It’s always a bad sign when my Hot Wife switches to Spanish, which she did after watching about 20 minutes of the premiere of Terra Nova.  She dubbed it Terra Mierda.  I won’t translate it for you gringos; just understand that it does not mean “World of Quality Entertainment.”

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Now, understand that it gives me no pleasure to report that Terra Nova is off to a crappy start.  None.  Anyone living in California knows lots of people who work in the Industry, from crew to talent, who rely on production to feed their families.  We want shows to be great, to be hits, to run for years.  And none of them got up and said “I want to take an interesting idea and turn it into a hackneyed, tedious death march.” Well, maybe the writers and producers did – the vicissitudes of chance do not account for how they managed to hit every tiresome cliché and make every bad choice available every time.

The conceit of Terra Nova is that a bunch of people from 2189 are sent back in time from a polluted, fascist Earth 85 million years to restart human civilization.  They face all sorts of ferocious dinosaurs, which is cool, and that have all sorts of bitchin’ guns, which is also cool.  Steven Spielberg is involved with it, and once upon a time he made movies I actually liked.  Fox is spending a fortune on it.  It should be kinda interesting and kinda fun.

But no.

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As a satellite barrels towards Earth this week with impending doom, the references to Northern Exposure are many. I, of course, remember it well. Maggie, my character on Northern Exposure, was giving her boyfriend, Rick, a pilot’s examination. He made a mistake so she did not give him a passing grade. He was distraught and thus ventured to the top of a mountain to meditate. While in this posture, he was hit by a random, falling satellite and killed. Many of Maggie’s boyfriends died untimely deaths and this was a blow, in itself, to Maggie. Fleishman was undaunted, and, daring death, danced with Maggie at the end of the episode. Great writing. Great cast. Great fun. Maggie was a truly unique character; one unmatched then and now.

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I was walking through Lowe’s yesterday to buy a hammer and I saw a tool kit belt that wraps around the waist. I laughed fondly as I remembered that during rehearsals, to “get into character,” I wore one of those tool belts filled with tools. Maggie could fix anything: planes, toilets, dinner – with meat hunted by her own hand.

During the filming and post-production of that episode I was unhappy with the producers, Josh Brand and John Falsey. I had to re-record the dialogue for the scene where Rick’s coffin was revealed and they continuously cut away from my face. The satellite had fused to Rick’s body, so the coffin had pieces of metal coming out of it. I wanted to show some emotion revealing that Maggie was sad that Rick had died. Thus, I had a few tears, conjured by “method acting.” (My favorite actors were all “method actors” – Dustin Hoffman, Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, Jessica Lange, even Marilyn Monroe.) John and Josh were desperately trying to keep the show in the Monday night “comedy” line-up so my performance had to be restructured via sound booths and editing rooms to be “funny.” Of course, I believed that “the self same well that holds our laughter also holds our tears,” to loosely quote Khalil Gibran but.. so goes the tango and artistry of teamwork.

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With the President’s address to a joint session of Congress on September 8, I expect a mildly new turn on an old Progressive tune: “America’s not going anywhere without Karl Marx & Friends!”

America’s increasingly far Left academia has always been “nudging” its way into power. The first great, 20^th Century landmark for these “enlightened despots”, as Voltaire described them, came when a professor of the ordinarily Left-leaning Harvard University, Dr. Henry Kissinger, found his way into the Oval Office of Republican President Richard Nixon.

The not-so-good-doctor seemed to have literally crawled inside the soul of this undeniably insecure but ingeniously manipulative politician, also known as Tricky Dick. Their administration, as we know, came to a rather disgraceful end.

However, Red China’s oldest American friend, Henry Kissinger, knows that his influence from deep connections with Beijing is now as strong as it ever was.

Why?

His “kind”, his “fraternity” from Harvard and the University of Chicago are back!

Above you see a decidedly self-confident, Presidential manipulator, Barack Obama, surrounded by two of his favorite academicians, Samantha Power and Cass Sunstein.

