Month: September 2008

The Chicago Cubs had a Post-Season Rally in downtown Chicago, right next to the Picasso sculpture in Daley Plaza on Tuesday, September 30, 2008. Master of Ceremonies Jim Belushi, a Chicago native, exclaimed “I love this city!” and introduced the famous ballplayers and dignitaries present, including Governor Rod Blagojevich, who was drowned out at one point by fans chanting and singing “Go! Cubs! Go!”

In all fairness, the Governor had droned on for a rather long time, noting that Teddy Roosevelt was President the last time the Cubs made the World Series, 100 years ago, etc., etc., etc.

There was a large plasma video screen to the left of the stage and a highlight reel of phenomenal Cubs plays during the year was shown at one point. We all sang along with Harry Caray (long deceased) who led the traditional 7^th inning stretch song of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.” Later, we sang to the new “Go! Cubs! Go!” song while blue and red paper bits drifted down on top of us from a confetti canon (visible in the picture of the Governor.) All onlookers chanted that Ron Santo belonged in the Hall of Fame.

Jim Belushi, brother of John and a Chicago native, praised WGN and Fox, which carried his television program. An elderly woman in a wheelchair struggled to her feet to sing along with the crowd and told me that she had “been a fan since I was 13.” Bill Hajdys and his daughter Coryan showed up in goofy sunglasses carrying a large sign that read, on one said, “Jesus Was A Cubs Fan” and, on the other, “We’re On A Mission from God,” a reference to a line in the Jim Belushi/Dan Ackroyd film “The Blues Brothers,” which was shot in Chicago.

Mounted policeman Sergeant Kevin Gyrian was there, sitting atop Baldy, his horse, ready to restore order if necessary as part of the Strategic Deployment Unit. Zira Singer’s grandson held a sign next to Kevin and Baldy wishing Grandma Zira a speedy recovery in Lutheran General, where she underwent spinal surgery and then contracted an infection in the hospital.

Nearby a silent man held a sign that read “Obama, Spare My Child.” When asked what the story was, he remained silent. One man in the crowd wore a shirt that read “Quad City Mallards.” At the nearby Corner Bakery a man who appeared to be Amish sat by himself following the rally, quietly eating peanuts from a bag of nuts he had brought and drinking some bottled water.

The weather was gorgeous, and all of the windows in the Civic Center were filled with onlookers, looking down at the Picasso statue, which was decked out in a Cubs hat for the day.

Paul Newman’s Top Twenty Films of All Time

By Connie Wilson

On September 28, 2008

In Movies

Following on the heels of the sad news that Paul Newman passed away at the age of 83 from cancer, I let my former movie critic mind wander through the legacy the actor has left us. I tried to make a “Best of” list, but it’s hard with an actor who was so good and who left us so much material.

Here, in order, are what I consider to be twenty of his “best” roles, and many thanks to Paul Newman for these cinematic treasures and condolences to his wife, Joanne Woodward.

1) “Butch Cassidy and the Sun Dance Kid” (1969) – Is there anyone who was alive and going to the movies in the year 1969 when George Roy Hill directed Newman and Robert Redford in the William Goldman written script that doesn’t think of Newman as “Butch?” And I can think of the scene where Newman is urging Redford to jump from a high cliff, to avoid those pursuing them so relentlessly that they ended up in Bolivia. Redford admits, reluctantly, that he can’t swim. Newman laughs and says, “The fall alone’ll kill ya’!” And they jump.

2) “Cool Hand Luke” – (1967) – “What we have here is a failure to communicate.” Fifty hard-boiled eggs. Strother Martin’s green teeth. Luke as a symbol of man’s indomitable spirit. A classic. Newman was nominated for the 1969 Oscar, but did not win.

3) “The Hustler” – (1961) As “Fast Eddie” Felsen, he took on Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason) in the pool game of the century. Newman was nominated for the 1962 Oscar, but did not win.

4) “The Color of Money” – (1986) – Reteamed as “Fast Eddie” with Tom Cruise, Newman took home the Oscar for his role in this film. It might not have been as good as the original role or the others on this list, but this one won him the gold statuette.

5) “Hud” – (1963) – The scene with Patricia Neal in the kitchen oozes sexuality. Another movie for which he was Oscar-nominated in 1964, but did not win.

