tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84913971942590059852024-03-28T20:28:14.587-07:00What the...?!Primum non nocereJames Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06715293983358801138noreply@blogger.comBlogger713125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8491397194259005985.post-14589024112258963372016-07-26T17:06:00.000-07:002016-07-26T17:06:14.941-07:00Time for a show...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsnXm4ZKeMTOmE5Gdo-En6a_ngw5hLdfG4nDDph1YSbuIaMDOYVIDNHyYYIIzebbKTfNZdDOU2P-Ukbp2UZIkvQkq3GdtuEpTvoRDWrhYCKInqrCW_J52VJ4sIkgSgrwUIcyiFcBS9ATJc/s1600/Zen.cover.2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsnXm4ZKeMTOmE5Gdo-En6a_ngw5hLdfG4nDDph1YSbuIaMDOYVIDNHyYYIIzebbKTfNZdDOU2P-Ukbp2UZIkvQkq3GdtuEpTvoRDWrhYCKInqrCW_J52VJ4sIkgSgrwUIcyiFcBS9ATJc/s320/Zen.cover.2.jpg" width="225" height="320" /></a></div><br />
Zen is a detective crime story set in Rome, Italy. The title character, Aurelio Zen, is an outsider. A Venetian, he has a reputation for honesty and integrity. This makes him the perfect fall guy, given the machinations of the corrupt Italian power structure. Zen, however, is not as straightforward as they take him to be. The series is based on a series of books by British crime writer Michael Dibdin. The character is played to perfection by Rufus Sewell. This is good stuff. Join us as we take a look into the life of Aurelio Zen.James Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06715293983358801138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8491397194259005985.post-789423211459575932014-10-31T13:51:00.001-07:002015-04-08T19:08:34.257-07:00Relief appears in the midst of drudgery<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_fgx1gZJWO9pTndQza7N1aPNBlSOOj-6smMxJ71P57YtcZ2zLIuTUHcATX3HbMTP_XG7saNye6ng_YtktO0rwIvKmelbmm11lV-_qYvitUgNrpVATPf_W6co8nEUF3yq4dcrn0lpz0QRy/s1600/april+gavaza+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_fgx1gZJWO9pTndQza7N1aPNBlSOOj-6smMxJ71P57YtcZ2zLIuTUHcATX3HbMTP_XG7saNye6ng_YtktO0rwIvKmelbmm11lV-_qYvitUgNrpVATPf_W6co8nEUF3yq4dcrn0lpz0QRy/s400/april+gavaza+2.jpg" /></a></div><br />
My favorite blogger, April Gavaza, has returned to internet commentary and has begun posting on her blog <a href=http://thehyacinthgirl.wordpress.com/>the Hyacinth Girl</a>. <br />
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For those of you unfamiliar with her work, she is a very bright spitfire of a gal who writes on a broad base of subjects, from political commentary to fashion interests. Whose? Why, hers of course! And no matter how far off the subject is from my normal world of interests, it all comes out good. It's like reading Steyn when he is talking about show tunes of the 1950s. Even if not really my cup of tea, it's always a good read. Anyway, it is a ray of sunshine in an otherwise long, dark passage, and for however long it lasts I'm planning on enjoying it. <br />
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You should too!!James Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06715293983358801138noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8491397194259005985.post-44467409835007025472013-06-05T21:54:00.001-07:002013-06-07T11:16:46.648-07:00Law and Order: Assistant DA CompetitionNBC's long running law drama series <b>Law and Order</b> has had a number of intriguing Assistant DAs backing the prosecution over the shows twenty years. Which of them did we like best? Let us ponder the possibilities:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx4rpc7nIfSkPM4-JmPvZgzM48LwU5GctSHA05xJuqu-iemnN9Oe9M_HwB1fytrFrgCwBJi3SzwvWEGRjj9jBdnu2UfKAEf5XWQaW3PZiYZQ7uQGwSJix5BVmmAoyuWk_0qp_71-y7CzU0/s1600/Robinette2.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx4rpc7nIfSkPM4-JmPvZgzM48LwU5GctSHA05xJuqu-iemnN9Oe9M_HwB1fytrFrgCwBJi3SzwvWEGRjj9jBdnu2UfKAEf5XWQaW3PZiYZQ7uQGwSJix5BVmmAoyuWk_0qp_71-y7CzU0/s320/Robinette2.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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Richard Brooks in the role of Paul Robinette. <br />
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This guy held no interest for me when I first watched the show. Well, in truth I did not watch the show when it was Moriarity, Brooks, Sorvino and Noth. Nothing personal, just didn't look all that interesting to me. Going back now that I am a hooked Law and Order guy, I love Paul Robinette. This guy, whether in his acting or the way the part was written for him, or both, but this guy was one smart lawyer. Way quicker than Moriarity's Ben Stone. I loved the guy.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1cOktb3W_sV-hAOpw2VzZfwNuk0BHsQpYVaE0cOzks3AvepZoKS6rBMJihk6lztGJ_XJ7bX4f_lcO_eOzRXVIfDycJAs6Khhm8bla817uB5YCDstI6GpD4H9u_6Gk7Yr2SIUgEPqZCm8x/s1600/Claire+Kincaid.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1cOktb3W_sV-hAOpw2VzZfwNuk0BHsQpYVaE0cOzks3AvepZoKS6rBMJihk6lztGJ_XJ7bX4f_lcO_eOzRXVIfDycJAs6Khhm8bla817uB5YCDstI6GpD4H9u_6Gk7Yr2SIUgEPqZCm8x/s320/Claire+Kincaid.jpg" /></a><br />
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Jill Hennessy as Claire Kincaid <br />
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You gotta love Claire Kincaid.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL7iq-gx8qb6c-cbD6kLcw591C-Hf2jLVbfCFxhCg5D28zWGJnBfnTvlUyj1CLsNNVwJ0C0wZPbzfZp2vrqPWNzE2j1BAQw6pUJgJ9UwWGPftNrcpQVdjcruTCArgP5iyCmkxIkijm63VC/s1600/Jamie+Ross.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL7iq-gx8qb6c-cbD6kLcw591C-Hf2jLVbfCFxhCg5D28zWGJnBfnTvlUyj1CLsNNVwJ0C0wZPbzfZp2vrqPWNzE2j1BAQw6pUJgJ9UwWGPftNrcpQVdjcruTCArgP5iyCmkxIkijm63VC/s320/Jamie+Ross.jpg" /></a><br />
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Carey Lowell as Jamie Ross. <br />
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For quite some time those dull eyes and the flat delivery left me wondering why life sometimes seemed so unfair, but I eventually warmed up to her... some. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0sHOtxnyVDTNIdtHfYl_Y11I5MWmPNtSL5wKPJnetGpKPXQjxY1epIqVnPLy79jdzpHNV4_FauIuRjbCYN2LqeC2-cDBSLt8_PEIDGGB9cK8REp8jLip1_9QD9z-HlVvKsB2WTJoSFA7m/s1600/Abbie+Carmichael.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0sHOtxnyVDTNIdtHfYl_Y11I5MWmPNtSL5wKPJnetGpKPXQjxY1epIqVnPLy79jdzpHNV4_FauIuRjbCYN2LqeC2-cDBSLt8_PEIDGGB9cK8REp8jLip1_9QD9z-HlVvKsB2WTJoSFA7m/s320/Abbie+Carmichael.jpg" width="215" /></a><br />
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Angie Harmon as Assistant District Attorney Abbie Carmichael <br />