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Via Power Line:

The top finishers in the Power Line Prize competition are being posted around the web. Number seven, called “Fiscal Child Abuse,” is a video submitted by the Independence Institute in Colorado. It features three young girls who want to start a lawsuit; it is funny, and is one of my favorites in the competition. Roger Simon of Pajamas Media has posted the video. …

Number five was submitted by the Young Cons, two rappers (and basketball players) from Dartmouth. Their video features lots of quick cuts as they interview students and a soldier. The cons themselves take the stage at the end. It is an impressive piece of work that rivets your attention even though it was one of the longer videos in the competition.

And here is number five:

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In 1796, President George Washington decided to retire from public service, thus not seeking a third term. He wrote a 32 page Farewell Address, with Alexander Hamilton’s ever present counsel. It was printed in Philadelphia’s American Daily Advertiser, on September 19, 1796. Not only is it mesmerizing, it is pertinent. To shed light on the remarkable, relevancy of his words and the timelessness of his wisdom, I am writing a five-part series on George Washington’s Farewell Address.

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Where is reason?

But the constitution which at any time exists, till changed by an explicit and authentic act of the whole people is sacredly obligatory to all.

George Washington, in his Farewell Address, speaks to us about the obligation we have, as citizens, to the United States Constitution. Obligation. Americans, we the people, who live in America, we the people, who reap from her spirit, her resources, her goodness, her history of independence and equality, should be obliged to live by and honor our Constitution.

But do we? How can we, if we do not know it?

Americans love football. How would we ever expect a football player to play the game, if he did not know the rules? Similarly, how do we expect to maintain our republic if we do not know the rules, the laws, of our intended government?

Respect for its authority, compliance with its laws, acquiescence in its measures, are duties enjoined by the fundamental maxims of true liberty.

George Washington states that we should respect the Constitution’s authority, comply with its laws, acquiesce to its measures.

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What happened to our leaders?

Like many Americans, on October 3, 2008 my world changed. That afternoon, Congress had passed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, also known as the Wall Street Bailout.  Like many Americans, I had written Congress, had called the Congressional switchboard, had done everything I could to let my voice be heard. But my government had not listened. I grew up in the 80s, at a time when kids were still taught America was a good idea, because we were a free people with a voice. That Friday I discovered, along with many other Americans, that I no longer had a voice in my government. Somehow, now I was no longer a member of We The People. On paper I was, but in the unwritten evolving “Constitution” of Congressional precedent, Wall Street and special interests were The People who mattered now. Standing there in my kitchen, washing my dishes, watching my kids play in the dwindling daylight, I felt small before the face of my government, and I felt a deep solidarity with all those people who had called the Congressional switchboard with me.

But unlike many Americans, I happen to be a college professor who researches how to understand and model complex systems. My doctoral work dealt with how metaphor and narrative model complexity in economics and neuroscience. All very wonkish to be sure. This work earned me an invitation to research and lecture at the Joint Forces Staff College, Norfolk VA, on how military commanders can lead, understand, and model complex operational environments in real time.

It was my days working in development and movie production in Indie Hollywood that first convinced me of the power of narrative. Narrative is not only found in literature books, or movies themselves, but in days on set, in the hundreds of production details, in shot choices, in schedules, in actor issues, and all financial decisions that go into making a feature film. Complex systems are understood through narrative.

During the week that followed the passage of TARP, I reviewed the news coverage of the Bailout and sensed parts of the story were missing. DC and the media all said that TARP was necessary, but was it? Really? Why had TARP encountered so much opposition in the House when all the power brokers supported it? Why had the Bailout failed on the Monday vote? Why did it pass so easily in the Senate? What changed the minds of those who flipped their votes to support it? Who were the people on the inside who were actually fighting the bill? What did the power brokers do to stop them? And why aren’t those who fought the Bailout getting to tell their side of the story?

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So here goes. The other day CBC contacted me for a response on something or other teen pop sensation Justin Bieber had said in Rolling Stone. He’d said something about health care the producer said, and had knocked America’s health care system while extolling the virtues of “free” (and broke) Canadian health care. I shrugged it off and as I was sick and had a cramped schedule that night, declined the interview. I thought how Hillarycare was headline-rampant back when I was about Bieber’s age and how I wouldn’t have wanted my developing understanding of such a complex issue under national scrutiny.

The next day I began seeing headlines like this one in my RSS reader and I felt a pang of regret, a missed opportunity to stand up for someone. His quotes?