6) “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” – 1958 – As Brick Pollitt opposite Elizabeth Taylor’s Maggie the Cat, the pair personified hot, steamy sex. He even looked good on crutches.

7) “Sweet Bird of Youth” – (1962) Chance Wayne (Newman’s character) was as hot as Brick. Geraldine Page was the beneficiary in this Tennessee Williams play made into a movie.

8) “The Long, Hot Summer” – (1958) – As Ben Quick, Newman provided the steam in this movie based on a William Faulkner novel “The Hamlet.” The cast he worked with included Joanne Woodward, Anthony Franciosa, Orson Welles, Lee Remick and Angela Lansbury.

9) “The Verdict” – (1982) . As Frank Galvin, an attorney with a drinking problem, Newman gave an Oscar-worthy performance and was, in fact, nominated for a 1983

Oscar. He didn’t win. The movie received 5 nominations, and the performance by Lindsay Crouse as Nurse Kaitlin Costello was a tour de force.

10) “Road to Perdition” (2002) – Newman came storming back in the role of John Rooney, co-starring with Tom Hanks in the film based on the Max Allan Collins graphic novel, which was based on an actual gangster named John Looney who terrorized the streets of Rock Island, Illinois back in the day. The name was changed and Jude Law was added as a villainous photographer. This Sam Mendes-directed film was to be Newman’s last “great” role, and also the last time that legendary cinematographer Conrad L Hall would do the lighting, which is superb. Hall was reputed to be the best in the business and the last man working who could call for the right camera lighting without a light meter.

The second ten are included to show the breadth of this fine actor’s career, but the “Must See(s)” are above.

11) “Absence of Malice” (1981) – Playing Michael Colin Gallagher with Sidney Pollack (who also died recently) directing, the film garnered 3 Oscar nominations and co-starred Sally Field, Bob Balaban and Melinda Dillon.

12) “The Sting” – 1973 – Reteaming Newman (as Harry Gondorff) and Robert Redford as con men was a no-brainer. Arguably, belongs in the Top Ten. A great Scott Joplin song or two didn’t hurt.

13) “The Drowning Pool” – (1975) – Lew Harper (from 1966) comes back to the scene as a gumshoe detective. Co-starring Joanne Woodward and Anthony Franciosa, again, the film gave ingénue Melanie Griffith her first big part.

14) “Harper” – (1966)- Lew Harper’s first appearance on the scene as detective extraordinaire.

15) “Somebody Up There Likes Me” – (1956) – The life story of Rocky Graziano, Newman rebounded from “The Silver Chalice,” which he considered so bad that he bought up all the prints and publicly apologized.

16) “Slap Shot” – (1977) – Reggie “Reg” Dunlop – Hockey. George Roy Hill directed. Some familiar co-stars resurface, including Strother Martin (from “Cool Hand Luke”), Lindsay Crouse (from “The Verdict”) and Michael Ontkean. (Whatever happened to Michael Ontkean’s career?)

17) “Sometimes A Great Notion” – (1971) – Logging story. Nominated for 2 Oscars. Based on the Ken Kesey novel. Co-starred Henry Fonda, Lee Remick and Richard Jaeckel, whose scene when he is trapped under a log and will soon drown if the log cannot be removed is worth the rental.

18) “Exodus” – (1960) – Ari Ben Canaan. A movie about the formation of Israel based on the Leon Uris best-selling novel. What I remember about this film is that the theater down the street from my house (one block away) was evacuated when sparks began landing on the roof of the theater from a blaze that burned down one entire block right across the street from my house! I had to take a back alley to get home, where I found my father manning a garden hose in an attempt to keep our house from catching fire. Had to go back to finish the film another day, but it was worth it.

19) “From the Terrace” – (1960). Newman played David Alfred Eaton. “An ambitious young lawyer chooses a loveless marriage and an unfulfilling life, in exchange for a successful Wall Street career,” says the International Movie Data Base. In other words, it’s the life story of a broker today. I always thought that Ina Balin (as Natalie Benzinger) was poorly chosen as the love interest; she needed to use some depilatory cream on her upper lip.

