"Man in the Arena"

Click on the title for a great youtube video that compares John McCain to Winston Churchill and Teddy Roosevelt. Very well done. By the way this blog is in no way connected with the McCain campaign and my views are my own and not of John McCain.

"A Typical White Person" or throw grandma from the train part II

JAMES TARANTO of the Wall Street Journal points out a comment Barka Obama made
on a Philadelphia radio station, yesterday, explaining why he likened his grandmother to his spiritual mentor, Jeremiah Wright:

"The point I was making was not that my grandmother harbors any racial animosity. She doesn't. But she is a typical white person who, uh, if she sees somebody on the street that she doesn't know, there's a reaction that's been bred into our experiences that don't go away and that sometimes come out in the wrong way and that's just the nature of race in our society. We have to break through it."


Blogger Taylor March, a Hillary Clinton supporter asks, "Can you imagine if Hillary Clinton said someone was a 'typical black person'?" Never mind if a Republican said such a thing.

First Day of Spring

Spring is a time for renewal which is always a good feeling when you are my age. We made it through another winter.

Thanks Mr President!

5 YEARS....10 YEARS.... WHATEVER IT TAKES. Thanks for standing firm on Iraq and not panicking when all around you wanted to cut and run. You were wise to change strategy and you were right to go in and remove Saddam Hussein who was a cancer. The world is a better place because of you and history will be kind to you.You are our "Horatio At the Bridge"

In the historical legends of ancient Rome, Horatius Cocles, was a hero who, on his own, defended the the bridge that led across the Tiber to Rome, against the Etruscans. It is said that there were other men with Horatius at the time, but they fled in panic at the sight of the enemy As he defended the bridge, the Romans destroyed it behind him. When they were done, he swam to safety on the Roman side

Jimmy Stewart Biography

While on our trip to the Oregon Coast last week I stopped at a used bookstore and bought an excellent biography of Jimmy Stewart that I can't put down written by Marc Eliot in 2006.The following is from the Introduction of the book:

The foundation of Jimmy's sanity...lay in his abject refusal to ever let go of his unwavering faith in the curative, redemptive liberation of love as the reflection of the moral righteousness of Western Christian ideology. These beliefs, in turn, helped him realize the power of his continual on-screen persona, that of a spiritually based romantic all-American beacon of enlightenment to millions of Americans for more than half a century of turmoil and upheaval, from the depths of the Great Depression, through World War Two, the Cold War, Korea, Vietnam and up to and including America's early involvement in the ongoing conflicts of the Middle East.... Fortunately, today, because of modern technology, we have the legend of James Stewart at our fingertips, easily accessible via DVD....

I own 28 of his movies on DVD and next to John Wayne he is my favorite star of the silver screen past or present. It's hard to beat 'Mr Smith Goes to Washington" or "It's a Wonderful Life" which I never tire of watching. The scene where he reads the telegram of his sons death in the South Pacific during World War II in "The FBI Story" still brings tears to my eyes. He made this movie in 1959 and did not know that in real life he would relive that scene when he was notified that his son, A United States Marine, was killed in action in Vietnam. He was twenty four years old. It was fitting that Jimmy Stewart played the Doctor who informs John Wayne that he has incurable cancer in Wayne's last movie "The Shootest" in 1976. Wayne, in real life, died a short time later of cancer.In 1976 Stewart went to North Carolina with his friend Ronald Reagan to campaign for Reagan in that states presidential primary. Reagan was running against a sitting President, Gerald Ford. Reagan had lost a number of primaries and the press and Republican establishment were urging him to withdraw from the race. Reagan with Stewart's help turned it around, won North Carolina and took his campaign all the way to the Kansas City Convention and almost won the nomination.. Jimmy Stewart was a frequent guest at the Reagan White House four years later.

Barak Obama coming to Medford,Oregon

The 2008 Presidential campaign is coming to Medford, Oregon. It was confirmed today that Barak Obama will be in Medford this Saturday morning. Can Hillary be far behind?

Two Questions for Obama

Lanny Davis a Democrat and a Hillary Clinton supporter has two question for Barak Obama.

1. If a white minister preached sermons to his congregation and had used the "N" word and used rhetoric and words similar to members of the KKK, would you support a Democratic presidential candidate who decided to continue to be a member of that congregation?