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Woah. Abbie Carmichael was amazing. Okay, this was when I first started watching the show, and you've got to admit, this was a pretty good reason. My lord, that hair, that sharp delivery, that rascally smile... I loved her.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkRheJh1_9ow5QxYA2xbm_k8_5mwa2_PjW2MowVsihUsyLHOrGTCjKRrpXOrpo3ZarV5ZOL1zYyDRSqsm9tnUhn-PvzhvpDCzxLNRaqNtDjiL_FqbvJzlyy1-0b_lFVfKpBiRdHjE6UMCG/s1600/Serena+Southerlyn.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkRheJh1_9ow5QxYA2xbm_k8_5mwa2_PjW2MowVsihUsyLHOrGTCjKRrpXOrpo3ZarV5ZOL1zYyDRSqsm9tnUhn-PvzhvpDCzxLNRaqNtDjiL_FqbvJzlyy1-0b_lFVfKpBiRdHjE6UMCG/s320/Serena+Southerlyn.jpg" /></a><br />
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Elisabeth Röhm as Assistant District Attorney Serena Southerlyn <br />
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Elizabeth Röhm played the very bright Serena Southerlyn, and brought a decidedly comic aspect to the role. I couldn't figure out if they wrote her this way or if it was just her delivery. She consistently displayed no common feelings whatsoever with the characters she was interacting with. Gruff, tough, and dumb as a brick. Often times they would cut away to her when Jack was giving his super summary, just as they had for years before with Claire, Jamie and Abbie, but this time the consistent "Dear in the headlights" look about her just made me laugh. And yeah, I meant to spell it that way. Does she get what is going on? This is a murder trial, isn't it? Is she following the argument? In a word... no. Never liked her. And that last minute throw in: <i>"Oh, by the way, my character is a homosexual, and has been for the past four years, just nobody ever noticed."</i> Okay, well in that case, why tell me about it now? Forget it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMvBVtarmLKWfFIBJ07obxCngCxZGGqbXi-mIjoJ4CmhEcPT-H949MoNcDQdyqD16zLBNTUDxbsAruE0hyphenhyphenx_Cl6PmWFhBtbK9sH1ou8Y0amW8YrNX8Cd9fMV8bQT7dDp0FAd8qMspUK3ua/s1600/Alexa+Borgia.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMvBVtarmLKWfFIBJ07obxCngCxZGGqbXi-mIjoJ4CmhEcPT-H949MoNcDQdyqD16zLBNTUDxbsAruE0hyphenhyphenx_Cl6PmWFhBtbK9sH1ou8Y0amW8YrNX8Cd9fMV8bQT7dDp0FAd8qMspUK3ua/s320/Alexa+Borgia.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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Annie Parisse as Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Borgia <br />
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I really liked this ADA. Don't know exactly why.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9-LlctBRyNnQW_E2ytWKGQMzq-HLNtmLmMUw6xmLaVjsMc95TMGXYkXp5fdabBYsCfzOItJQ1jIqtiJ9yWwiRJpSwRALYsQbv_TEQ1JBEDqn9TNnLUaUOu2fcpoIWZNo2k24pze0hPOzc/s1600/Connie+Rubirosa2.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9-LlctBRyNnQW_E2ytWKGQMzq-HLNtmLmMUw6xmLaVjsMc95TMGXYkXp5fdabBYsCfzOItJQ1jIqtiJ9yWwiRJpSwRALYsQbv_TEQ1JBEDqn9TNnLUaUOu2fcpoIWZNo2k24pze0hPOzc/s320/Connie+Rubirosa2.jpg" /></a><br />
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Alana de la Garza as Assistant District Attorney Connie Rubirosa <br />
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Yeah, well... naah. She wasn't helped by that dingbat she was working with. That was a fair amount of water she was carrying for the bat wielding, moral compass lacking, trite Executive ADA Michael Cutter. Even if she could have managed to cut loose from Cutter, she still would have needed a little something.<br />
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Okay, there they are. Which would you pick as the top ADA? And which do you think I picked? Get both answers right and you could win a gold star. I know, I've been away for a long time, and you don't think I will come through with the prize. Yeah, well, this little rodeo is up for grabs. I'm pulling for ya!<br />
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Darrell's Gold Star bonus!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9aoG3tLb4jlIYF2G9ktPOfsPfFi23GNr1ns4q-DvWdkPiIkikf-Uz5ONB6i42k2IHLhwe7GXlLF4TWiRsAyTOIEOySWbuI5ogQtlVWmX1XwVNieuj93g4FAMCxlcv5xXL6cxVo1j3APe-/s1600/Sharing+a+laugh.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9aoG3tLb4jlIYF2G9ktPOfsPfFi23GNr1ns4q-DvWdkPiIkikf-Uz5ONB6i42k2IHLhwe7GXlLF4TWiRsAyTOIEOySWbuI5ogQtlVWmX1XwVNieuj93g4FAMCxlcv5xXL6cxVo1j3APe-/s400/Sharing+a+laugh.png" width="400" /></a>James Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06715293983358801138noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8491397194259005985.post-49993177440647403862013-02-08T19:39:00.000-08:002013-02-08T19:42:14.656-08:00'Downton Abbey' at Movie Club<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVOH42BXWOwSq6jHjF-VBW8mKYnXSue_lKtS-fUtVD1WcB2joK_1OlYK6Rcg97lTZPukP4nRW9xXh3hYQ1szE10Y0Ex-h0p_a27N81Y4hgvxgAooV2pUovEEIw81a9fhZZPJk883RKCOiW/s1600/Mary+Crawley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="234" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVOH42BXWOwSq6jHjF-VBW8mKYnXSue_lKtS-fUtVD1WcB2joK_1OlYK6Rcg97lTZPukP4nRW9xXh3hYQ1szE10Y0Ex-h0p_a27N81Y4hgvxgAooV2pUovEEIw81a9fhZZPJk883RKCOiW/s400/Mary+Crawley.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Now Showing at <a href=http://nicholas-movieclub.blogspot.com/2013/02/downton-abbey-open-thread.html>Movie Club</a>James Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06715293983358801138noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8491397194259005985.post-56217880609641605862013-01-12T15:10:00.003-08:002013-12-09T13:44:36.142-08:00Obama, Fellow Gun Nuts Have No Care For A Free People<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtLxaV68SVdksDL61z7xm7W3pPMt5yAMzw1CdSYzx4E4MhimEW5w8SBPz2efinW-R7Qi7gc6vCxB6oB_fMfVpXRCCxtsCJZriGHXSlKQWl-MJiyxDlqi3sbBS65nlzNYfFOTm1PscaU7WX/s1600/jonas1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtLxaV68SVdksDL61z7xm7W3pPMt5yAMzw1CdSYzx4E4MhimEW5w8SBPz2efinW-R7Qi7gc6vCxB6oB_fMfVpXRCCxtsCJZriGHXSlKQWl-MJiyxDlqi3sbBS65nlzNYfFOTm1PscaU7WX/s400/jonas1.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>Bringing this point home is blog fav <a href=http://www.georgejonas.ca/journalism/2012/12/22/the-gun-control-impulse>George Jonas</a>:<br />
<blockquote><i>Strictly speaking, no one "needs" anything but a breath of air, a cup of water and a bowl of rice. The rest are individual choices we make as free human beings, if that's what we are, instead of wards of the state. Liberty means not having to answer, explain, or justify, any of our choices to anyone.<br />
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Why does anyone need a military assault rifle? I've no idea. I certainly don't, but at one time I owned six motorcycles (and knew people who owned 20). I would have had no trouble explaining why I needed them, but would have highly resented having to do so. Just yesterday, I heard of a person who owns nine cats. She keeps them in her apartment, and doesn't have to justify to me why she needs them. And if city hall thinks she does, city hall is wrong.<br />
