sunday paper.... lots of liberal slant on health care. We then drove to Galice in Josephine County on the Rogue River to have lunch on the deck of the Galice Resort overlooking the Rogue. It was a perfect day and the place was not too crowded. It's a favorite stopping place for rafters on the Rogue.
They have fixed up the place but it still has that rustic woodsy charm. We both has burgers with fries and had a very enjoyable outing. On the way back we stoped at various lookout to watch the river and the rafters. We then stopped at a junk/antique store in Murphy and I found a "gem" for $2.00. A CD Soundtrack for the movie "Animal House," one of the greatest comedy movies ever made if not the best. Did I say it was filmed at the University of Oregon? We listened to the CD on the way back to Medford and every song remind me a great scenes from the movie. My favorite is when Stephen Bishop is singing a terrible folk song on the fraternity stairway with some coeds watching and John Belushi (Bluto) grabs his guitar and smashes it. You can hear the sound of the guitar being smashed on the soundtrack. There is dialog from the movie as an introduction to several songs including the Bluto "did we give up when the German's bombed Pearl Harbor" speech. Yes, a collectors item worth a lot more than $2.00. A good weekend.

Death Panels "debunked".... not so!

In this mornings Medford Mail Tribune I found this interesting quote from the Associated Press on page one.

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin refused to retreat from her debunked claim that a proposed health care overhaul would create "death panels," as the growing furor over end-of-life consultations ......

(emphasis added)


"Debunked" by who..... the New York Times, Associated Press, the Medford Mail Tribune. The liberal media is deathly afraid of this issue because it will kill a government takeover of heath care and they know it. The liberal media who think the American people don't know what's good for them are engaging in a big smear on this issue to help out the Democrats and Barack Obama. To prove my point all we need to do is look at Obama's own words.

Barack Obama in an April 2009 New York Times interview, said a "very difficult democratic conversation" would have to take place regarding restraining the cost of end-of-life care:


THE PRESIDENT: So that’s where I think you just get into some very difficult moral issues. But that’s also a huge driver of cost, right?

I mean, the chronically ill and those toward the end of their lives are accounting for potentially 80 percent of the total health care bill out here.

DAVID LEONHARDT: So how do you — how do we deal with it?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think that there is going to have to be a conversation that is guided by doctors, scientists, ethicists. And then there is going to have to be a very difficult democratic conversation that takes place. It is very difficult to imagine the country making those decisions just through the normal political channels. And that’s part of why you have to have some independent group that can give you guidance. It’s not determinative, but I think has to be able to give you some guidance. And that’s part of what I suspect you’ll see emerging out of the various health care conversations that are taking place on the Hill right now.(emphasis added)

Sounds like DEATH PANELS to me.

I am a big advocate in allowing people the freedom to decide how they will leave this life..... however the decision should be theirs and not some bureaucratic "Death Panel" that tells them that at age 84 open heart surgery is too expensive. If we allow a government take over of health care there will be rationing and "death panels and I know it sure as the turning of the earth.

As moderate Republican Senator Chuck Grassly of Iowa, who is working on a compromise health care bill, said:

"There is some fear because in the House bill, there is counseling for end-of-life," Grassley said. "And from that standpoint, you have every right to fear. You shouldn't have counseling at the end of life. You ought to have counseling 20 years before you're going to die. You ought to plan these things out. And I don't have any problem with things like living wills. But they ought to be done within the family. We should not have a government program that determines if you're going to pull the plug on grandma."

Wall Street Journal Editorial

Elderly Americans are turning out in droves to fight ObamaCare, and President Obama is arguing back that they have nothing to worry about. Allow us to referee. While claims about euthanasia and "death panels" are over the top, senior fears have exposed a fundamental truth about what Mr. Obama is proposing: Namely, once health care is nationalized, or mostly nationalized, rationing care is inevitable, and those who have lived the longest will find their care the most restricted.

***
Far from being a scare tactic, this is a logical conclusion based on experience and common-sense. Once health care is a "free good" that government pays for, demand will soar and government costs will soar too. When the public finally reaches its taxing limit, something will have to give on the care and spending side. In a word, care will be rationed by politics....

To read the rest click on the title for a link

Obama," is a stranger to the country's heart and character."