2. Would you support that candidate if, after knowing of or hearing those sermons, he or she still appointed that minister to serve on his or her "Religious Advisory Committee" of his or her presidential campaign?

How long till the Pennsylvania Primary?

Answer: four and one half weeks! Rumor has it Barak Obama will be in Medford, Oregon on Friday..... should be a big turnout from the folks in Ashland! The Oregon Primary is May 20th along with Kentucky.My guess he will not bring with him, his "Reverend" of 20 years, the racist Reverend Wright!..... 20 years?

Obama's Speech ..."An Elegant Farce".... or throw grandma from the train

This morning I watched Barack Obama's speech that appealed to white liberal guilt! He even threw his maternal grandmother( pictured above with grandfather) to the wolves in order to find moral equivalence between her private family comments about race (IF SHE EVER MADE THEM) to that of the recent public racist comments of the "Reverend" Wright! Who will now defend his grandmother and her background? She has avoided giving interviews in this campaign and has not sought the publicity of the campaign but now her grandson has dragged her into the campaign in an attempt to extricate himself from his poor judgment in becoming and staying a member of "Reverend" Wright's congregation. You cant' pick your grandmother but you sure can pick where you go to church! Also as some one over on National Review On Line said: "What does it say about the character of a man who would “out” as a racist a... relative whom he credits with helping to raise him, just to make a political point — and a bad one at that?" After his grandmother he went after the Reagan Revolution, conservatives and conservative talk shows and white men who vote for John McCain. It's all about race according to Obama!
Victor Davis Hanson called Obama's speech "An Elegant Farce" and farce it was! Some quotes from Hanson's article:

An Elegant Farce
Obama’s ‘conversation’ about moral equivalence.

By Victor Davis Hanson


Barack Obama’s Tuesday sermon was a well-crafted, well-delivered postmodern review of race that had little to do with the poor judgment revealed in Obama’s relationship with the hateful Rev. Wright, much less the damage that he does both to African Americans and to the country in general.

Obama chose not to review what Wright, now deemed the “occasionally fierce critic.” said in detail, condemn it unequivocally, apologize, and then resign from such a Sunday venue of intolerance — the now accustomed American remedy to racism in the public realm that we saw in the Imus and other recent controversies.

Instead, to Obama, the postmodernist, context is everything. We all have eccentric and flamboyant pastors like Wright with whom we disagree. And words, in his case, don’t quite mean what we think; unspoken intent and angst, not voiced hatred, are what matters more.

Rather than account for his relationship with a hate-monger, Obama will enlighten you, as your teacher, why you are either confused or too ill-intended to ask him to disassociate himself from Wright.

The Obama apologia was a “conversation” about moral equivalence. So the Wright hatred must be contextualized and understand in several ways that only the unusually gifted Obama can instruct us about:

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

The message? Some of us are never quite responsible for what we say. And Obama has no responsibility to explain the inexplicable of how he closely tied himself to someone of such repugnant and racist views. We will never hear “It’s time for Rev. Wright and me to part our separate ways, and here’s why.”

Instead, the entire Wright controversy evolved due to America’s failure to understand the Wright’s past and the present status of race. No doubt, the next time some public figure utters a racist comment — and it will happen — we will then expect to hear about context that explains and excuses such an apparent hurtful outburst.

Obama is right about one thing: We are losing yet another opportunity to talk honestly about race, to hold all Americans to the same standards of public ethics and morality, and to emphasize that no one gets a pass peddling vulgar racism, or enabling it by failing to disassociate himself from its source — not Rev. Wright, not even the eloquent but now vapid Barack Obama.

To read all of Mr Hanson's column click on the title for a link.

Today Barack Obama played the "race card" of liberal guilt in an attempt to get the votes of the "super delegates" and the rest of the democrat party establishment. Too bad ! I thought better of him.

Why Americans Love the Irish by Michael Medved

Happy St Patrick's Day!

"John Ford, the legendary filmmaker whose classic westerns forever defined our cowboy heritage, proudly claimed that he began life as Sean Aloysius O'Feeny, the son of immigrants from County Galway. In addition to all the soul-stirring John Wayne horse-operas, Ford also made magnificent films (The Quiet Man, The Last Hurrah) celebrating Ireland and Irish-Americans."

