Movie Review-"MegaMind" is a story about good versus evil. Nothing new about this.
Except in MegaMind, it gets confusing as to who is evil and who is the good guy.
Book Review "The Great Deluge" by David Brinkley. Took me two months to read this book. Bus as a Hurricane Katrina aficionado I had to do it.
The book made me realize the REAL reason the aftermath of Katrina was so chaotic. AND it changed my mind on how George W. Bush handled it all.
Guest writer Michelle attends a "guy" party and here's a laugh.
A little bit of Kaitlyn Mae on this Blog devoted to her, pics, video and review of "Seussical the Musical".
Plus political thoughts on the recent Tucson shooting, including winner of the biggest asshole award.
And Sussex County GOP goes nuts….we've got the video, barely escaping with my life!
Pic of the Day
Year End 2011-Kaitlyn, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year, Seussical the Musical
Just some pics for the memories and a quick review of the show Kaitlyn and I both saw on Thanksgiving weekend.
It was at a local theatre in Milford, Delaware. It’s called Riverfront Theatre and as one might imagine, it was a delight to little kids everywhere.
Kaitlyn and I saw this local production the very first night it opened. Of course this brings out all the blips and problems and there were a few.
I thought the costumes were quite good EXCEPT I had a real problem with the main character, Horton.
Horton is based on the Seuss book “Horton Hears a Who” and the musical basically follows this storyline. It isn’t easy dressing human beings as Dr. Seuss characters, especially on a small budget that a live theater in a small town in the swamps of Delaware must work on. Thus a lot of symbols must be used to sort of connote the story line.
The character of Gertrude McFuzz, for example, wore a normal dress as she was female. Pinned to the back of her dress was a simple feather, the kind one could pull off of a feather duster. Over the course of the show the feather pinned to the back grew bigger and bigger, as this was part of the story line.
Still, that simple “costume” was easily understood by the audience. Dr. Seuss can draw his characters from his imagination; human beings playing these parts must make do.
And for the most part these Street Players got it right. Except for Horton. For Horton is supposed to be an elephant and again, this is a costume hard to ufsse symbols to make the point. Now Horton did have a little toy horn hanging around his neck and after 2/3 of the show was gone I realized that this little rinky dink thing was supposed to represent Horton’s elephant trunk.
The concept of a toy horn was a good one because beyond that there was absolutely no indication that the character playing Horton was an elephant. The toy horn needed to be a little bigger is all.
Kaitlyn and I both enjoyed the play and for Christmas Kaitlyn got a CD of the Broadway musical.
Kaitlyn, her Mom and her Dad, spent Thanksgiving and Christmas with us. For New Years it was only me and Kaitlyn. We did manage to stay up until midnight and we all kissed each other to welcome in the New Year. Kaitlyn’s parents were in Baltimore having a party of their own. But then that’s why God made grandparents, eh?
Please Check This Out
Dogs Don’t Understand Basic Concepts.
I chanced upon this story, with the cutest drawings, of a tale of a lady moving her two dogs. Folks, it’s just the funniest thing, I laughed until I cried big happy sobs. Read it, you’ll thank me.
Man-Day
You know how we have the Hakala Billiard Bash? Well, we're not the only folks to have a yearly party, and Harry was invited to one such event. They call their party "Man-Day" and it's just for the guys until dinnertime. No women allowed until after 6pm. I told Harry to go have a good time, and stay over so he could enjoy the beer or wine.
So what's the problem? You knew there was one, right? The problem is . . . all these guys attending Man-Day have wives. Or girlfriends. Or moms. Or whatever. And all these female-type folk don't like the idea of being excluded. So they created a spot for all the ousted women to go - Man-Day, Woman Style. (One enterprising fellow labeled it "Chickstock.")
Silly me. I let Harry talk me into going.
I had to psych myself up for it. Going meant hanging around people I don't know all day. Well, all except one. There's a married couple in the area whose anniversary date is days later than Harry and I's - from the same year! We've been friends for awhile but don't get a chance to see each other a lot. I thought it would be nice to hang out with her (he would be at Man-Day with Harry, of course) and she would help with the introvert-at-an-event thing. You know, get me introduced, rescue me when I was trapped or lost, etc. Plus it would be a great opportunity to get some cross-stitching done, something else I haven't done much of lately.