20) “Towering Inferno” – (1974) – Yes, I know. You liked this one better than half of the others, but, let’s face it, it was a popcorn movie. Newman played Doug Roberts and there was talk of strife between Newman and Steve McQueen, who played the fire chief assigned to rescue the hapless individuals trapped in a high-rise building. It had a great cast, though: Newman, McQueen, William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Fred Astaire, Jennifer Jones, Robert Vaughn, Robert Wagner and…..wait for it….O.J. Simpson. (Yes, that O.J. Simpson.) I was teaching junior high school students at the time, and we took busloads of students, who had been participating in some after-school “craft activity” classes, to see a double bill of “Towering Inferno” and “Earthquake.” Wags dubbed it “the Shake-and-Bake special.” That was all right, but my friend, Nelson, the history teacher, put a sign on MY bus that said, “HOOKERS: this bus.” This was because the students in my group had been taking part in an after-school class in rug hooking. Still, Nelson…..(I’m still smiling).

“Righteous Kill” and “Lakeview Terrace” in Theaters Now

By Connie Wilson

On September 25, 2008

In Reviews

I recently ventured into the movie theater to see “Lakeview Terrace” and “Righteous Kill.”

The first film was good; the second sad, because it reminded of the glory days of its stars, Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino, which seem to be long-gone.

In “Lakeview Terrace,” the Neil LaBute-directed film starring Samuel Jackson, there is a nice switch. It’s not the rednecks that harass the African Americans, this time out. It’s Samuel Jackson, with an evil-eye look that would make Jack Nicholson proud, who is the policeman neighbor of a mixed-race couple, played by Patrick Wilson and Kerry Washington. The couple, Chris and Lisa Mattson, move into Lakeview Terrace and instantly enrage their old-fashioned neighbor, who is not enlightened enough to accept a black woman married to a white man. Plus, Samuel Jackson’s character (Abel Turner) has two young children—a teen-aged daughter and her younger brother—and he rules their lives with an iron fist.

As the rage grows, so does a fire in the California Valley that moves inexorably towards the ritzy neighborhood. Interestingly enough, the neighborhood Lakeview Terrace was the area where, in real life, Rodney King’s beating took place. The movie’s climax is reached when Jackson’s character hires a thug to ransack the couple’s home while they are out, but the pregnant wife returns early and is put in jeopardy. Extreme measures must be taken, and they are. It’s a well-cast, observant, well-acted film.

The second film that I saw in theaters this week has 3 men who are well past retirement age supposedly still chasing the bad guys on the streets of New York. Robert DeNiro, as “Turk” and Al Pacino as “Rooster,” are, first of all, too old to be called either of these names, and too old for the stunts they are asked to perform. Brian Dennehy, as their boss, must be pushing 80. What police department in the country still has 70 to 80 year old officers patrolling the streets? Not any that I am familiar with.

The rap singer known as 50 Cent plays a drug dealer who has set up shop in a club inside a renovated bank. Curtis Jackson, or “Spider” as he is known in the film, told an amusing story on one of the late-night talk shows about how DeNiro really did kick him in a memorable scene. He also said that he didn’t need any acting lessons from DeNiro on how to act after being shot. This, of course, is because “50 Cent” was shot several times in real life and lived to tell about it.

The always-good John Leguizamo as Detective Simon Perez and Donnie Wahlberg as Detective Ted Riley are well cast. They are the right age and they seem believable as police officers. But no matter how many times they show an overweight DeNiro puffing away in a jogging suit or imply that he is porking a much-younger partner (Karen Corelli playing Carla Gugino), and no matter how many times Al Pacino pumps that iron, it just doesn’t wash. Surely there are roles these two could play that are commensurate with their age and station in life. Pacino has done Shakespeare. Maybe he could do the Merchant of Venice. What he can’t do any more is the policeman of New York, and it’s really sad to see “Serpico” looking wrinkled and old. The scenes shot in bright daylight are particularly merciless for both these aging leading men.

Even though there is an attempt at a “surprise” ending, I was most surprised that DeNiro and Pacino would try to re-enact roles that, as younger men, they pulled off with ease. Now, as aging lions of the cinema, they need to either lighten up (as DeNiro has done in numerous comedies like “Meet the Fokkers”) or, at the very least, play age-appropriate roles.

McCain Says Debates Should be Postponed

By Connie Wilson

On September 25, 2008

In Uncategorized

Today (September 24), John McCain announced that he was suspending his campaign in order to rush back to Washington, D.C., to help solve the nation’s financial crisis. This is a little like sending a pyromaniac into a burning building to put out the fire he started. John McCain was one of the chief voices railing against governmental regulation…until the you-know-what-hit the fan.