Watching my DVD of "The Quit Man" is how I celebrate this day. Thanks, Sean Aloysius O'Fenny aka John Ford!

(To read the rest of Michael Medveds column click on the title for a link.)

Trip to the Oregon Coast and Politics

Last week my wife and I made a business trip to the beautiful Oregon coast to a business conference. We stayed near Lincoln City and mixed work with some fun. While I attended meetings during the day my wife got to do some shopping and reading. While at the conference I met an interesting gentleman from Spokane Washington who I later leaned was a presidential elector in 1976 pledged to Gerald Ford who when it came time to cast his electoral ballot voted for former California Governor Ronald Reagan. I knew there was something I liked about him. While on the coast we followed by Internet the Oregon Ducks in the Pac-10 Tournament (they lost) and the South Medford Panthers in the State Tournament (they lost their first and 3rd game to take 6th in State) On Friday, we drove back to Medford. On the way t the coast and on the way home we stopped in Eugene at Boarders Books. Last night we watched the DVD "The History Boys"*** and then I watched 'Across the Universe"*** followed by "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon"***** which is one of my favorite movies. I enjoyed the flawed "Across the Universe" which is basically a music video of the 1960's set to Beatles music sung by others. I am a sucker for any movie about the 1960's and enjoyed it. Some of the musical numbers worked and some didn't. "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" is a movie I always enjoy and it is one of John Wayne's best and in my mind the best of the Cavalry Trilogy.

Of course while I was gone Obama won the Mississippi Primary and Elliot Spitzer was forced to resign both of which I followed on Fox News at the motel. I am also have been following with great interest the story of Barak Obama and his minister who is a racist and part of the hate America crowd. Imagine the uproar if John McCain was a member of a church that cheered the KKK and white racism. I am always amazed at people that hate America with the ferocity shown at Obama's church in Chicago! I had hope that the success of Obama showed the progress we have made in race relations in this country but now I see that many Black Americans don't see it that way. The Democratic party is tearing itself apart.It's only March but could 2008 be another 1968? Let's hope not!

Ducks make NCAA Tournament! (Men's Basketball)

The Oregon Ducks will play the Mississippi State Bulldogs in Little Rock Arkansas. The AD at MSU is Greg Byrne a former Duck Athletic Fund Representative for Southern Oregon stationed in Medford. Go Ducks

Eliot Spitzer and abuse of Power!

For years the Wall Street Journal's editorial board has been warning the the public of Eliot Spiitzer's abuse of power as New York Attorney General and now as Governor of that state. Few listened. Now maybe they will. The following is the end of today's Wall Street Journal editorial:

Mr. Spitzer's dramatic fall yesterday began in the early afternoon with a posting on the Web site of the New York Times about the alleged link to prostitutes. The details in the criminal complaint about "Client-9," who is reported to be Mr. Spitzer, will now be played for titters by the press corps. But one may ask: Where were the media before this? With a few exceptions, the media were happy to prosper from his leaks and even applaud, rather than temper, the manifestly abusive instincts of a public official.

There really is nothing very satisfying about the rough justice being meted out to Eliot Spitzer. He came to embody a system that revels in the entertainment value of roguish figures who rise to power by destroying the careers of others, many of them innocent. Better still, when the targets are as presumably unsympathetic as Wall Street bankers and brokers.

Acts of crime deserve prosecution by the state. The people, in turn, deserve prosecutors and officials who understand the difference between the needs of the public good and the needs of unrestrained personalities who are given the honor of high office

To read the rest of the WSJ Editoral click on the title for a link.

The Spitzer's.... "role models" ...... The Clintons!

New York Democrat Gov. Eliot Spitzer, a Wall Street anti-corruption crusader who campaigned on a theme of ethical reform, apologized for a "private matter" on Monday but made no reference to a New York Times report linking him to a prostitution ring.

According to the law enforcement official, Spitzer is the person identified in legal papers as "Client 9," who paid for a four-hour tryst with a woman identified as "Kristen" at a Washington hotel on Feb. 13.

A defendant, Temeka Rachelle Lewis, confirmed that the client would be "paying for everything — train tickets, cab fare from the hotel and back, mini bar or room service, travel time, and hotel," the court papers said.