I found out a pedicurist was coming to brighten some toenails, so I signed up for a slot. Why not?
Then I found out my only rock at the women's event wouldn't be able to come until late - around 1 or 1:30pm. I was welcome to come with her to a bunny adoption event, if I wanted. But I couldn't; I'd already agreed to the pedicure.
(Panic arrived and peered in my window.)
My mom came to dog-sit because we were offered a "cottage" for overnight. The owner would be at one or both parties and we'd work out details then. Harry and I left early enough to be on time. I dropped him off and let the car take me to my unknown destination: the women's version of Man-Day and a pedicure.
I arrived within seven minutes; the houses weren't too far apart. The hostess greeted me at the door and invited me in (after verifying I was who she thought I was - how many lost introverts show up at her door, do you suppose?). Another woman was already there with her son (a man!), crawling around on the floor. Yes, both of them. The little guy just hit eight months old a week ago, and was busy exploring the carpet, the table legs, the side of the couch, and my shoe.
(Panic tried the door knob.)
I moved my stitch bag and purse out of his range and conversed a bit with his mom. When the conversation died, I looked around. The house was beautiful, and the big-screen television was on. I think the show is called "Keeping Up With the Kardashians." If I'd known then what I know now, I wouldn't have voted for Kim when she was on Dancing With the Stars.
The first next person to arrive was the pedicurist, a cute Asian woman with amazing skin. I don't usually notice women's skin but hers was exquisite. She came, she saw, she toed. Three of us got pedicures, so after she left my toes were a deep wine red with pearlescent
highlights and the party had moved out by the pool.
I wouldn't be able to stitch at this house: the hostess had two wonderful retrievers. Retrievers + pool = wet. No spot was safe.
One of the dogs had an obsession with water and mom. The hostess went into the pool after her toes were painted (and dry) and the dog went with her. They raced across the pool, and it was the first time I've ever seen a dog cheat.
The dog pretended to bite at the swimmer's hands when each stroke brought a hand forward. When that didn't work, the dog swam in front, zigzagging around so the swimmer couldn't pass. If I hadn't seen it, I wouldn't have believed when someone told me how much of a cheater that dog was. Fun to watch, though.
Another woman arrived, and then a couple more, each bringing trays of food. One also brought a two-year-old (and spent all her time walking along behind him). Time for lunch! The two new food trays were cantaloupe and watermelon bites, and vegetables with chocolate dip. The hostess put out "tea sandwiches" - the cutest little slices of bread I've ever seen. I took one and when I bit into it found out how much of a meat and potatoes woman I truly am. The sandwich was cucumber and cream cheese.
(Panic opened the door and strode inside.)
I had a lot of cantaloupe.
So 1pm came and went, 2pm came and went, and 3pm came and went before the one person I knew arrived with her daughter. She brought a vegetable and dip tray. She had time to eat and watch her daughter swim for a bit, but the party started drifting apart around 3:45. Only six adults and three kids had showed up for the day. The cottage owner
wasn't one of them.
I went with my friend back to her place while she made a green salad for the Man-Day dinner. She has bunnies (hence the bunny adoption event) and I held a calm gray one for awhile. That was probably the best time of the whole day for me. Shortly after 6pm we went over to the Man-Day house.
Harry came to greet me and I found out he'd had a one pound steak for lunch, and dinner was to be prime rib and sea bass, along with all the dishes people brought. I got hungry just hearing about it, even though I don't much like steak.
He introduced me to a bunch of folks and pointed out others. He said they'd played some vicious basketball in the pool, and watched sports on TV. He'd obviously had a great time, and was ready for more. I just wanted a quiet corner.
So I found one, got out my stitch, and shooed him away to go mingle. People drifted by and asked about the stitch, or introduced themselves and chatted for a bit, and then drifted away again. That stitch corner was the second-best part of the day for me. The room was pleasant, the people I met really nice, and the corner perfect for stitching.
(Panic finally left.)
Dinner was good. A lot of variety and plenty of it, I think about 30 people were in attendance. Maybe more; I don't know if I saw them all. I never saw the host. I never saw the cottage owner, either, because she didn't come.