John McCain is also the candidate who has openly admitted he “knows nothing about the economy.”[Barack Obama, on the other hand, has 3 former Secretaries of the Treasury advising him and is a Harvard graduate (as compared to McCain’s graduating fifth from the bottom of his class, and that, arguably, only because his father and grandfather were both Admirals.)

Voters on AOL’s main blog, when asked whether it was a good or a bad idea for McCain to suspend his campaign activities, voted 55% no and 45% yes with 303,501 total votes cast at midnight. In regards to postponing the debates, the “no” vote was even higher, with 58% saying “no,” 38% saying “yes” (not people who have bought a plane ticket to fly there to attend, obviously), and 4% saying they were “unsure” with 297,018 votes cast.

It is so patently obvious that whenever the Republicans are struggling in their uphill battle against the facts they either throw the facts, themselves under the bus (or train) or, failing that, they hike off to visit a natural disaster like Hurricane Gustav during the Republican National Convention. This time, rather than weather, they are citing the decline and fall of the American empire (aka, the current budget crisis) in order to avoid doing their debating duty. The rest of the time the Republican Presidential and Vice Presidential are apparently hiding out in Cheney’s bunker or coffin or wherever it is that our current Darth Vader VP keeps his guns, his defibrillator, and himself.

McCain also suggested not having Friday night’s debate, scheduled for the University of Mississippi in Oxford on Friday, September 26^th, but postponing it. Barack Obama responded in a Clearwater, Florida news conference, “It’s my belief that this is exactly the time when the American people need to hear from the person who, in approximately 40 days, will be responsible for dealing with this mess.” He added, “It’s going to be part of the President’s job to deal with more than one thing at a time.”

Point well taken. Also, the Commission on Presidential Debates has been working out the details of these appearances for literally months, I know that I have been jumping through hoops along with AC news personnel to attempt to get Press Credentials for the second Presidential debate, scheduled for October 7^th, Tuesday, on campus at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, for literally months. If the first debate is pushed back, it will cause a domino effect and all other debates will have to be pushed back, including the third debate set for Wednesday, October 15^th on campus at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York.

I know from my daughter’s firsthand reports that the campus in Nashville has been working on arrangements for this debate for months and months. The place is lousy with Secret Service and the countdown has been going on since the beginning of the school year. It is completely inconsiderate to those organizations, sites and that Commission, as well as unnecessary, for the debates to be postponed or canceled, and it is clearly a political ploy on McCain’s part. McCain is not a particularly skilled speaker, yet he has constantly gone after Barack Obama, claiming that Obama won’t debate him in Town Hall meetings, when the truth is that there have always been three such meetings that an independent commission has been working out the details of for months, and now McCain, not Obama, is the one who wants to torpedo all the hard work that the groups and campuses and Secret Service have put in.

The way in which McCain handled this new idea for weaseling out of debating was particularly unsavory. The two candidates for President had just spoken on the phone and agreed to try to work together for the good of the country in solving the economic crisis and trying to get bi-partisan support for some kind of financial bailout. Then, as Obama put it, “When I got back to the hotel, he (McCain) had gone on television to announce what he was going to do.” Not really the sporting way, is it?

It has not escaped the attention of those, like Senator Harry Reid (D, Nevada) that McCain is trying to divert attention from his fading campaign and the issue on which he is weakest: the economy. Yet Senator Lindsey Graham, McCain’s advisor, announced that he would not attend the debate(s) “unless there is an agreement that would provide a solution” to the financial crisis, and that, furthermore, this solution would have to be publicly endorsed by Obama. Meanwhile, “W” has stepped in to call the two campaigning candidates to the White House to meet and talk and work together for the good of the country. Now I’m really alarmed: the last person I want guiding any kind of solution is the most inept President in history! Give George a pretzel and a beer and let him eat it while trying not to choke, but keep him away from being “the Decider.” Please!

As a person who has already secured lodging, a plane ticket, and all the other things necessary to be in attendance at the Presidential debate on the advertised-far-in-advance date in Nashville in October, I’m opposed to pulling the plug on an open discussion of the very issues we most need to be exposing the American citizens to so that we can safeguard the future of this country.