On abortion: “I really don’t believe in abortion. I think [an embryo] is a human. It’s like killing a baby.”

On abortion in cases of rape: “Um. Well, I think that’s really sad, but everything happens for a reason. I don’t know how that would be a reason. I guess I haven’t been in that position, so I wouldn’t be able to judge that.”

This kid, I thought, is going to be devoured.

Here Is the Abortion Conversation Justin Bieber Will Be Apologizing for Tomorrow

Craft your own publicist-approved clarification and apology in the comments!

Why exactly would he feel the need to apologize for this tomorrow? Is the concept of having the balls to stand up for what you believe such a foreign concept to Hollywood that they feel the need to expect a PR-crafted spin on the truth the moment it’s uttered? Why the hell is Rolling Stone grilling him about policy that they themselves don’t even understand? He’s a teenager. Touring the world and selling boatloads of albums, but a teenager, nonetheless. Sure, many would disagree with his remarks (which seeemed facetiously made) on health care – though to his credit, he himself admits that he doesn’t know what he doesn’t know, more than the poseurs scripting the article will admit, the same folks who will try to ensnare him with his own remarks the following day.

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Most people recognize retired U.S. Marine Corps drill instructor R. Lee Ermey from his iconic turn as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in Stanley Kubrick’s 1987 Vietnam film “Full Metal Jacket.” Ever since he’s been a familiar, welcome, and energetic character actor popping up regularly in a number of films ranging from “Mississippi Burning” to the  horribly underrated “Saving Silverman.” Currently he can be seen as the host of  Lock N’ Load with R. Lee Ermey on the History Channel and in a hilarious Geico commerical.

According to YouTube, the video below is from an appearance earlier this month in Indianapolis to benefit the USO and Toys for Tots, one of my personal favorite charities started by Marine reservists in 1947 to collect Christmas toys for needy children in Los Angeles. Over the last 60 years it’s  grown into one of the most respected charities in the world, delivering hundreds of millions of toys to tens of millions of kids.

Enjoy the video. Ermey obviously knows his audience for they ate up every word of it. The good stuff starts at right around the 1:30 mark and there’s a transcript below the fold.

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The President and his clan are all tied-up-in-knots over not being able to raise taxes on those they deem rich. When Democrats don’t get their way they loose all rational thought like teen-girls suffering a case of front row “Bieber Fever.”  This latest flood of emotions has left Democrats and Obama feeling as if they’ve been taken hostage by the GOP. So rather than just handing over pizza and soda to Republicans so they can feed their captors on the hill, I thought it more instructive to send them five of the best hostage films on DVD during this trying time.

“Dog Day Afternoon”: This Sidney Lumet film starring Al Pacino ranks as one of the best, and actually does comes with pizza and soda. When Sonny robs a bank to pay for his boyfriend’s sex change operation, things go horribly wrong and the first-time robber ends up with a bank full of hostages (Democrats).

This film is the perfect framework for Democrats to work their victim identity while trying to sneak in a pork-barrel project that gives members who lost in the last election a sex change before heading home for the holidays.

“Die Hard”: The first “Die Hard” film is also one of the best action films of all time and full of holiday hostages. Detective John McLane single-handedly saves a tower full of captives at his wife’s Christmas party from thirteen Euro-trash thieves trying to steel $640 million in bearer bonds. (more…)

So over Thanksgiving I went to Berlin, which is in Germany. I went there strictly for fun, for it had nothing to do with hormonal treatments. Those ended years ago. Anyway, the high point was the DDR museum, otherwise known as The Museum of the German Democratic Republic.

There you could experience a sad moment in history – when East Germany existed (if you could call it an existence).

The museum offers the visitor a typical day in socialism, featuring real artifacts from clothes to coffee. You can sort through closets, walk through a concrete slab living room, fiddle with a lonely pressure cooker on a stove.

Imagine crawling through Sean Penn’s brain.

You can steer an actual Trabant, possibly the worst car ever made. Legend has it, that there was no such thing as a new Trabant. A dead one was just patched back up and sent out on the road. Like Joan Rivers.

And of course, there’s GDR’s first and only attempt at creating a microchip. It cost 100 times more than ours, which was already an antique by then. East German leaders beamed with pride over the prototype, while the actual chip NEVER got made.