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Whether people collect cats, rifles, motorcycles, travel experiences or books, in a free country their "need" is fully justified by their "want." End of story.<br />
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But in fact guns are easier to justify than motorcycles or cats.<br />
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Guns protect. We buy them as taxpayers for our politicians' bodyguards. As long as we don't buy them for our own protection, few politicians object.</i><br />
</blockquote>The basic hypocricy is Biden wants to be protected, and he has people around him with guns to protect him. The president wants to be protected. Even comedian and former celebrity Rosie O'Donnell wants to be protected. They all want guns for their own protection. I have no problem with that. They desire to be protected and they should be protected. But they don't trust you to protect yourself or your loved ones. <br />
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Well, this is about as eloquent as I can make it: To hell with those a-holes. James Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06715293983358801138noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8491397194259005985.post-44992358606042463042013-01-09T17:58:00.002-08:002013-01-09T19:25:22.557-08:00Hmmm.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPrikw69Q0P_3e2mClXiEhCH2zoME4NMex8nGJkuc3oLiR3A_UKSyt_AZIM9x3zB18o19YwNSGybxoLvDBokJuzLcIFosyr0qCXW81k4t56Oi_XoVL3Y_HOw3_zBqKhkFWGEruVfDdw9p1/s1600/April+Gavaza.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="270" width="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPrikw69Q0P_3e2mClXiEhCH2zoME4NMex8nGJkuc3oLiR3A_UKSyt_AZIM9x3zB18o19YwNSGybxoLvDBokJuzLcIFosyr0qCXW81k4t56Oi_XoVL3Y_HOw3_zBqKhkFWGEruVfDdw9p1/s400/April+Gavaza.jpg" /></a></div>Just spent fifteen minutes catching up on <i>The Hyacinth Girl</i>. That girl is good for my insides. Loved, loved, loved the post on her keyboard. That's right, a post was written entirely devoted to the arrival of a new keyboard... apparently one that is easily portable. She titled it <b>"Ha!"</b><br />
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: ) <br />
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That girl kills me! What would I do, what <i>would</i> I do, without the Hyacinth Girl? Anyway, <a href=http://thehyacinthgirl.com/>check it all out</a>. James Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06715293983358801138noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8491397194259005985.post-86855838361288576652012-12-25T00:52:00.000-08:002012-12-25T00:52:10.334-08:00Merry Christmas!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF2IX4e5HKq7uGx-1kpWoL_imJxDMJpI-FWSz_FNLQSLSYcfrfjPXn5SJvWdoQygXKuoAj7sGTyngLmBSVNRDvaaRJc3olcHi6qR0e5Y0tt2t8MxdfJyLoo9RKehQs1uZFISNZG4u5uX9o/s1600/Hallstatt+Austria.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="375" width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF2IX4e5HKq7uGx-1kpWoL_imJxDMJpI-FWSz_FNLQSLSYcfrfjPXn5SJvWdoQygXKuoAj7sGTyngLmBSVNRDvaaRJc3olcHi6qR0e5Y0tt2t8MxdfJyLoo9RKehQs1uZFISNZG4u5uX9o/s400/Hallstatt+Austria.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Merry Christmas to all my friends!James Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06715293983358801138noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8491397194259005985.post-32198616813647066322012-12-19T18:50:00.000-08:002012-12-19T19:16:00.236-08:00Piers Morgan is a thickly Stupid Man<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/.a/6a00d8341c630a53ef0168ebbc29fa970c-600wi" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="262" src="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/.a/6a00d8341c630a53ef0168ebbc29fa970c-600wi" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hee - haw... hee - haw!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Being from across the sea and not having any historical experience of having to deal with a government that doesn't allow you representation when it decides what to do with you, it is understandable one would have no appreciation for the idea of leaving power in the hands of the people. Nevertheless, we do have friends from across the sea, and we know it is possible for them to at least sense that our cultural past is relevant to us today. Not so for this <a href="http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/19/piers-morgan-shows-disgust-while-interviewing-gun-owners-advocate/">stupid little twit of a man</a>, who not only is ignorant of the political issue, but deems himself justified in insulting the guests he invites onto his show, ostensibly to have this very discussion: <br />
<blockquote>Mr. Pratt was making the argument that what America needed was more guns, not fewer... </blockquote>Unable to demonstrate the patience to allow his guest to make his point, Mr. Morgan erupted:<br />
<blockquote>“You’re an unbelievably stupid man, aren’t you?” Mr. Morgan said. </blockquote>Jackass.James Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06715293983358801138noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8491397194259005985.post-54726681169793212082012-12-05T13:09:00.001-08:002012-12-05T13:09:11.305-08:00The Way of the Buffalo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil0YVjcGne41egzWDGOVjsYsSRcDZeiC3j6tdPtswLwv2atX6DpNhOVbgROEEOyyfwQg6khMIPhvEMcpn_iRKXg6DLUco9Nkh06I_8DdLDWUKKpUa9utS4wgUyywnlRAu5ZR-wtzIePlHS/s1600/man_card.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="305" width="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil0YVjcGne41egzWDGOVjsYsSRcDZeiC3j6tdPtswLwv2atX6DpNhOVbgROEEOyyfwQg6khMIPhvEMcpn_iRKXg6DLUco9Nkh06I_8DdLDWUKKpUa9utS4wgUyywnlRAu5ZR-wtzIePlHS/s400/man_card.jpg" /></a></div>The Hyacinth Girl has been writing some thoughtful pieces. Here's a <a href=http://thehyacinthgirl.com/2012/12/04/optimism-2/>touch of her latest</a>:<blockquote><i>“Man card” posturing and self-proclaimed beta male status may seem polar opposites, but they are two sides of the same coin. We (culturally speaking) have assimilated the often contradictory but ultimately damaging definition of masculinity proffered by the modern feminist movement, thereby relegating men to either second-class citizens (beta male) or senseless brutes ruled by their basest desires. I don’t think men as a whole fit into either category. I think they’re more interesting than that.</i><br />
