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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This series was inspired by the a six part, video examination of Dimitri Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony.

Before you go to sleep, however, or bump up another article, stay with me and this article’s title.

The cited video is Michael Tilson Thomas’ exceptional and exceptionally moving tribute to the soul of Dimitri Shostakovich and the hidden meanings within his Fifth Symphony that has profound relevance to the direction we are headed into with the Progressive New World Order.

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The Tilson Thomas complete video is an intensely condensed portrait of Stalin’s Russia. I consider the Tilson Thomas lecture/documentary a “must-see” for anyone viewing America primarily through the eyes of Hollywood and the performing arts.

The Soviet Union ravenously fed on the terror we can find breathing beneath the Shostakovich Fifth Symphony. The nightmare is only there, however, and can only be perceived if we begin to understand the musical code with which Shostakovich is constructing an obligatory deception.

Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony is a lie?

How do you appease a terrorist, the homicidal Communist Joseph Stalin, while, at the same time being true to yourself and your calling as an artist?

With that challenge in mind, why would I ever come up with the title, Bringing America Home Again?

The history of Stalin’s Russia is vitally important as a measure of how far the Progressive New World Order has dragged America and Americans away from their original faith in individual freedom and individual responsibility.

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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.

—–

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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This week I had the pleasure of attending the Grand Opening of Millennium Studios in Shreveport, Louisiana.  As some of you know, I have a “first look” deal with Millennium.  I have enjoyed working with Avi Lerner, Trevor Short, and Danny Dimbort in various capacities since 1992.  This week was the culmination of the company’s growth and it came in a small city in Northwestern Louisiana with a Democratic Mayor.

Mayor Cedric Glover may be a Democrat, but he is a great conservative when it comes to business.  He helped us in many ways when we were building the studio including helping us in the land acquisition and facilitating a loan from the city when the economy collapsed and we needed a little extra cash to make sure the project did not fall apart.

This whole project started as an idea when I was in Shreveport shooting “Mad Money” in the Spring of 2007.   During that time I became acquainted with Cedric Glover and his city council.  My colleague and I, Michael Flannigan, spent a good deal of time working with the city during the production of “Mad Money” and Mayor Glover started talking about how he wanted to support the film industry and help it grow in Shreveport.  At that time, Louisiana had a 40% entertainment industry infrastructure tax credit in place.  We decided that if the City had land that was not being used, maybe we could lease it and take advantage of the tax credit to develop and build a movie studio. (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…)

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…)

According to the website CNN.com, some of the criticism of first lady Michelle Obama is driven by partisan politics. However, “others say the attacks are rooted in white resentment of the “uppity Negro.” Two things quickly come to mind. The first is that no one other than Harry Reid uses the word “Negro” anymore. Second, that it is the 21st century and yet there are those who continue to talk about race as if it were 1955.

Last February, in a speech to honor Black History Month, Attorney General Eric Holder remarked that Americans of all colors should stop avoiding an honest discussion of race in America. Said Holder: “Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial we have always been and I believe continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards.”

I disagreed with Holder at the time and still do. Americans are not cowards when it comes to discussions of race, neither are they dishonest. Rather, I believe Americans are simply bone-tired.

The American conversation on race began more than two centuries ago and frankly, we have talked of little else. The topic permeated the discussions during the drafting of both our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution and continues today, with a black man sitting in the white house. (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…)

Please listen to this seven-year-old!

Divine.

Undeniably miraculous that a child, like a female, singing, Biblical David, should arrive with that much inborn courage, wisdom and sensitivity!

“It felt great,” Rhema Marvanne, said about making her theatrical debut. “It felt like God is really proud of me and he’s smiling right at me.”

She has that right, along with what appears to be everything else in her soul.

Does God send His divinities when we need them most?

Yes.

Does he send us other symbols of His Amazing Love?

Yes.

Who, what and where they are is up to you. (more…)

I’m sunbathing naked again.  I don’t really like it.  It’s sweaty. But, I think it might make me look thinner.  And, I have no work.  And, no one can see me.  Maybe Google Earth. I’m on the last chapter of  C.S. Lewis’ “Mere Christianity.” It explains so well what my heart knew, but my head couldn’t articulate.  I am looking out for bees and red ants.  A big, red ant bit me on my thigh yesterday.  Yes, the same thigh the bee
bit.  Weird.
 
I still can’t keep up with him.
 
I heard that he just proclaimed Al Qaeda racist!!

Racist, racist, racist. I’ll show you racist. (more…)

I’m sunbathing naked again.  No one can see me.  Just birds and bees.  And red ants. And God.  

I guess I’ll have to move back to FL.  I love LA. But, my family needs me in FL. I don’t seem to be getting many acting roles. Maybe this deep tan will help.  I squish a big, red ant with my shoe.  I wipe the sweat mixed with sun block from my under eyes and pick up my paperback of “Mere Christianity.”  I have a stack of books next to my arm, near my Coffee Nips.  Nick Popaditch’s book, “Once a Marine,” and Frank Pastori’s “Shattered.”  I used to read the Tabloids a lot but none of my friends are in them anymore…just reality stars I don’t recognize. I’m listening for the UPS man.  I really don’t want him to see me.  “Big, fat, ex-SNL star sunbathing naked!”   