The museum is worth the long flight, for it is not simply a wry commentary on life without aspirations, but a salute to capitalism, a salute to us. From every corner of the museum, the displays told the viewer why their economy failed, why nothing worked, and how a desperate people dreamed of western goods. (more…)

We, the American public, hold it as an article of faith that those responsible for devising and implementing public policy have our best interests at heart. Our best minds are hard at work, striving to make the world a better place. Our elected officials are dedicated to protecting our freedoms, increasing our prosperity, and securing justice for all.

What, then, is the public to assume when, in spite of the best efforts of our most brilliant thinkers and politicians, freedoms erode, prosperity decreases, and for a great many, justice seems elusive? Surely, sinister forces must be at work.

Let us take for an example the nation’s system of public education. For years, American taxpayers have been sold on a triad of public policy fixes for public education. In order to improve student performance, state and federal governments must dedicate a greater portion of their budgetary dollars to education; class sizes must be reduced, and there must be greater oversight by the federal government. So fervent is the belief in this holy trinity of education, that to even ponder the efficacy of the federal Department of Education is seen as heresy. Any politician who attempts to curb the unrestricted flow of tax dollars to public schools is accused of not wanting to “invest in education.”

And yet, increases in spending have not resulted in a corresponding increase in student achievement. Studies have shown that over the last 50 years, student proficiency in math and English has shown little improvement even as spending and federal government oversight has increased and class size has decreased. Given the brilliance and dedication of our public servants, the failure of significant academic gains to materialize, in spite of billions spent on education, can only be the devil’s work.

And if you are a black man, the devil must, indeed, be working overtime. (more…)

President Barack Obama is about to learn that Hollywood is the ultimate fair-weather friend, where one hit and especially one flop can change everything about the way a majority of the power in this town will publicly support and stand by you. There’s only one thing these people hate more than everyday Americans and that’s the stench that emanates from a loser. So insecure are they over their own status that when faced with a public failure, the very first instinct these Tinseltown paragons of narcissism summon is to immediately run away out of the selfish fear that some of that stench might get on them.  

Two examples:

In 1978, a young director named Michael Cimino ascended to the very tippity-top of Tinseltown adulation with his sophomore directing effort “The Deer Hunter,” which triumphed at the box office and that year’s Oscars. Subsequently, everyone in Hollywood wanted to be like Mike. And yet, a mere two years after his out-of-nowhere rise to the top and flushed with the power of his own invincibility, Cimono went on a then-unprecedented spending spree to produce the ill-conceived “Heaven’s Gate” which would not only become the biggest financial debacle in all of Hollywood history, but effectively destroy an entire studio, United Artists. 

And thus ended Hollywood’s love affair with Michael Cimino. Oh, he would go on to make a few more films but by most definitions, the toast of Hollywood’s career was all but dead and he would never truly receive a second chance.

Fast-forward to 2008 when a young Senator named Barack Obama ascended to the very tippity-top of Hollywood adulation and won the highest office in the land. Everyone in left-wing Hollywood wanted to be like Barack. And then, right after his out-of-nowhere rise to the top, while still flushed with the power of his own invincibility, President Obama went on an unprecedented spending spree to produce the ill-conceived Heaven’s Gate of economic plans which would become the biggest financial debacle in generations and the Waterworld of health care plans which would prove to be more unpopular than some diseases. Overnight, the net result of both would all but destroy the hard-earned gains of the Democrat Party in a single midterm election.

And thus ended Hollywood’s love affair with Barack Obama. (more…)

So late last night, I stumbled onto Joe Scarborough’s column on Politico, calling for a “higher level of debate.”

There, he built a condo in Jon Stewart’s butt, saluting the comedian’s attempt to challenge “extremists of all stripes.” He swoons, “I’m just naive enough to believe that Stewart’s rally might make a difference,” overlooking the fact that the sanity rally was a preemptive gesture, meant to undermine a conservative comeback.

The rally would not have happened, after all, if the shellacking was on the other foot.

Whatever: Joe just earned himself another Daily Show invite.

Anyway, last night I tweeted that, in 14 hours, Obama will call for end to partisanship. And, on cue, he did: in defeat – calling for a renewed civility.