McCain/Palin Visit Cedar Rapids on September 18th

By Connie Wilson

On September 20, 2008

In Politics

After-Effects of the Flood in Cedar Rapids’ Czech Village

By Connie Wilson

On September 19, 2008

In Editorial, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest

After the McCain/Palin appearance at the Eastern Iowa Airport in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, residents hoped that the two Republican candidates for President and Vice President, respectively, would tour some of the flood-devastated areas of their fair city. Even if only symbolic, as was pointed out by a former Mayor of the City, Lee Clancey, a symbolic appearance from a President or a would-be President can do a lot to boost morale.

The appearance of Bill Clinton on the I-74 bridge during the Great Flood of 1993 was important to the masses. The appearance of Rudy Giuiliani after 9/11 was important in New York City. The appearance—or, in the case of Hurrican Katrina, non-appearance—of George W. Bush have been cited as, indeed, important, “symbolically.”

Said Clancey, “I think symbolism is very imporant. It gives people hope that they’re still being considered and there might be help forthcoming.” Damage in Cedar Rapids was estimated to be $1.3 billiion dollars. Over 400 blocks of the downtown were under at least 8 feet of water, including one dramatic shot of the Czech Village Museum top completely inundated except for the very top cupola.

State Representative Kraig Paulsen (a Republican from Hiawatha) said, “My preference would be for every member of Congress, every member of the U.S. Senate and every member of the Legislature to coe over and visit. For whatever reason, they (McCain and Palin) decided not to do that.”

Former Republican Mayor Clancy said, “We have received very little attention and less help.”

I went directly from the Republican rally at the airport to the flood-devastated areas of the Czech Village, as well as the downtown area in the neighborhood of 2nd Street, to obtain these photos. I didn’t see any ‘tours” by important people taking place while I was walking the streets of the quaint Czech Village, which reminds of our Village of East Davenport.

As Joan Benda, a Republican who works for a property management company said, she wishes McCain had opted to spend time touring the damage from the flood. “It would be nice, I guess, if he could at least do a drive-thruogh. I think the best way to trigger compassion is to actually see the damage.” During the speech at the airport (pictures also displayed), mention was made of a possible visit, but they sure weren’t at the Czech Village immediately after the appearance, because I was.

Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota

By Connie Wilson

On September 14, 2008

In Politics

I’m going to pretend that ALL the pictures posted here are from the RNC. In reality, the one of me with the Biden poster was taken inside the Pepsi Center in Denver, but I’m trying to keep all of you honest. Likewise, the picture of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., a dead-ringer for his father, was from the DNC.

After that, it’s all about the shenanigans in St. Paul. There are several pictures of the “Closeted Gay Republican Tour,” orchestrated by a Los Angeles film crew to publicize a new late-night Fox TV show hosted by someone named “Spike.” Spike is shown, smiling at his executive producer, who is decked out as Abe Lincoln and whose fake beard is falling off in the photo taken with Yours Truly. They invited me aboard the Closeted Gay Republican Bus, but it was going to end up at the men’s bathroom stall at the Minneapolis airport, and, quite frankly, I had dinner plans. (Ahem). I only got out of my car and went over to interview Abe because I thought he was the 6’8″ Lincoln impersonator from Marion, IA, that I had read about in a local newspaper. Au contraire, mon frere. This was a totally different Lincoln impersonator, and I spotted about 5 of them before the week was out.

Then there are the Ron Paul photos, taken at the Target Center in Minneapolis. If the RNC was less-than-thrilled to have me inside the Xcel Center, rest assured that the Libertarians couldn’t have been nicer! You see me fingering my Press Credential badge in one shot.

Mickey’s Diner, a St. Paul landmark, was the scene of many stand-offs between the protesters and the riot-clad Gestapo, whom I picture crossing the street in another scene. If you wonder about the shot of someone taken from the back, that was the Obama impersonator, but I was driving at the time, and it didn’t look good for me to be able to get out of the vehicle. There is also a girl with pink tape on her mouth, who ended up on Conan O’Brien’s show…also a protester.

All-in-all, it was a busy week, with me lost much of the time and trying to get out of the city for what seemed like hours. If you want the “long” version, go read my account of the Closeted Gay Republican Tour on Associated Content, where I actually paid attention to the names of one and all, but, for now, enjoy my photos of the Republican National Convention from St. Paul, MN,…except for the Ron Paul Rally, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and, of course, me inside the Pepsi Center. Woo hoo!