Dorothy Babinowitz a member of the Wall Street Journal's editorial board wrote this today:

The president has a problem. For, despite a great election victory, Mr. Obama, it becomes ever clearer, knows little about Americans. He knows the crowds—he is at home with those. He is a stranger to the country's heart and character.

He seems unable to grasp what runs counter to its nature. That Americans don't take well, for instance, to bullying, especially of the moralizing kind, implicit in those speeches on health care for everybody. Neither do they wish to be taken where they don't know they want to go and being told it's good for them.

Who would have believed that this politician celebrated, above all, for his eloquence and capacity to connect with voters would end up as president proving so profoundly tone deaf? A great many people is the answer—the same who listened to those speeches of his during the campaign, searching for their meaning.


It took this battle over health care to reveal the bloom coming off this rose, but that was coming. It began with the spectacle of the president, impelled to go abroad to apologize for his nation—repeatedly. It is not, in the end, the demonstrators in those town-hall meetings or the agitations of his political enemies that Mr. Obama should fear. It is the judgment of those Americans who have been sitting quietly in their homes, listening to him.

To read the rest click on the title for a link

"Obama Pretty Blatantly Lies About Single Payer" (Updated)

Jim Geraghty of "The Campaign Spot" blog on National Review Online:

Obama Pretty Blatantly Lies About Single Payer at New Hampshire Town Hall ( August 11, 2009)

"I have not said that I am a supporter of a single-payer system," Obama tells the crowd in New Hampshire.

The Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire, August 19, 2008: "Obama Touts Single-Payer System for Health Care":

Barack Obama said he would consider embracing a single-payer health-care system, beloved by liberals, as his plan for broader coverage evolves over time.

“If I were designing a system from scratch, I would probably go ahead with a single-payer system,” Obama told some 1,800 people at a town-hall style meeting on the economy.

(Click on title for a link)

UPDATE:

More Lies?


OBAMA: "We have the AARP on board because they know this is a good deal for our seniors,”

AARP STATEMENT: While the President was correct that AARP will not endorse a health care reform bill that would reduce Medicare benefits, indications that we have endorsed any of the major health care reform bills currently under consideration in Congress are inaccurate."

DUCKS make cover of Sports Illustrated

This from "Duck Feed" on goducks.com:

The magazine's annual college football preview features the Ducks among four teams that grace the cover, depending on your geographic location.

Oregon juniors Jeremiah Masoli and Jordan Holmes are the cover boys for the western U.S. and will be staring out from news stands and airport gift shops from Seattle to Tempe in August. Acclaimed SI photographer Peter Read Miller visited Eugene in July and shot the duo in the Moshofsky center.

The other three teams with quarterback/center duos on regional covers are Oklahoma State, Ole Miss and Penn State.

I hope this time it is good luck?

Winston & Robin

Robin Lawson of Ashland, Oregon died on Sunday of a rare brain disease..... he was 70years old. Robin Lawson was born Jan. 24, 1939 in England and spent his formative years there during World War II. He emigrated to the United States at 19. He became a "personality" in Southern Oregon where he was known as a jazz musician, TV and radio journalist and served for 8 years as an assistant to Republican Congressman Bob Smith.

He also had a long running one man show where he acted as Winston Churchill. A number of years ago I took our then 10 year old daughter to one of his shows put on at the downtown Medford Southern Oregon Historical Society Building. It was a wonderful show and we both loved it. I had started reading to our children some of Winston Churchill's books,in place of bedtime stories, when they were very young in order that they would share my admiration for Winston Churchill as the greatest person of the 20th Century. Robin's performance bought Churchill to life for our daughter. A few years after watching Robin Lawson's show our daughter did her own show as Winston Churchill at a 6th grade school program known as "Night of the Notables." I still have that picture of her with that unlit cigar, bowler hat and vested suite. She now works for a US Congressman in Washington DC. Summer before last she took her mother and I on a trip to England and we all went to Churchill's home at Chartwell and also went to Churchill's World War II Bunker in Whitehall where he and his war cabinet directed the war during the London Blitz.

A few years ago I was performing a wedding ceremony in Ashland and Robin Lawson was one of the guests. I wanted to go over to him to express my appreciation for his performance as Churchill. The ceremony started and I didn't get a chance. I now wish I had.

I don't' know if there is a Heaven; but, if there is I hope Winston and Robin are sitting by a fireplace in overstuffed chairs having cigars and brandy together.