</blockquote>The "man card" is the humorous notion that there are certain activities that "qualify" one as a man, and if found lacking or in breach of conduct one's membership card in the club of manliness can be revoked. It's a young man's joshing and taunting exercise, and it underscores a certain shallowness to the perception of maleness. The combination of political correctness and the ever increasing efforts to marginalize masculine traits have been the tools used to diminish men in our society. This has been ostensibly done to elevate women, but the result is not quite what was intended: a twisted society that is detrimental to both the men and women living in it. April has written an excellent piece on it. Now stop wasting time. Get over there and read it!James Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06715293983358801138noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8491397194259005985.post-43957138298189425192012-12-04T11:25:00.001-08:002012-12-04T11:31:17.970-08:00Victor Davis Hanson Nails It<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgad8-ibi8Gj_tVkxMTCqqXtejaRTQCf95TaGFPEJ5Mzb6zCcNPQElkoAGRWRK81DBj8t4ZGGwrMuVVMCqnzsv2jDQ612PQYSl63bdHFJ1iiu3YhBSBLvUNDpiFYde0A7YCzaOp1dxhlgOA/s1600/Victor+Davis+Hanson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="255" width="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgad8-ibi8Gj_tVkxMTCqqXtejaRTQCf95TaGFPEJ5Mzb6zCcNPQElkoAGRWRK81DBj8t4ZGGwrMuVVMCqnzsv2jDQ612PQYSl63bdHFJ1iiu3YhBSBLvUNDpiFYde0A7YCzaOp1dxhlgOA/s400/Victor+Davis+Hanson.jpg" /></a></div>The left is in a tizzy over criticism of UN ambassador Susan Rice. <i>"There is nothing wrong with what Rice did. She simply had wrong information. It happens."</i> But of course that misses the point. She had good information, she just didn't share it with the American people. And with Barry the healer at the wheel, all of this plays out on racial lines. In fact, race is inserted into the question, with no small amount of help from the media, because it helps deflect criticism from the poor behavior of the Obama White House in general, and Susan Rice in particular. To that Victor Davis Hanson has written a prescient piece:<br />
<blockquote><i>But in the era of Obama, almost everything can be connected to race. So it was not long before the Black Caucus, the Washington Post, and liberal columnists alleged that racism and sexism drove Rice’s neo-Confederate detractors. President Obama, in his now-accustomed Skip Gates/Trayvon Martin posturing mode, also did his best to inflame the tensions, as he dared critics to come after him instead, as if they were bullies out to pick on a vulnerable black woman — and as if the president himself had not hidden behind Rice, throwing her into the public arena in the first place and then refusing to offer any details of his own reaction to the attacks that might have fulfilled his taunt by redirecting scrutiny onto himself.<br />
<br />
There is sexism and racism in l’affaire Rice — but sadly it is all originating from the Obama administration and its supporters. </i></blockquote>Read the whole thing <a href=http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/334703/race-matters-actually-victor-davis-hanson?pg=2>here</a>.James Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06715293983358801138noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8491397194259005985.post-83033392750840259302012-11-30T22:08:00.003-08:002012-11-30T22:17:08.099-08:00'Chariots of Fire' at Movie Club<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4v1BDOg0C2wQKS8Spkj5uzqz5ekqa2f0Xj-S-EMrQCBGCEKl7AwtVw22NqWg3_KtY1z4z5aX6-bqvl4SyvECaZJh6ekiQkYA5LK3aksNpIQhiMVDMHVWLTapgcCTlTtS5yfmmvMrrl6k/s1600/Race+against+the+bell+tower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:right;margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="291" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4v1BDOg0C2wQKS8Spkj5uzqz5ekqa2f0Xj-S-EMrQCBGCEKl7AwtVw22NqWg3_KtY1z4z5aX6-bqvl4SyvECaZJh6ekiQkYA5LK3aksNpIQhiMVDMHVWLTapgcCTlTtS5yfmmvMrrl6k/s400/Race+against+the+bell+tower.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<a href=http://nicholas-movieclub.blogspot.com/2012/11/chariots-of-fire-open-thread.html>Now Showing</a>:James Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06715293983358801138noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8491397194259005985.post-75568445472037153252012-11-29T11:00:00.000-08:002012-11-29T11:00:45.880-08:00Conrad Black on the Press<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIqojdeM3DokvFOnGLp34n3je-a6ULbmzwyBwCK63M5GU3CsYbptTPk7WUluUjzP9qVnD5tfDH8sJ2RK5GywyydVjGoYwLfM9Tnf0yzO6KzHYQ9RJm0FGXzCutrwJMGREycEXb1719dXT2/s1600/imgConrad+Black1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIqojdeM3DokvFOnGLp34n3je-a6ULbmzwyBwCK63M5GU3CsYbptTPk7WUluUjzP9qVnD5tfDH8sJ2RK5GywyydVjGoYwLfM9Tnf0yzO6KzHYQ9RJm0FGXzCutrwJMGREycEXb1719dXT2/s400/imgConrad+Black1.jpg" width="275" /></a></div>Conrad Black begins thus:<br />
<blockquote><i>Rupert Murdoch and I have had our differences over many years, and especially during my recent legal travails, but I must join with him entirely in his recent tweeted complaint that most American media outlets that are controlled by Jews seem to be reflexively, or at least habitually, anti-Israel. For mentioning this notorious fact, Murdoch was lambasted by the usual suspects, led by the New York Times, upon whose franchise as the premier quality newspaper of the world’s greatest market Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal is steadily encroaching. My sometime colleagues at the Daily Beast, whose grievances against Murdoch are profound and not unreasonable, even suggested that there was room here for a regulatory intervention. I understand the temptation to attack Murdoch, but this was seriously uncalled for.</i></blockquote>It is an excellent piece on the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the curiously consistent reaction of American jews in the press. Read the whole thing <a href=http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/334112/itimesi-and-israel-conrad-black?pg=1>here</a>.James Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06715293983358801138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8491397194259005985.post-10299290995339707052012-11-26T16:21:00.001-08:002012-11-26T16:22:37.854-08:00Mark Steyn Holidays<a href="http://belknapcountyrepublicans.org/pix/MarkSteyn.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://belknapcountyrepublicans.org/pix/MarkSteyn.jpg" style="float: right; height: 302px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 200px;" /></a><br />
Mark Steyn warms up the holiday season with a lively guest host appearance on the Rush Limbaugh show today!<br />