Sarah Palin Questioned by Charles Gibson on ABC on September 12th

By Connie Wilson

On September 12, 2008

In Politics

Sarah Palin lives 40 miles northeast of Anchorage at the western edge of Wasilla. That distance from Washington, D.C., means that she is close to Russia, which the Republicans have suggested makes her more expert about Russia and Putin. Jon Stewart suggested that she also lives close to the North Pole, which might make her an expert on Santa Claus. If this sounds facetious, it is.

Palin was interviewed by Charles Gibson of ABC News on Friday night, and, to his credit, Charlie tried to pin her down on her supposed opposition to “earmarks,” when it has been established that, when she was Mayor of Wasilla, she hired a lobbyist for $30,000 a year to secure just such earmarks.

The much discussed “bridge to nowhere” that Palin claimed to have turned down during her RNC speech, was actually something she favored, at first. Even after she reversed positions, the $223 million given Alaska for the bridge was not returned by the state. Therefore, as Gibson established, citizens in the sparsely inhabited state of Alaska got $231 per person, while Barack Obama’s home state of Illinois received only $22 per person. Gibson also pointed out that Alaska asked for $3.2 million for a study of harbor seals and the mating habits of crabs, which seems to smack of “earmark,” but which Palin defended.

Actor Matt Damon recently said he was quite frightened at the thought of Sarah Palin a heartbeat away from the Presidency, since John McCain’s age, alone, means that the oldest nominee in history might well not live through even a four-year term. Here is a woman who has served as the Mayor of a town of 9,000 and has been in office as Governor of the remote state of Alaska for less than 2 years.

Harking back to Hillary Clinton’s battle cry, “Who is ready to be President on Day One?”, it is inconceivable to Matt Damon…(and to me)…that either candidate for President would select as his running mate someone whose entire appeal was that he could help win the race inside the United States. The head honchos this year (McCain and Obama) owe we, the people, the very best this country has, to lead us in case they are taken out by the vagaries of fate. I’m not getting the idea that the Republicans have picked that number two person to run, and that makes me mad and sad. Mad that they would squander our nation’s future on an untested quantity and sad that it’s “politics as usual,” which it certainly appears to be.

The person selected number two on the ticket this year has a better-than-average chance of ascending to the highest office in the land…possibly within the first four years. It is disrespectful to the American people and to the world to pick a running mate based solely on that individual’s ability to help carry a ticket to victory in November. There is a higher responsibility to the nation…and the world…. to pick the very best candidate to go head-to-toe with other nations during these troubled times. The individual selected should be confident and capable of facing down the likes of the leaders of Russia, Korea, China and Iran, should the need arise. Listening to Sarah Palin tell Charles Gibson, “I’m ready. I have the confidence in that readiness,” did not make me feel any more secure. She didn’t look or sound “ready.” Far from it. She looked like a nice-enough lady who likes to hunt moose and have kids and whose entire life experience has better prepared her for those tasks than for leading one of the more complicated nations in the world and guiding the ship of state through troubled waters. There were no concrete plans. There were no specifics. There was just the acknowledgment of all the right-wing beliefs that “the base” so loves, despite the fact that survey after survey shows that women in the United States value the right to choose, regardless of religious preference. Being a life-long member of the NRA will get the NRA vote, no doubt. Will it help curb violence on crowded inner-city streets? Unlikely.

When asked by Gibson if her National Security credentials were up to that task (and at least she was asked), Sarah Palin immediately deflected the question, turning it into something it wasn’t, saying, “But it is about the reform of Washington.” From there, she segued on to her credentials on energy, apparently thinking that this old political ploy of not answering the question at all would go totally unnoticed.

I noticed, Ms. Palin.

I’m pretty sure the rest of those listening did, too.

Would you rather have Senator Joseph Biden, who has extensive National Security experience, negotiating with foreign leaders, or the self-styled “hockey mom” from Alaska, who has absolutely no experience whatsoever in this crucial and sensitive area?

The Republican ads that followed the ABC interview trumpeted: “She stopped the bridge to nowhere.” Welllll, maybe not. And the change mantra? Four more years of Republican leadership dedicated to “a win” in an untenable war, to no choice for American women, to status quo on embryonic stem cell research—none of that equates to “change” for the better.

The “Spin-meisters” afterwards (George Stephanopoulus and company) thought she wasn’t very forthcoming. That’s putting it mildly. They did describe Governor Palin as “doing okay on these answers, not great on these answers.” One expert suggested that the VP be coached a bit more before taking on the hard ones.