(Click on the title for the Mail Tribune news story about Robin Lawson)

10 Questions on Government Health Care

10 question Senator Tom Coburn suggest you ask your Congressman and/or Senator about the government takeover of Health care.



1. Will it increase health care spending by over 1 trillion dollars?

2. What programs will you cut and whose taxes will you raise to pay for health-care reform? How much will the United States have to borrow and for how long?

3. What earmarks or pet projects that you have sponsored will you sacrifice to help finance the cost of health-care reform?

4. Will you vote for a public option that requires taxpayer-funded abortion?

5. If the public option is so wonderful, will you lead by example and vote for a plan to enroll you and your family in the public option?

6. Will you vote for a plan that will allow a board of politicians and bureaucrats to override decisions made by you and your doctor?

7. If you support a “comparative effectiveness” board, what qualifies you, as a politician, to practice medicine? Have you delivered health care to a single person, much less entire classes of people you claim to represent, such as the poor, the uninsured, or children?

8. How will a government-run public option perform better than other failing government programs, such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Indian Health Care?

9. If increasing spending on health care was the solution, why hasn’t it worked yet?

10. Are you more committed to doing reform right or quickly? Would you consider backing a thoughtful alternative to the public option? If so, which one?

Be sure to ask the questions politely so they can not accuse you of being "un American."

John Boehner's statement on Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer's op-ed calling rowdy protesters "un-American"

U.S. House minority leader John Boehner's statement on Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer's op-ed In USA Today calling rowdy protesters "un-American"

“For months, House Democratic leaders have worked to silence any opposing views in this health care debate, both here in Washington and around the country where millions of Americans are struggling in this economy. Every poll taken in the last month shows that a majority of Americans are concerned about, if not outright opposed to, the Democrats’ plan because of the cost and consequences it would mean for their own health care. Each public forum should give every participant the opportunity to express their views, but to label Americans who are expressing vocal opposition to the Democrats’ plan “un-American” is outrageous and reprehensible.

“The American people deserve answers to basic questions about whether the Democrats’ plan will increase health care costs, add to the deficit, increase taxes on middle-class families and small businesses, put government between doctors and patients, force anyone to lose their current health coverage, kill jobs, promote taxpayer-funded abortion, or cut Medicare. The fact is Democrats have not been able to address the very real concerns the American people have.

“It’s time for Democrats to start listening. When we return to Washington in September, Democrats should scrap their costly plan and finally work on bipartisan reforms that give Americans what they are seeking: better access to affordable."

Strangestbrew's College Football Schedulizer

If your are "in" to college football click on the title for a link to the "Strangestbrew College Football Schedulizer" This website should be listed on your "favorites" or "bookmarked" for your Saturday's this Fall. You can get a list for your favorite conference or teams for each of the 15 weeks of the college football season along with what games are on TV, their record to date, the betting line etc. The games can be listed by starting time and can be programed for your time zone. You can color code your schedule by conference and have teams listed with their logo or helmets all in a nice color chart.This site is a MUST for college football fans.

Joe Giansante: "If we lose 8,000 alums in Medford, we’re picking up 50,000 alums in Seattle.”

With Oregon's 2009 football season less than a month away I thought I would repost an almost one year old quote from Joe Giansante of the University of Oregon Athletic Department. In a year nothing has changed! Most Oregon fans in Southern Oregon who have Charter Cable, satellite TV (The Dish/Direct TV) or get over the air TV have not gotten most Oregon Sports Network (OSN) programs for almost a year! We have missed football games,replays,coaches shows,many basketball games, baseball and track. For a year there has been no word on when we can expect to start getting the broadcast we had received for many years when OSN and Chambers Communications were cooperating. Now with the football season only weeks away it would be nice if this situation could be resolved!