After dinner, Harry went out to play some more not-so-vicious pool basketball, and I resumed stitching. Some of the party began to drift apart around 9pm. Our friends came to tell me about the cottage, and encourage us to stay over.
(Panic thought about coming back.)
I wasn't wanting any part of it. I'd not met the cottage owner, I had no key to the place, and I didn't know how late we'd have to stay in the morning to return it once I did have it. I wanted to spend the 4th with my mom, so didn't want to leave too late to come home. Besides, it was still early enough I could drive home. I hadn't had any alcohol.
Harry came in from the pool and said we could go. Most people had already gone and someone was going around turning out lights. Someone else told Harry he'd get the car wet and I agreed so he went to put his pants back on. When he was ready, I visited the bathroom before the ride home.
The bathroom in this house was beautiful and very clean, except for the slightly bloody bathroom rug. It was a white (of course) throw rug in front of the sink, and someone had left some bloody spots on it. Not enough to call them "tracks" but certainly enough to be
noticeable. I wondered about it, but quickly forgot.
Harry and I went home, and then I found out the blood was most likely his. He never goes barefoot and has the softest feet of anyone I've met. The pool was unkind to them, and he had raw patches on the balls and toes of both feet.
Still, he had a wonderful time and is ready to go again.
He will be, that is, once his feet heal.
Michelle
The Desk Drawer writer's exercise list
”The Great Deluge”, by Douglas Brinkley
It took me almost two months to read this book. Number one, I started over the busy Christmas 2010 holiday season and of course was pulled away from it quite often. Number two, I am a bit of a Hurricane Katrina aficionado and I really did want to read the entire tome carefully. Number three, TOME is definitely the correct word for the book is over 700 pages long.
In fact, I have an entire Blog devoted to Hurricane Katrina as, number one, I am fascinated by hurricanes being an east coaster and having lived through many of them and number two, if ever one natural event would effectively illustrate the weakness of a body politic run amok, is this hurricane and its horrific aftermath. At the end of this review I have links to my Hurricane Katrina Blog, all written and posted AS the hurricane was happening.
Finally, after reading this book and what with my close attention to the events, I have determined what was the BIGGEST and most DAMAGING problem in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. I kept my Hurricane Katrina blog for the benefit of my granddaughter, who was but three years old at the time of the storm. I want her to have the benefit of a true life journal of events before the liberals re-write history.
Let us begin with some big kudos to Douglas Brinkley for writing a wonderful well-documented book. Brinkley is viewed by man conservative types like myself as a bit of a liberal and prone to coloring his historical books with a slightly leftoid bent.
“The Great Deluge” is no different, for Brinkley did tend to play up some elements of the story while playing down others. This is the prerogative of a writer some might say but it’s no mind. Brinkley mostly got it right, he footnoted all of his information and rarely inserted his editorial into the story. But he did from time to time. Fortunately I knew enough of the story to even out the keel.
Something Brinkley also did, to my own surprise, is convince me of some things that before I read this book I’d never have admitted. Such as I now slightly agree that George Dubya Bush could have done a better job in handling this storm, a notion I’d have spit at before reading the book. Which is not to say that the President of the United States ever should be getting in all deep and dirty with a local disaster such as a hurricane. That’s the job of the locals, I said this before reading the book, I still say if after reading the book, I’ll say it to the day I die.
But Hurricane Katrina was more, so much more, than just your average hurricane.
Brinkley positively excoriated New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and as well he should have. Louisiana Governor Blanco doesn’t fare much better in Brinkley’s eyes and she too was a boobaloob. President Bush is way down on the list of political figures deserving a lambaste but after reading the book I’d have to suggest that Bush too should have handled things better.
Brinkley begins from the beginning of the storm, leading up to the date of the storm and a couple of terrible decisions made by local politicos that cost thousands of lives.
Local Parish President, Aaron Broussard decided to remove all operators of the huge pumps that pump storm overflow from the “bowl” that includes the lower ninth ward of New Orleans. This was a move that caused major property damage and loss of life.