Which I’m for, I guess.

But Obama needs to see the difference between incivility and legitimate anxiety. The incivility really began when people questioned him. Remember, it wasn’t the tea party calling the media morons and idiots. It was the opposite, when those old folks started showing up at town halls, speaking truth to Obama. (more…)

Am I the only one who feels like yanking my teeth out with needle nose pliers when he hears questions about what the ‘Tea Party’ is up to?  What candidate they’ll promote, which direction they’ll move next, and how the ‘Tea Party will influence upcoming election?  Am I the only one?   Okay, let’s clear this up – (unless of course I’ve taken too many rim shots to the head and have simply lost my mind, but)… there is no ‘Tea Party.’

It is not a political party.  Tea Parties are political gatherings in which concerned and outraged American citizens express their outrage at government spending and crippling legislation and reaffirm collectively their devotion to American Constitutional values.

But there is no Tea Party, there is no Conservative Party, and there is no Liberal Party.  We have basically a two-party political system, the Democrats and the Republicans.  All other ‘parties’ act as spoilers in political elections.  Third party candidates end up swaying election results as to hurt the very people they were hoping to help: themselves.  They split the vote.  Witness two past presidential election votes in which Ross Perot split the Republican vote, awarding both elections to the Democrat, Bill Clinton.  Ralph Nader has been a thorn in the Democrats’ side with his Green Party…or is it the Peace & Freedom Party…or was it the Nutjobs & Pudwhacks for Mindless Change Party, I don’t remember.  Anyway… There is no Tea ‘Party’.

But there is a Libertarian Party. (more…)

So.  Is “fired up” to be the defining signature phrase of our time?  The ghastly aptness that it has to many settings now may help shield President Obama from history’s judgment for his over-dependency upon it, but he’s still bandying it about almost daily.  Right now it’s providing him “hope” in needed doses, I guess.

I’m remembering his 2008 campaign litany “Y’all fired up? Ready ta go? …Fired up?”

Call and response does energize a crowd.  Obama wasn’t the first to deploy it, only the first to deploy it with such momentous success.  In the unknown future of our constitutional republic, call n’ response is as here to stay as rock n’ roll.  Crowds still matter, even in the cyberspace age.  Acting together physically is still how the homo sapiens do it, and any ruling class of the species still takes heed.

The method of call and response and of group chanting or singing may be powerful, even dignified, as in “We Shall Overcome.”  Or may be lame, even embarrassing, as in “Whadya want?”… “When d’ya want it?” and the like.  People participating in call and response or in sing-along reveal things about their character:  Faith?  Anxiousness?  Selfishness?  Opportunism?

What did you experience in the character of the last throng you got next to?  Mine would have sneered back at Obama’s call “Fired Up?” with the response “Hell, yeah!!”  And yet there was gloom.  Not always competing well against the gloom were joy, faith, or any of the quite rational exuberance or lightness of being with a just cause. 

C’mon!  The issues may be solemn, but that’s not what we’re entitled to be.  For your consideration, for your next throng—a little lightness for your jumbo-tron! 

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I am Victoria’s ukulele and I am in this fight for freedom too.

She takes me to all the rallies and I purposefully sit right in front of the podium so that everyone will notice me. I attended the Beverly Hills Tea Party. All the cameras saw my bumper sticker shouting, “I SUPPORT ARIZONA!!” Can you believe the President of the United States would sue a state?! Man, these are crazy times! All AZ did was ask him to protect them from illegal aliens and criminals. I guess the President doesn’t want to protect them and he is really mad about it. Mad enough to sue.

Suing is a big problem in America. Suing and lawyers. Tort Reform. The President is a lawyer, right? Lawyer sounds like Liar.

You don’t think he has ulterior motives…like, if he kisses butt to millions of illegals and gives them amnesty, they’ll all vote for him? Nah! That’s too nefarious.