Client 9 paid $4,300 in cash to the service, with some being used for the encounter and the rest apparently to be used for credit.

The prostitute, described in the complaint as a "petite, pretty brunette, 5-feet-5 inches, and 105 pounds" met the client in Room 871 at about 10 p.m., according to the complaint.

In a conversation with the booking agent, Kristen said that she liked the client and that she did not think he was difficult, according to the papers.



Shortly before her Husband Elliot Spitzer became governor of New York his wife Silda Wall Spitzer said Bill and Hillary Clinton were their "role models" in a New York Times article. The Quote from the article is as follows:

In January 2005, when she found herself pondering how best to come to terms with the job of political spouse, Silda Wall Spitzer sought the advice of a woman who was once best known for not fitting so comfortably into that role herself, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Silda Wall Spitzer married Eliot Spitzer in 1987.
The two of them convened in Senator Clinton’s Manhattan office and spoke, according to Ms. Wall Spitzer, “about how to maintain a private sphere for our family and how to be helpful in my husband’s campaign.”

“I figured, here’s a woman who also met her husband at law school, who had been a lawyer with a firm, whose husband was a state attorney general before he ran for governor,” she said of Senator Clinton. “There really aren’t that many role models for this.”

"Role Model"......more than she ever knew!

South Medford going to State Tournament

The South Medford Boys' Basketball team beat Wilson High of Portland tonight to gain a spot in the State basketball tournament at Mac Court at the University of Oregon in Eugene. It wasn't easy! Wilson of Portland came to Medford for the game with a very tall and physical team. Mid-way through the first quarter, South Medford's star player, Michael Hartun, went down with a sprained ankle and had to be helped off the Court. Michael is a senior who has received a full scholarship to play basketball for Division 1A Washington State. When Michael went down, the gymnasium full of South fans went silent. Visions of Dennis Dixon going down for the Oregon Ducks kept flashing through my mind. Thereafter, South Medford High's other star player, E.J. Singler, was given a third foul and had to sit down for the rest of the first half. I saw a disaster in the making. South's smaller players stepped it up a notch and were able to keep the lead for the rest of the first half. South was not able to get inside against a taller Wilson team but was doing well from the 3-point line. After the half, Michael Hartun came out with his ankle wrapped up and was walking with a slight limp. He had gone into the dressing room during the first quarter and it was good seeing him come out for the second half. In the second half, South kept a 2 to 6 point lead for most of the game, then Wilson went ahead by 3 points. The Wilson team was double teaming EJ Singler and South wasn't getting anything inside and began to live and die from the outside shot. South tied the game and then went up by 3 and then Wilson got a 3 pointer with about 25 second left. EJ Singler, a man on a mission, drove the entire length of the court to score 2 points. Wilson was unable to answer and time ran out with a South Medford victory. The fans ran onto the Court and joined the team in a cheer. People stayed long after the game was over celebrating the moment. Now South Medford will play #1 Oregon City in the first round of the State tournament. Hopefully, Michael Hartun's ankle injury is not too serious and he wll be back. Go Panthers! On to State!

We then got home in time to watch the Oregon Ducks beat Arizona at the Mac Court on TV. A good night!

Ayn Rand

This week I was able to watch courtesy of Netflix two DVD's on the Life of author Ayn Rand. The first, "Rand A Sense of Life"***** is a two hour plus documentary on her life from the time she was born in Russia through her death. It was made by admirer's of her and is very detailed and well crafted. Certainly as good as anything Kenn Burns has done. The other was a Showtime Channel, made for TV Docudrama, called "The Passion of Ayn Rand." ****Helem Mireen of "The Queen" plays Rand and as usual for Mirren does an excellent job. Her long suffering husband is played by Peter Fonda and according to those who knew him has him "nailed". The movie is primarily about the romantic affair between Ayn Rand and her younger protege Nathanial Brandon. The movie is based upon a book written by Brandon's wife and so it's not too sympathetic to Brandon or Rand. One scene is where Brandon and Rand set up a joint meeting for their spouses and ask for permission to have the affair and schedule it for one afternoon and evening per week. At least they weren't going to sneak around behind their backs.