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If you missed that you still could enjoy Mark Steyn through his new release of a Christmas album. Mark is becoming the Bing Crosby of our days, and though the delivery might not be quite as smooth, his heart is in the right place. Check out all of Mark's holiday offerings <a href=http://www.steynonline.com/5312/making-spirits-brighter>here</a>.James Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06715293983358801138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8491397194259005985.post-13539405108475311192012-11-20T10:38:00.000-08:002012-11-20T10:38:07.696-08:00Liberty and Democracy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqBZGm9EfPhU2B_GXyZkNxObwrQGxAlBUeGX1Vy0cT0Bsfj1z845roqFvLLwqcRUiJ_zthwluuB_KXgffOOPXai34GeenoMN8u8_UGAJEeozkoqHDcqlzFq9wT9MWO0HHm_mCZqgEDuM8y/s1600/Dr.+Walter+Williams.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqBZGm9EfPhU2B_GXyZkNxObwrQGxAlBUeGX1Vy0cT0Bsfj1z845roqFvLLwqcRUiJ_zthwluuB_KXgffOOPXai34GeenoMN8u8_UGAJEeozkoqHDcqlzFq9wT9MWO0HHm_mCZqgEDuM8y/s400/Dr.+Walter+Williams.png" width="226" /></a></div>For a people to be free, they must be free of the tyranny of their neighbors. This was well understood by our founders, as pointed out in a recent piece by <b>What the ...?!</b> blog fav Walter Williams:<br />
<blockquote><i>The founders of our nation held a deep abhorrence for democracy and majority rule. The word democracy appears in neither of our founding documents: our Declaration of Independence and Constitution. In Federalist Paper No. 10, James Madison wrote, "Measures are too often decided, not according to the rules of justice and the rights of the minor party, but by the superior force of an interested and overbearing majority."</i><br />
</blockquote>Excellent piece, with a sobering close. Read the whole thing <a href=http://cnsnews.com/blog/walter-e-williams/democracy-and-majority-rule-0>here</a>.James Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06715293983358801138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8491397194259005985.post-25152476105615939362012-11-19T14:45:00.000-08:002012-11-19T15:18:57.772-08:00Cats and Dogs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEdyNJYY9G-QF_QwNEMMV6q5PMDYyTgU_UbtPMPvcyDqbkHEGikkYPC1GT0lHhEbD1gn83lnPhFZ9ptpdRVPLXql64KaNBUpLCPI4W4a32F9bz0vUIKq4sDvRqv7sQS98apZRbvcI-Rkpx/s1600/Oregon+rain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="262" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEdyNJYY9G-QF_QwNEMMV6q5PMDYyTgU_UbtPMPvcyDqbkHEGikkYPC1GT0lHhEbD1gn83lnPhFZ9ptpdRVPLXql64KaNBUpLCPI4W4a32F9bz0vUIKq4sDvRqv7sQS98apZRbvcI-Rkpx/s400/Oregon+rain.jpg" /></a></div>Rain coming down in Oregon is common place October through June, utterly unremarkable. <br />
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But since as of late it has been coming down in <b><i>buckets</i></b>, causing through and through webfoots to be looking about for umbrellas (<i>gasp</i>), I thought I would comment on it today, if only to bring a smile to the face of my good friend Darrell.<br />
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James Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06715293983358801138noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8491397194259005985.post-81089891421436670382012-11-07T15:57:00.000-08:002012-11-07T18:45:36.170-08:00Thank God<a href="http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/8798/39726010151129733892099.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="310" src="http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/8798/39726010151129733892099.jpg" width="230" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://thehyacinthgirl.com/2012/11/07/well-that-was-a-relaxing-retirement/">April Gavaza</a> came back.James Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06715293983358801138noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8491397194259005985.post-91116523635610106822012-10-27T14:31:00.002-07:002012-10-27T14:44:20.391-07:00'The Fly' at Movie Club<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://twscritic.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/the-fly-davis.png?w=440&h=236" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="214" width="400" src="http://twscritic.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/the-fly-davis.png?w=440&h=236" /></a></div><br />
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<a href=http://nicholas-movieclub.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-fly-open-thread.html>Now showing:</a>James Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06715293983358801138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8491397194259005985.post-67789553679663227542012-10-23T12:09:00.002-07:002012-10-23T17:14:10.722-07:00Romney looks to the future. Obama... just looks.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI8dX29Yxz1UTGTvzArX1XDGKg5O90bayWw1o3ZEgSM3xjWZcUZ7e4oT0hMDSWPBNdbFJpJMjDXCXLk5dxyNu2Y5fCXLIft05ie9TAsPXvADqQO7GV06EkFjElZWDJFLi69m2nBJ6ZLUon/s1600/628x471.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI8dX29Yxz1UTGTvzArX1XDGKg5O90bayWw1o3ZEgSM3xjWZcUZ7e4oT0hMDSWPBNdbFJpJMjDXCXLk5dxyNu2Y5fCXLIft05ie9TAsPXvADqQO7GV06EkFjElZWDJFLi69m2nBJ6ZLUon/s400/628x471.jpg" width="294" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The state of the world and America's place explained.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The third presidential debate ended with Romney looking presidential. Romney was consistently painting a large view of what we as a nation should do. President Obama, meanwhile, nitpicked, contradicted and looked angry. For all that, Romney did not seem in the least bit put off his game.<br />
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In the face of Obama's planned military cutbacks, planned at a trillion dollars, Romney raised the concern that we will not be able to maintain our military capabilities. To that the president stated outright the sequster will not happen. Mr. Romney was concerned, and laid out his case:<br />
<blockquote><i>"Our Navy is smaller now than at any time since 1917. The Navy said they needed 313 ships to carry out their mission. We’re now at 285. We're headed down to the low 200s if we go through a sequestration. That's unacceptable to me.”<br />
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“I will not cut our military budget by a trillion dollars, which is a combination of the budget cuts the president has, as well as the sequestration cuts. That, in my view, is making our future less certain and less secure.”</i></blockquote><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZhizS-sWQbgfCoFuqSjapfRkV446Q7kNGh8hZnYtYOe8jX-Ilo9BSSgEUni0FyaMj-G8ADFaDNbfrcNk_90hY2-EfNuPFyd20uvhbdjSZJGi4Q8XHeRihHyFJ3Nz4MaBrIcrl4UhieO3U/s1600/Obama+stare.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZhizS-sWQbgfCoFuqSjapfRkV446Q7kNGh8hZnYtYOe8jX-Ilo9BSSgEUni0FyaMj-G8ADFaDNbfrcNk_90hY2-EfNuPFyd20uvhbdjSZJGi4Q8XHeRihHyFJ3Nz4MaBrIcrl4UhieO3U/s400/Obama+stare.jpg" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Staring... staring... and more staring.<i> </i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Yes, indeed. Excellent, practical point... to which we get some silly Obama repartee for an answer: <br />