"It was also...illogical to evacuate essential personnel to a site 110 miles away. That was the case with the pump operators, who ended up in the town of Mount Hermon, near the Mississippi line. ...it took them hours to return to Jefferson Parish ...and assume their posts. During those nine hours, thousands of homes in Lakeview and Metairie that might have remained dry were destroyed."
NO Mayor Ray Nagin decided against forcing mandatory evacuations. This was another mistake that cost many lives. Nagin, as well as Governor Blanco, didn’t want to be responsible for the cost of getting buses and bussing these people out. The SuperDome was opened as a place to go for refuge from the storm should the citizens in the lower 9th ward require, but if they didn’t want to leave they wouldn’t have to.
A picture of hundreds of school buses sitting, unused, in many feet of water is an image that will forever encapsulate this very bad decision.
After the storm, Brinkley tells the story of many of the survivors, in their own words. The scene at the SuperDome and later, the Convention Center, isn’t pretty, but it was never as bad as the frothing media made it out to be.
Citizens of New Orleans were left to languish in the oppressive heat, often without water or food, in the SuperDome, in the Convention Center, on the Interstate I-10 off ramp, often for four to five days. The reader is shocked that a country that is over in Thailand after a huge tsunami within a day, pulling survivors out of the havoc, or in Haiti within hours of a major earthquake….the USA left its own citizens to languish desperately on roof tops, to suffer, to thirst, to hunger, without medical care, without, as so many New Orleaneans left in the flooded bowl after the storm had to think, a soul in the world caring whether they lived or died.
Meanwhile, FEMA head Brown didn’t have a clue where to begin and Director of Homeland Security Chertoff demanded that fellow Americans traveling to help the citizens of Louisiana take “diversity” classes first, as any good bureaucrat would demand.
Governor Blanco moaned, wrongly, about the National Guard:
Governor Blanco….re the National Guard…" 'Their first responsibility is to local disaster recovery efforts. We didn't have our Louisiana National Guard stateside.'Yes, she did. Instead of setting up outside the New Orleans bowl, north of Hurrican Alley, like the U.S. Coast Guard did in Alexandria, the Louisians National Guard chose to set up at Jackson Barracks in the below=sea-level Lower Ninth Ward. The rest, as they say, was history."
I was fascinated in the reading. At times I wept at the tragedy, at times I cursed the stupidity.
At the end I was able to discern what the biggest problem with Hurricane Katrina was.
The hurricane itself was, really, naught but a hurricane. Yes hurricanes are horrific events but the Monday after Katrina hit the pubs of New Orleans were alive with celebrants. They’d dodged the “Big One”. The electricity was out, things were a bit wet, but the city was there, the Mardi Gras would go on the following year.
Then the levees broke. Then Lake Pontchartrain poured into the “bowl” that was New Orleans. Citizens climbed into their attics, then onto their roofs. Some looted the stores, others searched for lost pets and loved ones, many died.
President Bush kept abreast of what was going on with New Orleans. But he did make one major, major mistake and it will forever haunt him, his leadership, and cast a pall on his presidency.
For the BIGGEST problem of them all after Hurricane Katrina is what ultimately caused more confusion, death and chaos than anything else.
THERE WAS NO EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION FOR MANY DAYS!
And THAT, yon reader, is what felled them all. President Bush cared about New Orleans. It’s just that he was getting bad reports from FEMA. FEMA was getting bad reports from the locals because they only spoke to the few national guards assigned to the Superdome. The New Orleans cops, shameful, shameful, almost all abandoned their posts. Mayor Nagin holed up at the Hyatt Regency, close to a mental breakdown. Governor Blanco chewed her fingernails and blamed the Iraq war for taking all the national guards out of her state.
It could be a comedy if it weren’t so damn tragic.
Nobody had any kind of effective communication with anybody. Nobody knew what was going on. The citizens were unable to contact their family outside of Louisiana as the cell lines didn’t work. A few folks has satellite phones, but a very few and often they didn’t work.
It wasn’t until almost a week after the storm that the extent of the breeched levees, the sad state of the Convention Center where so many NO citizens went in their desperation for help, the dead hospital patients, the people stuck in roof tops or in attics….it was one of the biggest snafus in American history.