King Obama is trying to eliminate Freedom of Speech by silencing conservative talk radio, TV and Internet.  His plan involves fees and fines. I’ve done research.  The Federal Trade Commission had a conference last month where they decided to “Redefine Journalism.”  Their plan is to have the Government pay the salary of journalists.  This will ensure complete control of the media. Yikes!  Kerry and Pelosi think the (Un) Fairness Doctrine could do this.  Mark Lloyd, Diversity Czar (whatever that is?!) way back in 2007 started encouraging small groups to protest local conservative radio stations by accusing programs like Rush and Hannity of “hate speech that incites violence”!  A group called CCAM in Fresno just obeyed this command. 

I can’t keep up with him. 

King Obama bribed his Socialized Medicine disaster through Congress and destroyed the greatest medical system in the world. 

I can’t keep up with him. 

King Obama is insidiously creeping into my very own personal life.  I don’t have health insurance anymore because of lack of work. Last month, I was shocked to see a TV commercial about Obama Health Insurance. It strangely said that there was a 2,000 caller a day limit?!  I called the number out of curiosity/research.  The recording said that the 2,000 quota had been reached.  After two days, this commercial disappeared, but yesterday I got an email from King Obama offering me Government health insurance.  I felt sick to my stomach.  I won’t even take unemployment checks, based on the principal of the thing.  But…I did start thinking…what if I need … help…someday…I shuddered…NO!  NO!  Go Away!!  I will not succumb to your sneaky attempts at turning me Communist!   (more…)

I’m sunbathing naked in my backyard.  I’m on the lookout for bees.  Yesterday one stung me on my thigh.  Thoughts are swimming in my sun baked head.  One thought keeps popping out amidst the others.

I can’t keep up with him. 

There’s a strange, red bump inside my eyelid.
Scarlet is pregnant with my first grandchild. 

I can’t keep up with him. 

Teenager wants to move back to FL.
Three pimples are on my chin because I ate three potato chips yesterday. 

I can’t keep up with him. 

There is a bee hive under my roof.
There is a Communist Living in the White House. 

I can’t keep up with him. 

Every time I try to research his newest Communistic endeavor, he does a new one!  I just can’t keep up! 

With lightning speed he and his minions are setting fire to The Constitution, looting and pillaging the Court System, and hanging Abraham Lincoln from a tree! 

Every time I pass the TV I do a double take.  Fox News only. (more…)

So that weird sound you’re hearing right now is the collective hand-wringing of liberals both in government and in media, who can’t help but fret as the Great One’s poll numbers drop like an ACME safe on their enormous expectations.

And so the Politico website ruminates over the tragic contrast between Obama’s real achievements and our country’s growing disappointment in him.

They point out that Obama has “moved swiftly toward achieving the very policy objectives he promised voters as a candidate,” which to me, is EXACTLY why we can’t stand him now.

Look at the comprehensive health care bill. It pleased the media – but for the rest of us? We got duped. (more…)

The right to private property was one of the central issues involved in the American Revolution. The colonists’ cries of “taxation without representation” were but protests of what they saw as an unjust taking of private property.

The Declaration of Independence charges the King of England with engaging in 10 acts of abuse, of which half are offenses against private property. Most significantly, the Declaration lists the pursuit of happiness as one of man’s primary inalienable rights. The founders believed that liberty, happiness, and property were inextricably tied together.

Over the years, the American occupation with private property has not receded. Indeed, the question of private property remains a central part of our national political conversation. The political rhetoric may not always reflect it, but if one scratches the surface of arguments surrounding universal healthcare; entitlements; budgetary deficits; business regulation; cap-and-trade, or even abortion, one will find an argument involving the God-given right to private property. (more…)

Appearing on CNN with Anderson Cooper, film director Spike Lee implored President Obama to infuse his handling of the Gulf oil spill with more emotion. Demonstrating the astute analysis we have come to expect from the director, Lee implored Obama to “one time, go off.”

Perhaps he is of the same mind as Bill Maher, that the authentic black man is one who is always armed and resorts to violence and loud-talking when things do not go his way. (Note to self: On the way home from the liquor store, I must pick up my Glock from the gun shop.)

Both Lee and Maher seem to share the opinion of a great many progressives that emotion is the same as leadership and that problems are most easily solved by decree. It is no mistake that following criticism by Lee and others, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs was declaring to the media that he had “seen rage from him [President Obama].” Apparently, when Obama gets angry, he clinches his jaw.

Soon after the Gibbs press conference, the President showed up in Louisiana, walked the beach in shirt sleeves and then, with clenched jaw, he spoke of growing up in a culture where the water was sacred. The administration meant this to be a demonstration of leadership. However, in some quarters, this is also known as street theatre. (more…)