Watching these DVD's brought back a lot of memories for me. I remember reading Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" while a senior in high school at North Bend High. Then in the 60's while a student at the University of Oregon I ran around with a number of Rand followers call "Objectivist" (similar to today's Libertarians). I remember having philosophical conversations over coffee late into the night. I had a good friend Gaines Smith who wore a $ sign button such as the one Ayn Rand wore at a time when Capitalism was very unpopular in the dark days of the late 60's in Eugene Oregon. I was never an Objetivist but at times I was a "fellow traveler." To this day the hair's on my neck stand up when some one proposes mandatory community service.I can still remember Richard Barry saying "need is not a claim." The part of Ayn's Rand's philosophy that glorifies the rugged individualism and the heroic nature of man still appeals to me as does the importance of reason and logic.

Hillary Clinton, The movie "Election" and Barack Obama

Check out a "You Tube" video by clicking on the title above for a link to a video titled "Hillary's Inner Tracy Flcik."

Why I don't watch Television Network Dramas

Michelle Malkin has a column about an episode of NBC’s TV show, “Medium,” in which a character playing an Arizona state senator/POW turns out be a murdering cannibal while a prisoner of war in North Vietnam. I wonder who they are alluding to! To read her column click on the title for a link. I have noticed for some time that in TV drams on Network television the "bad guys" are often "big business and businessmen, Republicans, Conservatives, people in the Military, those who are religious, and those who take the war on terrorism seriously. A few weeks ago I broke my rule and actually watched several episodes of "Jericho" about the United States after a number of nuclear bombs go off in major American cities. However it soon became clear that the "bad guys" were some conservatives in Cheyenne Wyoming who form a new United State Government and blame it all on the North Koreans etc. They even have the gall to change the history books to argue that Kennedy "chickened out" during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Imagine people who would believe that, they must be really evil!BACK TO FOX NEWS the History Channel and DVD's for me.

3 AM Telephone Call!

John McCain won't tell this joke but I will. Hillery..... it 3 AM.... where is your Husband?

SHE'S ALIVE !!!!!

Hillary wins Rhode Island, Ohio and in Texas. It should be a fight all the way to the Convention.... what fun. As some on said on MSNBC a "knife fight for 7 weeks until Pennsylvania" In a "knife fight" I will bet on Hillary!

Mike Huckabee Withdraws

Mike Huckabee tonight gave a concession speech and endorsed John McCain. Anyone who has read this blog for any time know I was not a big fan of Mike Huckabee. However tonight he ended his concession speech by reading William Travis's last letter from the Alamo. What a classy way to end his campaign. In case you missed it here is the letter

"I am besieged, by a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna -- I have sustained a continual Bombardment & cannoned for 24 hours & have not lost a man -- The enemy has demanded a surrender at discretion, otherwise, the garrison are to be put to the sword, if the fort is taken -- I have answered the demand with a cannon shot, & our flag still waves proudly from the walls -- I shall never surrender or retreat. Then, I call on you in the name of Liberty, of patriotism, & every thing dear to the American character, to come to our aid, with all dispatch -- The enemy is receiving reinforcements daily & will no doubt increase to three or four thousand in four or five days. If this call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible & die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor & that of his country
-- VICTORY OR DEATH --

William Barret Travis Lt. Col. Comdt."

William Barret Travis died at his post on the cannon platform at the northeast corner of the fortress.
He was 26 years old.

John McCain Wins Republican Nomination for President

Congratulations John McCain!

Tuesday March 4th 2008,Hillary's "Last Stand"????

I am betting she will live to fight another day.

The American left hates the U.S. Armed Forces

The American left hates the Unites States Armed forces but tries to hide it by always repeating the mantra "We support the troops." Well Gloria Steinem let the cat out of the bag this last weekend. This is what she said as reported by the New York Observer:

Steinem raised McCain’s Vietnam imprisonment as she sought to highlight an alleged gender-based media bias against Clinton.

“Suppose John McCain had been Joan McCain and Joan McCain had got captured, shot down and been a POW for eight years. [The media would ask], ‘What did you do wrong to get captured? What terrible things did you do while you were there as a captive for eight years?’” Steinem said, to laughter from the audience.