<blockquote><i>“I think Gov. Romney maybe has not spent enough time looking at how our military works. We also have fewer horses and bayonets because nature of our military has changed. “There are these things called aircraft carriers where planes land on them. We have these ships that go underwater, nuclear submarines."<br />
<br />
“The question is not a game of Battleship, where we’re counting ships, it’s what are our capabilities,”</i></blockquote>Battleship?! What is he talking about? And yet the Obamiacs thought that was a great moment for the great one. But lets look at it, perhaps more critically than the typical Obamiac would. <br />
<br />
Sequestering is the term for mandatory budget reductions, which <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/08/20/2959718/sequestration-sparks-military.html#storylink=cpy">comes out in cuts</a>:<br />
<blockquote>The Defense Department makes up a disproportionate share of the cuts – $500 billion, at least $55 billion of which would go into effect immediately. It’s not clear yet how the Pentagon would put them in place</blockquote>Obama claimed a sequster will not happen, but his White House was on the phone immediately afterwards <a href="http://www.politico.com/politico44/2012/10/plouffe-softens-sequester-language-139275.html?hp=l1_b8">walking the statements back</a>:<br />
<blockquote>White House senior adviser and 2008 campaign manager David Plouffe softened the Obama administration's language on the sequester after President Obama insisted that it would not happen.<br />
<br />
<i>"No one wants it to happen,"</i> Plouffe told reporters</blockquote>Yes, well, that is not the same as saying it will not happen, and certainly the difference is very real to the people in the military whose equipment, supply and personnel end up on the wrong side of the contraction. <br />
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If the Navy says it needs 313 ships to complete its mission, it doesn't matter that Obama is aware we have things called nuclear submarines. The world is a scary place, with a lot of bad people out there. We face problems in the Far East. We face problems in the Middle East. We cannot project power in these areas with drone strikes, for cripe's sakes. <br />
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If the Navy says it needs 300 ships, the president cannot idly sit by while it is reduced to 200 ships - not and expect us to maintain our ability to protect ourselves and influence the world in which we live. The reality is the military will be required to reduce its size and capabilities if we do not fund it. There is no way around that. Mr. Obama had no answer except to suggest we don't need ships and planes and the like. <br />
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Weakness invites aggression Mr. President. After all your carrying on about what you've learned on the job, if there was one thing you <i>should</i> have learned while acting commander in chief, it was that.<br />
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James Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06715293983358801138noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8491397194259005985.post-56582459235558873542012-10-19T14:07:00.000-07:002012-10-23T17:44:08.382-07:00- The President Goes for Cool Casual<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4jRJ7TzsBr9lWpJHO1bQ-8DYlj5rImAE3B2vjm-lY05Ld_kkFvE8tig2j_4UI8gQHFv2Pi7mq2cQ7YvlYoeTRA6a6CuUuTphW2ErM-_qo9bIlNS8knwGYHWdzsWiU3VEXhJmICD2QTd-H/s1600/Obama+gets+a+chuckle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="288" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4jRJ7TzsBr9lWpJHO1bQ-8DYlj5rImAE3B2vjm-lY05Ld_kkFvE8tig2j_4UI8gQHFv2Pi7mq2cQ7YvlYoeTRA6a6CuUuTphW2ErM-_qo9bIlNS8knwGYHWdzsWiU3VEXhJmICD2QTd-H/s400/Obama+gets+a+chuckle.jpg" /></a></div>President Obama has an odd way of going about the business of the presidency. Answering the questions of the press would require his holding a press conference, and that isn't really what he's all about. No, hangin' with David Lettermen, giving a shout out to Jay Z, and slow jamming the news with Jimmy Fallon are more his thing. Thus the president thought the best way to answer the increasing public dismay over his bungling of the Libyan consulate was a chat with fellow cool cat <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2219867/President-Barack-Obama-Benghazi-attack-If-4-Americans-killed-OPTIMAL.html#ixzz29lwYg9in">Jon Stewart of The Daily Show</a>. <br />
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A statement by the president in the Rose Garden the day following the attack is now being stretched by the Obama campaign into a declaration by the president that our consulate suffered a terrorist attack, but the president gave no such statement. At the event he spoke of terrorism itself broadly, specifically declined to link the Benghazi attack to terrorism, declined to say whether or not the attack constituted an act of war and then left his White House and members of the State Department to spend the next <i>two weeks</i> trying to convince the people of America that the death of our ambassador was the result of an out of control mob that had been incensed by a little seen video critical of Islam. And it was the video that struck this White House as a terrible thing. The death of four Americans, not so much.<br />
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Following the Rose Garden briefing, the president, I am embarrassed to say, flew off to Las Vegas to start afresh on his fund raising tour. Vegas, Baby! <br />
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Two weeks later the president's fibbing came to national attention when CNNs Candy Crowley, who somehow conveniently had been provided a transcript of the president's Rose Garden statement of two weeks previously, managed to misinterpret the president's statement and the two weeks that followed to botch her best chance at notoriety on a national stage. That's kinda like a young singer forgetting the words to the national anthem during the opening ceremonies of the Superbowl. Not good.<br />
<br />
Live feed footage <i>watched</i> by our State Department showed anyone that was interested that there was no protest and no mob outside the consulate. In fact, the ambassador had said goodnight to his Libyan guests at the very gate just an hour before the compound was hit by RPGs and mortar rounds. How could the president get it so far wrong... by accident?<br />
<br />
Anyway, it was all far from the mind of the president on Comedy Central, as he warmed to his work with a self-deprecating reference to his first debate performance:<br />
<blockquote><i>'I was well rested after the long nap I had in the first debate'</i></blockquote>The president can tell a joke, I'll give him that. But sometimes humor isn't right coming from the mouth of the president.<br />