My take: she didn’t answer the questions asked at all. She did the typical politician buck-and-wing, and that is sad. I thought the Republican ticket had staked its claim to election on being “different” from the old-style politics of Rove and Bush? There was no difference, tonight, between the Bush campaigns of the past two election cycles and the McCain ticket, this year.

The spin-meisters thought she looked very “scripted.” I thought she looked very out-of-her-element and sounded very much like Bush (again) in 2008.

Ron Paul Rally in Minneapolis Attracts 10,000

By Connie Wilson

On September 2, 2008

In Politics

I’m sitting here right now listening to Ron Paul, the former Libertarian candidate for President, say that the War on Drugs has been ‘a complete and total failure. The war has led us to a condition where the states pass laws that say, if you get sick (AIDS, cancer), the federal government actually arrests sick people in the name of compassionate conservatism. But some say, ‘Well, it’s dangerous.’ ..I said, “Yes, some of the strongest drug lawyers in Washington, D.C. rant and rave about a sick person using marijuana, but they have no inhibitions about indulging in a drug called alcohol. The drug war has caused us to do so many foolish things. It violates the concept of state’s rights….The first law against the use of marijuana was in 1937. It’s a recent onset. During the war, it was important that hemp be used in the war effort to make food products and clothes. But we are obsessed and confused. If you go out and plant hemp plants, you’re going to go to jail. What’s going on? In order to get high on a hemp cigarette, the cigarette has to be as tall as a telephone pole. This is a very serious issue. The last thing I want to leave anyone with is the thought that drugs are safe; I think that drugs are very, very dangerous and we should be very cautious about them. But, as a physician, I also recognize the great danger of prescription drugs. (Applause). What about the government mandating these programs for all our school kids.

I lost my skepticism; I hope you lost your apathy.

“It’s not the 1950’s any more.”

They put road blocks in front of nuclear energy and then they put federal subsidies behind making ethanol out of corn, which doesn’t make any economic sense. The Brazilians can actually sell us ethanol made from sugar cane cheaper than we can make it from corn in this country. But we put a tariff on it. But there is a better source than ethanol, and it happens to be hemp.
The founders were great. They knew the importance of freedom of choice. Government are incapable of making good economic decisions; they are only capable of making mistakes. This entire idea that the government can tell us what we can eat and drink and smoke leads to some other silly things. Can you believe that the federal government has regulations on the delivery of raw milk. They can’t give you enough freedom to make up your mind whether you drink whole milk.

I’ve heard so many times over the year, ‘I’m opposed to this welfare system; I’m opposed to this system,” unless you need it. And then what happens, if it’s something that comes for free, so often the good moral high ground that the other side has doesn’t really help the other side. What it generally helps is the people who are in control. Just witness what happens when the government gets in charge of housing programs. What they do is, they end up doing the same thing over and over again. What we need to do is break up the cycle. If we don’t, it will bankrupt the country and destroy our liberties.
There is one issue that frequently I barely mention: the bum rap we get who believe in freedom that we don’t care about the environment. That is just not true. The environment has been damaged, very often, by bad federal regulations. The dependency on the government to build our dams and our levees and they build them in the wrong places and we have these consequences. (Promotes strict adherence to property rights.)
We don’t have the right to pollute our neighbor’s air, water or living space. Just like in welfare, the corporations benefit. Somebody abuses the system. That is why government should be very minimal. It means you have a right to your own life but you don’t have the right to do any harm to your neighbor’s rights or property. That is the one limitation that we have. One thing that I believe is coming as a consequence of the campaign, (and now we’ve had a grand campaign and we’re climaxing that campaign right now) and there’s every reason in the world for us to be energized. (Stomping of feet).

All I can say is that a year and a half ago, I had no idea what it would lead to. I firmly believe, now, that our day is coming. The conditions are such that there is room now for the defense of liberty. It’s not working monetarily. They will not welcome us with open arms. I found that out. But there is a vacuum out there. The vacuum is not in one political party. It is pervasive. Ideas spread. You can’t stop them. An idea whose time has come cannot be stopped by any army or any government. (People waving “Rally the Republic” signs and standing and cheering; CNN coverage).