McCain was, in fact, a prisoner of war for around five and a half years, during which time he was tortured repeatedly. Referring to his time in captivity, Steinem said with bewilderment, “I mean, hello? This is supposed to be a qualification to be president? I don’t think so.”Steinem’s broader argument was that the media and the political world are too admiring of militarism in all its guises.

“I am so grateful that she [Clinton] hasn’t been trained to kill anybody. And she probably didn’t even play war games as a kid. It’s a great relief from Bush in his jump suit and from Kerry saluting.”

To The Observer, Steinem insisted that “from George Washington to Jack Kennedy and PT-109 we have behaved as if killing people is a qualification for ruling people.”

Let's see she smeared McCain, Bush, JFK, Kerry and George Washington.

If Gloria Steinem were just some "nut" her opinion wouldn't matter but her view is prevalent among the American Left. Joy Behar on ABC's The View defended her today on the TV show. Just plug "Steinem and McCain" into "Google News" and see all the links defending Steinem. Most liberals don't want heir sons or daughters to serve in the military and look down on those who do serve. I had a conversation with an attorney over the weekend and he was telling me his his daughter in-law spoke Arabic and I said she should go to work for the CIA and he said she wasn't a Republican and hated Bush. I replied I guess terrorist only blow up Republicans.

Hillary Clinton has wisely distanced herself from Steinem's comments but then Hillary has political smarts. ABC news tonight didn't even cover the story. Where is the Outrage!

(To read the New York Observer article click on the title for a link)

Movie Weekend !

This weekend we had a movie weekend. Friday night I went out and bought a new DVD player (not a blu ray) but one that will connect to my big screen TV with a HDMI cable that along with the DVD player "up converts" a regular DVD to a High Definition TV set. I have decided to hold off on Blu Ray until the prices for the players and DVD's come down in a year or two. I also bought an inexpensive sound system for the TV. After I had connected them to the TV I had a great TV picture and great sound. To test it out I put on "Top Gun" and the night scene at the fort in "The Last of the Mohican's." The difference on the picture was subtle but improved and the sound was great.The picture from night scenes in movies was vastly improved

Saturday morning I put on a tie and volunteered as a judge for the high school "Mock Trial Competition" at the Jackson County Justice Building and judged two trial. I was impressed with the students. It's nice to see young people who aren't into tattoo's and wearing their hats on sideways. I must be becoming an old man but the kids gave me hope for the future.

After the Moot Court Competition my wife and I went to Tinseltown to see "The Other Boleyn Girl" The other girl was Mary Boleyn the sister of Ann Boleyn who married Henry the VIII, King of England. In 1969 there was a movie called "Ann of the Thousand Days" that I watched on DVD a few month's ago and it was very good. I liked "The Other Boleyn Girl" better and it is an interesting story of two sisters and their relationships with the King of England. I was pleasantly surprised and give it 4**** and will get it when it comes out on DVD to sit next to my copy of "Ann of the Thousand Days" Having visited the Tower of London last summer, made the story even more interesting. I love historical costume dramas.

When we got home my wife and I watched our NETFLIX DVD rental of "Becoming Jane" another historical Drama set in England about the author Jane Austin. I give this movie 4**** as well and will eventually buy it on DVD when I can get it for $10.00 or less. After my wife went to bed I fiddled with my new DVD player and eventually watched the movie a second time. The new DVD players have so many setting you can optimise the picture and sound to your TV and sound system.

Sunday after the newspapers I went outside and did some yard work. Sweeping our driveway is a never ending job. My wife trimmed our rose bushes and we did some winter clean up work. It was a nice clear day but cold. I also did some other repairs around the house and then we called our kids for our Sunday visit. We then watched another NETFLIX DVD costume Drama, "Marie Antoinette." What a disappointment. It was basically California valley girl goes to Versailles. It was the story of the historical figure but they attempted to "make it relevant" to teenagers of today and even had modern rock music in the sound track. Terrible! It was directed by Francis Ford Coppola's daughter Sofia and she made a mess of of it. I give it 2**. It will not have a place in my DVD collection. We then moved from the 1700's to the 1950's and watched "Payton Place" from my DVD collection. The movie takes place in 1941 in a New Hampshire town but the movie was made in 1957 and it is a movie of the 1950's. I liked it a lot. Thus, the weekend ended.