Although, I did hear a rumor recently involving that Sherrod lady and “reparations” being paid to black farmers in the south. Many of the “farmers” receiving government money were not even farmers. A lot of things happen below the radar, with our tax money. Things we did not vote for…like abortions. And speaking of nefarious, what’s happening with the offshore oil drilling moratorium? Seems a bit odd how it’s not in the news. And, why would the President want to limit the USA from using its natural resources, while allowing other countries to use them? Um, maybe he wants to make the USA a third world country. But, what do I know? I’m a Ukulele!! (more…)

Scores of people gathered this weekend on the national mall as part of the One Nation Working Together rally, offering, in the words of one of the event’s featured speakers, NAACP President Ben Jealous, “the antidote to the Tea Party,” and promoting liberal answers to issues ranging from job creation to immigration, to education and the environment – namely, more government intervention and higher taxes and regulation.

Actually, the attendance was easily in the tens of thousands, but sometimes it’s fun to take a cue from the MSM and just understate any fact that doesn’t serve your narrative.

Still, despite the impressive numbers, the predominately white rally does differ from Glenn Beck’s recent Restore Honor rally, and the Tea Party movement in general, in one way that illuminates the core difference between left and right.

Specifically, the Tea Party tends to be a movement of individuals, each pursuing their own interests, self-organizing in defense of their own rights, whereas the One Nation Working Together rally was the product of partnerships between over 400 labor, civil-rights, and other liberal organizations, many of whom bussed in their members by the thousands to bolster their numbers.

If there is any better picture of the top-down, coercive nature of liberalism than their approach to “grass roots” organizing, I’m not sure what it is. (more…)

At a gut level most left-wing environmentalists know that they’re liars. Intellectually they might have somehow convinced themselves that Mother Earth is in some sort of man-made peril, but deep down inside where the truth won’t be denied, these liars know they’re lying — know that the “green movement” is all about a sinister political agenda to put them in the position of insect overlords in charge of we rubes who stubbornly refuse to let go of the idea that Marxism is a bad thing.

This isn’t true for all of them. Ed Begley Jr. walks the walk, and there are everyday tree-huggers scattered throughout America quietly attempting to make work a sustainable lifestyle. You can smell them from here. But most environmentalists are lying liars who know they’re lying. Because if you honestly believe man is destroying the planet, that the apocalypse is nigh, you prepare for it. Most coastal elites are Global Warming believers and yet Global Warming, we’re told, will make the oceans rise to the point that will someday put much of the coast, especially Manhattan underwater. So why aren’t coastal elites moving inland? Why aren’t they pulling a Lex Luthor and buying up all that cheap property that will someday be the new coast? And why do they continue to burn fossil fuels, enjoy air conditioning, and otherwise consume? Because deep down inside they know what we know: it’s all bull shit Socialism disguised as nonsense.

People who believe, truly believe that an environmental apocalypse – be it through increased temperatures, a rise in sea levels, or super-hurricanes — is imminent, act as though it’s imminent. They don’t live in big, fancy, air-conditioned homes propped precariously on the side of the Hollywood Hills and purchased through the dividends of an unnecessary energy-burning, landfill-filling industry. They don’t run up incredible electric bills. They don’t purchase second homes large enough to house Michelle Obama’s entourage.

However, after an “awakening,” courtesy of former Vice President Al Gore’s wildly inaccurate propaganda-horror film, “An Inconvenient Truth,” James J. Lee believed. (more…)

With Dr. Evil:

…and his Mini-Me’s:

…plus their Russian Wolfhound:

George Soros now rules over half of the Earth: Eurasia, North America and, with his foot in Brazil, a large hunk of South America. (more…)

Prescott, AZ July 25, 2010.  

I find myself in a storybook Town Square.  A perfect pillared 1800’s courthouse surrounded by ancient trees and a Sound Of Music gazebo. Across the street is The Palace, a famous bar that people like Wyatt Earp haunted back in the Gold Rush days. A giant poster of Junior Bonner starring Steve McQueen proves the movie was shot in this bar.  I do a handstand in front of the Old West re-enactors.

(I have a Handstand Collection: photos of me holding a handstand in every city I’ve ever visited since childhood.) 

Victorian houses dot the hills and the Arizona sunset sucks me in. I am sunk. I love Prescott. They all warned me I wouldn’t want to leave. 

I just did a radio show with the nicest man, Dr. Terry Lovell.  I sang him my “There’s a Communist Living in the White House” song. He hadn’t heard it yet. (more…)