The following is my post of almost a year ago (August 27, 2008)that outlines the problem:

The above quote is from an interview of Joe Giansante in a news story on the front page of the Eugene Register Guard Newspaper on the Television deal between the University of Oregon's Oregon Sports Network (OSN), IMG and Comcast SportsNet Northwest Cable TV channel. The problem is that large areas of Oregon including Medford do not have that channel available on non Comcast cable providers such as Medford's Charter Cable TV. There is a link to the news story by clicking on the title above. Joe is a heck of a nice guy and bleeds green and yellow but my guess is that is a quote he would like to take back. How many of those alums in Seattle pay Oregon taxes that support the University of Oregon. Yes, I know the athletic department is self supporting but it has to represent a University that is in this case a public university in the state of Oregon. Ah, to gain Seattle but lose Medford. Grants Pass, Klamath Falls, Roseburg and Bend! In addition, for every alumnus in Southern Oregon there are many more Duck fans who never took a class at the U of O because the Ducks are the home state team. I bet outside of the alumni there are not many Duck fans in Seattle! You fans in Eugene don't be too satisfied ...... under this deal you are only going to get the live games on OSN but not the replays, coaches shows etc. Let's hope this is a "work in progress"! To put Giansante's quote in context here are a few more quotes from the RG news story:


Giansante said the university believes that Comcast SportsNet is on the cusp of becoming the dominant regional sports network. “They have the (Portland Trail) Blazers, and now they have the Ducks, and everyone else who wants to be there are going to have to work around us,” he said.

Giansante acknowledged that the university is concerned about potential backlash from viewers who live in areas without over-the-air reception or who can’t afford cable. About 20 percent of the area TV market does not have cable or satellite, Giansante said. While the three football games to be shown on Comcast SportsNet include an over-the-air alternative, that won’t be true for all UO sports or contests.

Comcast SportsNet encountered a similar outcry when it landed the Trail Blazers broadcast rights, with games unavailable to viewers living in areas outside Comcast SportsNet’s reach.

“The tough thing is, we have fans everywhere who are equal in their passion for Oregon sports,” he said. “But when networks like these grow, these are the growing pains. If we lose 8,000 alums in Medford, we’re picking up 50,000 alums in Seattle.”

September 14, 2008 post

Today in an attempt to put pressure on Charter Cable in Southern Oregon, Comcast Sportsnet ran a full page yellow/black/green ad in the sports section of Medford's Mail Tribune, Sunday newspaper. The full page ad has a large picture of an Oregon Duck football player with number "00" and states: "DUCK FANS, DON'T MISS A MOMENT OF COVERAGE. TO GET COMCAST SPORTSNET CONTACT DIRECTTV, DISH NETWORK OR CHARTER BY CALLING 877-8CSNNW-9" The ad doesn't say how much Comcast Sportsnet is charging but I have talked to a source here in Southern Oregon who confirms $2.00 per Charter Cable subscriber per month is close. Typically Comcast will not allow a cable operator like Charter to put Comcast Sportsnet on a higher "Sports Tier" so only those that want it will pay the additional cable cost. If you polled most Charter customers in Southern Oregon, they would not want to increase their cable bill by $2.00 to get the Mike Bellotti show and a few Oregon football and basketball games that they used to get free. Hopefully there can be some compromise between Charter and Comcast... make it happen!

I called the number on the ad and reached a recorded message that said that the cable provider in my area did not have Comcast Sportsnet and then transferred me to Charter Cable where I get their regular recorded call menu of options for incoming calls.
Labels: Sports

Ducks Fall Football Practice Starts Today!

Fall Football Practice for the University of Oregon Ducks starts today. It will be 27days till the first game on Thursday September 3 for a night game, Labor Day Weekend, against the hated Boise State in Boise, Idaho on ESPN in a nationwide TV game. Oregon is looking for revenge for last years loss to Boise State and some cheep shots by Boise players during the game. This will be a BIG game. Let's Go Ducks!

The stores have all their "back to school" merchandise on display and the pace of the summer of 09 is speeding up.

It's going to be a Hot August!

I just picked this up from The Weekly Standard:


The statement from the Democrat National Committee:

"It's disgusting that rather than condemning this hate filled symbolism and mob activity, the highest echelons of the Republican party from Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck on down, are encouraging it - and that the likes of Michael Steele, Eric Cantor and John Boehner are fanning the flames of this is reprehensible. The repeated use of Nazi symbolism at community meetings by the Republican incited mob proves that these protests have nothing to do with health care, but rather that the Republican party is willing to sink to the lowest, most despicable levels to accomplish their goal of "breaking" President Obama. As we saw last fall, this is exactly the type of hateful tone that the American people overwhelmingly rejected and these Republican tactics will no doubt backfire once again."