<blockquote><i>"Is part of the investigation helping the communication between these divisions? Not just what happened in Benghazi, but what happened within. Because I would say, even you would admit, it was not the optimal response, at least to the American people, as far as all of us being on the same page."</i><br />
<br />
<i>'Here's what I’ll say. If four Americans get killed, it’s not optimal.'</i></blockquote>Funny guy. Sadly, even the safe confines of the comedy channel can not prevent a public view of the president's callous disregard for the people that work and die for him. <br />
<br />
Fallen US citizens included Ambassador Chris Stevens, diplomat Sean Smith and security men and former U.S. Navy SEALs Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods. The men were killed by terrorists on the 11th anniversary of 9/11. <br />
<br />
Well, the president assures us that no one is more interested in getting to the bottom of this than him. <br />
<br />
Didn't come across that way on Comedy Central though.James Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06715293983358801138noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8491397194259005985.post-3355426238399796882012-10-07T16:24:00.001-07:002012-10-07T16:25:29.194-07:00Steyn Gets a Chuckle<a href="http://belknapcountyrepublicans.org/pix/MarkSteyn.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://belknapcountyrepublicans.org/pix/MarkSteyn.jpg" style="float: right; height: 302px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 200px;" /></a><br />
We all love Mark Steyn around here, but his comments on the debate and subsequent scramble just nailed it:<br />
<blockquote><div style="margin-top: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">A month ago, Clint Eastwood’s Obama empty-chair shtick was universally agreed by liberals to have been a disaster for Romney.</div><br />
Now, it’s on <a href="http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2012/10/if-hes-lost-the-new-yorker.php">the cover of <em>The New Yorker</em></a>.</blockquote>Read his whole NR In The Corner post <a href=http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/329616/ceo-vs-chair-man-mark-steyn>here</a>.James Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06715293983358801138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8491397194259005985.post-73960716288465445302012-10-05T15:25:00.000-07:002012-10-27T14:45:49.621-07:00'Since You Were Gone' at Movie Club Now showing: <a href=http://nicholas-movieclub.blogspot.com/2012/10/since-you-went-away-open-thread.html>Now showing:</a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.jeffco.ca/chrspecials/wp-content/gallery/since-you-were-gone/since-you-went-away-05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="384" width="510" src="http://www.jeffco.ca/chrspecials/wp-content/gallery/since-you-were-gone/since-you-went-away-05.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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James Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06715293983358801138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8491397194259005985.post-8415273886120415932012-10-03T14:36:00.001-07:002012-10-05T11:55:13.414-07:00- Go ROMNEY!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhckBsz_LVehyVPI0dr48OriU6i0Zuw6Rr53S7NGRNBBABFCq5PcbrDSvof4wYKScb2jDgwmukicQNLK6KL-vzPHUXadyuZPedHkpZUr3BDeHNfpjOAXH2Ahw7qZmvjpnbrpCDJRZRsumXN/s1600/Obama+bored+with+his+fries.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="184" width="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhckBsz_LVehyVPI0dr48OriU6i0Zuw6Rr53S7NGRNBBABFCq5PcbrDSvof4wYKScb2jDgwmukicQNLK6KL-vzPHUXadyuZPedHkpZUr3BDeHNfpjOAXH2Ahw7qZmvjpnbrpCDJRZRsumXN/s400/Obama+bored+with+his+fries.jpeg" /></a></div>There is no scoring that can be kept in these debates, none, that is, that isn't tampered with by our betters in the media, so it will be hard to judge outcomes between the former governor of Massachusetts and the smooth talking serial liar. <br />
<br />
Personally, I am sick of the press telling us how clever a Democrat is when he lies and gets away with it, as was their take on Bubba Clinton and all contenders with a "D" ever since. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXhi-6auxj0GyjKso6HtNXv9zjnLajZWmMJb0aNU45z48G3N6pWLAJtWrJOj8L067TxdNKl3gvZipRkrm59-MbR6RgdEBd2jRcGaLOTyq01eIatt7P6agbWAPLv6p0nD5bbQ9xj27OBlcG/s1600/Romney+and+sons.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:left; margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="309" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXhi-6auxj0GyjKso6HtNXv9zjnLajZWmMJb0aNU45z48G3N6pWLAJtWrJOj8L067TxdNKl3gvZipRkrm59-MbR6RgdEBd2jRcGaLOTyq01eIatt7P6agbWAPLv6p0nD5bbQ9xj27OBlcG/s400/Romney+and+sons.JPG" /></a></div><br />
We pretty much know what they are going to say. <br />
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What are you going to say?<br />
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I say Go ROMNEY!James Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06715293983358801138noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8491397194259005985.post-29835506391547578592012-10-02T11:38:00.000-07:002012-10-03T13:27:04.397-07:00Media Pronounce Barack Clear Winner of Tomorrow's Debate<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyhuD8R0W__CTXRI_8Ad7VwbEY3jjVYgd_HLTFThQens-Yb2u311bIJgHHCTTYckCu7gMCz2CG8xytEZltubZbgK7jAw9d4fGkYXHOzFG4O6oV2FaqheSVHovnksJBpg-KiHQpdcAGGB58/s1600/George+Stephanopolis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="225" width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyhuD8R0W__CTXRI_8Ad7VwbEY3jjVYgd_HLTFThQens-Yb2u311bIJgHHCTTYckCu7gMCz2CG8xytEZltubZbgK7jAw9d4fGkYXHOzFG4O6oV2FaqheSVHovnksJBpg-KiHQpdcAGGB58/s400/George+Stephanopolis.jpg" /></a></div>What a minute - we haven't had the debate yet! <br />
<br />
No matter. <br />
<br />
In a recent article on media analysis of previous presidential debates, Rich Noyes demonstrates a <a href=http://newsbusters.org/blogs/rich-noyes/2012/10/02/abcs-stephanopoulos-leads-post-debate-media-spin-democrats#ixzz28ANZQvOZ>familiar refrain</a>: <br />
<blockquote><i>He definitely won tonight. I think, again, he showed over the course of this debate, over the course of the two debates, he is answering the number one question Americans have about him. Does he have the experience it takes to serve effectively as President? Over the course now of three hours of debates, he is answering that question minute by minute.</i></blockquote>Media types are reaching the end of the period where bogus polls can be used to shape opinion, as the credability of the pollsters are more on the line as we get nearer to the election. Yes, it is high time to move on to the next phase of <i>"Creating the Outcome, 2012"</i>, and that, of course, is media analysis of the debates.<br />