They like to describe us as being on the fringe and a little bit kooky, now and then. We talk about privacy, a sound national defense, liberty, …and they want to say that these are bizarre ideas. They harp about the need for us being around the world. The candidates out there right now don’t have many differences in their foreign policy. They want troops around the world. (Boos). Both candidates now think that we should send more troops to Georgia to protect their oil ines..and that’s not the state of Georgia, either. The public school kids probably don’t even know where the country of Georgia is, and somebody said, “They probably don’t even know where the STATE of Georgia is!”

It’s amazing that the drums of war can be beaten so that we want to go to war with Iran. They have no weapons, no tanks, no nuclear missiles. And we’re supposed to be intimidated and scared. The Iranians…they don’t even refine their own gasoline…and we’re supposed to be frightened and intimidated by them? We’ve got to get the truth out; that is what we need.

A wonderful thing about restoring the Republic and restoring our interest in liberty is that that is the key to restoring individual liberty. Energy and creativity comes from the individual. We all are individuals, but we have to have the motivation. The strongest motivation in the world is to take care of ourselves. We should be embarrassed at asking somebody else to take care of us!

The wonderful part about a free society is that you eliminate entirely victims. I have a bumper sticker on my desk that says, “Don’t steal. The government hates the competition.” It’s rather popular. Some people worry that our neighbors aren’t great enough…that we don’t have 51% of the population behind us, but ideas only need to be run by 5% of the population. But today I heard a statistic that shows our numbers are much greater than that, even in the face of the Republican party. Just think how much greater they are in the whole country.

We will bring about change. We will attract the young people. What we have when we have a free society, we reject the idea of people being leeches and looters and plunderers. We need self-reliance, self-respect…I have been asked, these last several days, what I am doing this for, what the purpose of all this is. In many ways, it is true that it is to send a message. Being disruptivce doesn’t really achieve anything and puts us in a bad light. This is much greater than the Republican party. So, I encourage people if they want to campaign within the Republican party, do so, but in a true revolution, a true revolution will be then reflected in the Republican Party, the Democratic Party, the Independent Party, and everyone in the country will be affected.

When the subject comes up not too infrequently, “When do we get so dissatisfied with our current operation that we try to bring about change?” Some are so frustrated with the slowness of what we do and want to change things in a much more aggressive manner. But there is a time and place for peaceful, civil disobedience. The changes brought about by Gandhi and Martin Luther King were peaceful. We do know that our members have already been affected, because they may be correct, but they end up behind bars.

Let’s say this foreign policy gets out of hand, which I worry about all the time because both parties are becmoing more militaristic. Those who want to reinstitute the Empire will want to reinstitute the draft. We should never ever have a draft. If there is a draft, those will be very, very hard decisions. I have already resorted to saying I will be rallying the troops and running for office. That is the way I will be working.

Amy Allen sang the song “the Universal Soldier” for me because I asked her to do that. It talks really about the essence of decision-making. It talks about should you strike and not participate any longer. It’s the universal soldier that allows the power-mongers around Washington to exist. It’s always done by getting the young people and making them feel that,if they don’t participate, they’re unpatriotic. I think of the story of the early days of WWI, on Xmas Eve, when the Germans and the British took a break and began singing Christmas Carols. And then, on the morrow, the leaders came back and said, “You will go back to killing one another.”

As a young man, as a doctor, I was drafted. There were times that people were starting to resist, but I marched off and I was the Universal soldier. What we need today is the Universal Champion of Liberty. (Cheers; waving of placards). Just as we need a President who offers to do less and not to run your life and run the economy and police the world, we need freedom, which is really the answer. And, fortunately for us, freedom is still very popular. (Chants of “Free-dom! Free-dom!”) Traditionally, over the history of mankind, governments have appealed to idealism, whether it’s to patriotism in drafting us or in sonething else. They’re always appealing to the idealism and the idealists go along with it. They get people pulled in because they are idealists and they want to do the right thing. Why can’t we appeal to the people of the country to do the RIGHT thing?

Let me close by giving you a strong word of encouragement. I sincerely believe our day is coming. What is happening these last 18 months has been phenomenal. Can you imagine going from those 12 spammers we had at the beginning to what we have here tonight? (People standing and cheering.) So, in 18 months, let’s say we had a 1,000% in our number of energetic freedom fighters. What about the country? We’re not talking about 10,000, or the million.2 that voted in the election, we’re talking about millions of people in the country and around the world that have heard our message, and it seems like, even if they tried, they can’t stop us.