Michael Goldfarb of the Weekly Standard's responds:

When this statement went out two hours ago, Eric Cantor was in Jerusalem praying at the Western Wall -- not exactly an easy place from which to encourage Nazism. And by the way -- when you're putting out a quote about Nazis, it's probably best to stay away from the phrase "fanning the flames." What's next, accusing Republicans of gassing health care reform?

Obama: ‘Don’t Want the Folks Who Created the Mess to Do a Lot of Talking’

Earlier he wanted our friends and neighbors to snitch on us...... now, he wants to limit our First Amendment right to free speech. You don't believe it?.....click on the title for a link to a You Tube video of his speech in Virginia.

UPDATE: From National Review Online Blocg "The Corner"

American Caesar [Kathryn Jean Lopez]


Yesterday, at a rally for R. Creigh Deeds in Virginia, President Obama said: "I don't want the folks who created the mess do a lot of talking. I want them to get out of the way so we can clean up the mess. I don't mind cleaning up after them, but don't do a lot of talking."

For Barack Obama, democracy appears to be a distraction. He really does seem to view himself as a Caesar.

Shortly after taking office, Obama held a meeting with governors. At the time, one person in the room relayed Obama's request that critics and skeptics of the stimulus plan keep their concerns to themselves. Just let me do it, was his attitude. He got pushback and he wasn't happy. He wanted democratically elected state governors to shut up so he could do as he pleased. He knows better and we should respect that, seems to be the attitude.

And if you disagree, you'll have Rahm to deal with.

What is AARP afraid of?

Click on the title for a link to a You Tube Video of an AARP Town Hall Meeting on Health Care in Dallas, Texas on August 4, 2009 in which the AARP official only wanted to present one point of view. When they couldn't they took their microphone and went home. I am not a member of AARP and I never will be one!

HORNBLOWER (Updated)

This last weekend I spent 14 plus hours watching the 8 movies on DVD of the "Hornblower" series from the A&E cable network. I have seen the set on sale at Costco a number of times and was put off by it's price. However, I found the Jackson County library had the set so I "checked it out." Unlike Netflix I could get the entire 8 DVD set at one time. A great way to beat the heat here in Southern Oregon by sailing the high seas with Horatio Hornblower and his fictional exploits during the Napoleonic Wars. Hornblower is the fictional British naval hero of a series of novels by C. S. Forester, written in the 1930's to the 1960's and later the subject of films and television programs. According to Wikipedia, Ernest Hemingway is quoted as saying, "I recommend Forester to everyone literate I know." and Winston Churchill stated, "I find Hornblower admirable." The 8 movies are each self contained movies of his life and not a mini series. The first movie starts with him being a young 17 year old midshipman and the last movie has him as the captain of a ship.

I first fell in love with he character of Hornblower when I saw the 1951 film "Captain Horatio Hornblower" which stared Gregory Peck in the title role and Virgina Mayo as the love interest at a drive-in movie theater with my parents. In that movie Peck plays Hornblower later in life as an older more experienced naval ships captain. He has that "stiff upper lip" quality I so admire in some Englishmen. About a year ago I bought that movie on DVD.

Gene Roddenberry was influenced by the Hornblower character while creating the Star Trek characters James T. Kirk. In fact one of the few things I find unrealistic about the Hornblower movies is he,as captain of his ship, always leads the on shore missions just as Captain Kirk does from the star ship Enterprise.

In the A& E series Ioan Gruffudd plays Horatio Hornblower and
Robert Lindsay plays Captain (and later Commodore and Admiral) Sir Edward Pellew. Captain and later Admiral Pellew is Hornblowers mentor and I particularly like the father/son relationship that develops between the two men. Gruffudd also is in the excellent movie "Amazing Grace" (2006) and plays the British slavery abolitionist William Wilberforce. He was also in the movie "Black Hawk Down."

On of my favorite quotes from the last movie of the series called "Duty:"

Admiral Sir Edward Pellew: You see things, sir, that others do not. One thing you do not question is your loyalty to your King. One day,
Hornblower, you'll fight for more than England.

Commander Horatio Hornblower: What is there more than England?

Admiral Sir Edward Pellew: [He pointedly does not answer]


At the 1980 Democratic National Convention, President Jimmy Carter was in the midst of his accepting the party's nomination for a second term, when he invoked the full name of the late Vice-President Humphrey. In doing so, he gaffed the name, referring to "Hubert Horatio Hornblower....Humphrey!" I remember watching that on TV and had a good laugh at Jimmy Carter's expense. I liked Hubert Horatio Humphrey but he loved to talk and I have no doubt that is what Carter called him in private!