<blockquote><i>Barack Obama handled this all very, very well. He was cool under attack. He explained away every attack, responded well....</i></blockquote>George Stephanopolis is on record saying "There is no bias in the media", so we've got that straight from the horses mouth. Strange then how he conistently claims the Democrat the winner. Don't doubt me on this one. The story's are already written. The only thing needed is to change a word here, highlight a phrase there, but the opinion on the debate is in the can: Barack a big winner!<br />
<blockquote><i>Clean sweep for Barack Obama. He has won every debate. He won tonight by staying cool under pressure. He won tonight by parrying the attacks of John McCain. The only thing that John McCain could have really done tonight to change the tenor of this campaign was to get under Obama’s skin, to force him into an error. That did not happen tonight. Another win for Barack Obama.</i></blockquote>That's nice Georgie, but you forget these are the 2012 debates. McCain was the last go round. <br />
<br />
The Stephanopolis analysis is about as helpful as that Michigan State Math professor's <a href=http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2012/10/02/michigan-professor-strips-naked-class-shouts-there-no-f-king-god>lecture on calculus</a>. <br />
<br />
But we don't listen to the media. <br />
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We show up at the polls, and we VOTE OBAMA OUT.<br />
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James Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06715293983358801138noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8491397194259005985.post-90738427481682182662012-09-28T18:04:00.003-07:002012-10-03T13:29:38.780-07:00Press on Parade<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP0Q6hfhDcSJkZRDAf0tpq9uyDSoEVF73OhmC5LiLC_w9zAEa7rF-YknToHonGEWcSTJq1fFAcG2QJp7azafHTqPAJstfLYt5-Lf0yreQDkrrU17EaoxhyvU2sIA_u4lAiW3tTFVUbigXy/s1600/Katie+Couric.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="450" width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP0Q6hfhDcSJkZRDAf0tpq9uyDSoEVF73OhmC5LiLC_w9zAEa7rF-YknToHonGEWcSTJq1fFAcG2QJp7azafHTqPAJstfLYt5-Lf0yreQDkrrU17EaoxhyvU2sIA_u4lAiW3tTFVUbigXy/s400/Katie+Couric.jpg" /></a></div>In the alternate reality TV show that the old media have made of this failed Democrat presidency, truth and the media narrative have long ago gone their separate ways. Recently a dose of reality was sprinkled on the heads of various left wing luminaries when the Media Research Center held their annual awards show. <br />
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Topping the list, and well deservedly I must say, was 'Worst Reporter in the History of Man' winner Katie Couric. And sheesh, did they ever bring the goods. You've got to check out the video clips they put together over at the source <a href=http://cnsnews.com/news/article/katie-couric-voted-worst-reporter-history-man>CNS article</a>. <br />
<br />
Yes, that is an impressive record.<br />
<br />
Most of the award winners were selected by a twelve judge panel, that included Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, Lou Dobbs, Laura Ingraham and Mark Levin. Another interesting competition was for the Obamagasm Award. As yoou might have guessed, this had to go to Chris Matthews, and here is the pull quote used to support his selection:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>The Obamagasm Award for drooling over Democrats went to MSNBC's Chris Matthews for saying of President Barack Obama on the July 17, 2012 edition of "Hardball:" <i>"This guy's done everything right. He's raised his family right. He's fought his way all the way to the top of the Harvard Law Review, in a blind test becomes head of the Review, the top editor there. Everything he's done is clean as a whistle. He's never not only broken any law, he's never done anything wrong. He's the perfect father, the perfect husband, the perfect American. And all they do is trash the guy."</i></blockquote>Yep, we love Chris Matthews around here. Hard hitting, no nonsense journalist. Do they have a <i>"Pissing in the Wind."</i> catagory?<br />
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James Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06715293983358801138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8491397194259005985.post-86860400149667488302012-09-27T12:06:00.001-07:002012-10-03T13:28:30.497-07:00Wealth Redistribution Going Backward, not Forward<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjexlojvZWFx1V0tS5CeOH7bXXXDG3Tc41XKIAiSW_ffJy7dBArkYNprpYizaUkrSmIseKYSG1YC-IlQGOLvKXvGJchq3T-0-Yp31rb2RTJ2Zil09y_4U57NsJEzj7epyy0XT7KRwBOuLN2/s1600/Thomas+Sowell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="300" width="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjexlojvZWFx1V0tS5CeOH7bXXXDG3Tc41XKIAiSW_ffJy7dBArkYNprpYizaUkrSmIseKYSG1YC-IlQGOLvKXvGJchq3T-0-Yp31rb2RTJ2Zil09y_4U57NsJEzj7epyy0XT7KRwBOuLN2/s400/Thomas+Sowell.jpg" /></a></div>He's been quiet about it, but the president is a big believer in redistribution, with himself as the one to seize wealth and redistribute it <i>"more equitably"</i>. Thank our lucky stars he is the man that can see where equity lies, and of course in his view it lies with his cronies at Solyndra and union thug supporters of the SEIU, with a few crumbs to the poor among us, and all done for just minor carrying charges. Yes, that is why he tells us <i>"You didn't build that"</i>, and confides to Joe the Plumber <i>"I think when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody."</i> So he takes your money, whatever 'wealth' you might have, and spreads it around. Great.<br />
<br />
Thomas Sowell has written a fine piece on the pitfalls of leftist ideas of confiscation and redistribution:<br />
<blockquote><i>Those who talk glibly about redistribution often act as if people are just inert objects that can be placed here and there, like pieces on a chess board, to carry out some grand design. But if human beings have their own responses to government policies, then we cannot blithely assume that government policies will have the effect intended.<br />
<br />
The history of the 20th century is full of examples of countries that set out to redistribute wealth and ended up redistributing poverty. The communist nations were a classic example, but by no means the only example.</i></blockquote>Excellent. Read the whole thing <a href="http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/sowell092012.php3">here</a>.<br />
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James Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06715293983358801138noreply@blogger.com0