Another movie that is on the same historical period is "Master and Commander"(2003) with Russell Crowe. I have that movie on Blu-ray DVD.

At the end of the weekend It was hard to take the Hornblower DVD set back to the library. It was like saying good-by to an old friend.

UPDATE:

Last night I re watched my copy on DVD of the 1951 film "Captain Horatio Hornblower" which stared Gregory Peck in the title role and Virgina Mayo as the love interest. It takes place at a time after the last movie of the A&E series and has a lot more meaning after you have the "back story" of the the A&E films. The 1951 movie has some "Hollywood" touches that are "corny" but for the most part it holds up very well and in some ways is more emotionally compelling. Virginia Mayo adds a lot! She was very beautiful. Nice love story.

Be Careful........Big Brother is Watching You!

Does the White House want you to turn in your friends and family?

This morning, the White House posted on their blog a note asking Americans to report anything they get or see about health care reform “that seems fishy.”

From the White House website…

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/Facts-Are-Stubborn-Things/

There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care. These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation. Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov.

Next.... they will be compiling an "Enemies List" and you may be on it!

Obama's Health Care vs.The Self-Employed

I am self-employed and no one provides me with health insurance.I go on the open market and purchase health insurance for my family. I am not alone. There are over 22 million Americans that are self-employed. As a result the following information from the National Association for the Self-Employed is of personal importance to me about the new Obama heath care plan:

Posted by Kristie Arlsan - Did you know that there are over 22 million Americans that are self-employed? And in this economy that number is growing larger every day. You would think that with so many Americans taking care of their families and creating jobs through self-employment, Congress would be certain to pay more attention to the needs of this growing demographic. Unfortunately, that is not the case, especially when it comes to health reform.

There are two items of importance to the self-employed that are glaringly absent from all of the reform proposals currently being put forth by Congress. One missing item is a fix for the deductibility of health insurance for the self-employed. Under the current tax code, corporations are able to deduct health insurance premiums as a business expense and to forgo payroll taxes on these expenses. In addition, their employees are able to pay for health coverage with pre-tax dollars. However, sole proprietors are unable to deduct premiums as a business expense. Since they do not receive this deduction, they are required to pay significantly more in self-employment tax, their payroll taxes. How much is the extra tax each year? The self-employed must pay 15.3% in self-employment taxes. A business owner paying $6,000 per year on health insurance must also pay $918.00 in additional self-employment taxes because of this inequality in the tax code, a substantial sum for the smallest of businesses. There is legislation in the House (H.R. 1470) and Senate (S.725) to level the playing field for the self-employed, yet these provisions have not been included nor offered as amendment to the larger health reform bills.

A second item that has been missing in action yet would greatly increase the affordability of health coverage for the self-employed and their employees is the expansion of Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs). HRAs are a flexible benefit option that allows small business owners to reimburse employees tax free for out-of-pocket medical costs, including health insurance premiums. A key benefit of an HRA is that they do not require the business owner to purchase a group health plan. Thus, setting up an HRA can offer some financial assistance to employees of micro-businesses that are unable to afford group health insurance. Additionally, since cost is such a crucial factor for the self-employed, an HRA gives the owner consistency and stability in health benefit costs.

At present, sole proprietors are not eligible to participate in an HRA; an inequity that negatively impacts millions of business owners and employees. Improving Health Reimbursement Arrangements to allow the self-employed business owner to participate in the plan would likely significantly increase the number owners and employees of micro-businesses receiving health benefits and financial assistance with medical costs. Why is this so important to health reform? Due to their size, the self-employed will be exempt from the employer mandate included in health reform legislation. HRAs would be a great way for them to receive and provide to their employees some financial assistance for health care costs.

Regrettably, expansion of Health Reimbursement Arrangements is not on the radar screen of policymakers on the Hill. In fact, we have heard rumblings that Senate Finance may actually want to take away the tax deductibility associated with HRAs in order to help finance their health reform proposal.

Well, it is business as usual here in our nation's capital, where big business and in this case "larger" small businesses gets all the breaks and the self-employed are left paying the bill.