Brinkley describes President Bush as "remarkably incurious". This seems like a hurtful description. Throughout our history there’ve been hurricanes in many, many states. Hurricane Andrew dealt Florida one awful blow. I remember how Hurricane Agnes literally destroyed entire Maryland eastern shore islands in its path.
It was never the job of Presidents to be “remarkably curious” about hurricanes.
Beyond getting updates from Homeland Security, it’s never been the job of Presidents to get involved in hurricanes, local rescues, that sort of thing.
Hurricane Katrina was, to beg the wit here, the perfect storm.
The local politicos were simply too damn dumb to handle the job, from local parish president to New Orleans Mayor to Louisiana Governor. The city of New Orleans, carrying cause and effect back a few more steps, shouldn’t even be there, much less a heavily populated area such as the 9th ward, right in the center of a “bowl” just waiting for the lake to fill it to the top. The levees, Lord knows how well they were built. There are other cities on this planet, Amsterdam for one, that are below sea level. Levees and pumps, properly built without corruption and graft, keep them safe.
Surely some fault goes to the citizens of New Orleans themselves. Most of the residents of the city DID, in fact, evacuate, at the pleading of the local government. Those that didn’t, well they took a chance. To be fair, I’m not sure that having a lake pour unceremoniously into the town was something those that stayed behind considered. They were planning to ride out a hurricane and if it had stopped after the winds and rain, they likely would have done it handily.
The communication issue was the biggest problem AFTER the storm passed. Absolutely no one knew what was going on, where to go. Hospitals had patients but no one to help them evacuate. Citizens holed up in attics or on roof tops, no one even aware there was a problem.
Those running the show, the NO cops, FEMA, the local politicians…they didn’t know up from down.
At around day three after the storm, dawn began to break over American heads. Something was seriously wrong in New Orleans. It was at this point that the remarkably incurious president Bush should have taken over the reigns and gotten things done. With one phone call Bush could have stopped the nonsense of Chertoff and his “diversity” training of would-be rescuers. With another phone call Bush could have gotten the busses so desperately needed to bus those poor souls out of the hell they were living in.
The buck, as the saying goes, does stop somewhere. I don’t think for a minute that President Bush wished one bit of suffering on the citizens of New Orleans. It’s just that he, and those who were reporting to him, didn’t know what a hell the place had become. For sure Bush could have avoided that ridiculous pep rally thing where he shouted what a good job “Brownie” was doing at FEMA.
Brownie, and his merry band of bureaucratic minions were doing a lousy job. That poorly planned exercise in public relations didn’t help a damn thing.
Below, the links to my Hurricane Katrina Blog.
"MEGAMIND
Web site for this movie
Like every animated film I’ve seen these past years, the characters in this film look like real people to me and after spending a little time in thought, I’ve figured out who they resemble. A picture below my guesses better illustrates my choices.
The title character, Megamind himself, looks to me exactly like comedian George Carlin. His nemesis and ultimately his friend at movie’s end, Metro Man, is a dead ringer for Alec Baldwin. The fellow who segued into the REAL bad guy, Tighten, looks like Seth Rogen of “Knocked Up” fame.
MEGAMIND is a movie that follows a pro forma type of plot, like they all do. There’s good, there’s bad, there’s a love angle. MEGAMIND does have a surprise twist in the plot. For as the movie begins there’s the “bad” guy-Megamind, and the “good” guy-Metro Man. A clash of good versus evil ensues and the movie viewer sits back to watch the action.
Only the good guy is destroyed early in the movie and the viewer ponders how they’re going to fill in another hour of movie time. For MEGAMIND is in control of the metropolis, MEGAMIND is an evil sort of guy, MEGAMIND and his minion fish friend are full of joy for the victory and power.
Enter, Roxanne, who looks exactly like Katie Couric and does, in fact, play a news reporterette and Megamind love interest. Roxanne gets busy sniffing around in the liar of Megamind looking for the story that will propel her to journalistic fame. As for Megamind, he disguises himself as a mild-mannered museum keeper and amuses himself by assisting Roxanne in finding the evil Megamind.
For make no mistake, the evil Megamind is bored. So bored, in fact, that he decides to create another icon of goodness to replace Metro Man who left us so early in the film. “Tighten”, a clever play on the word “Titan”, is a camera man who works with Roxanne and lusts for her beauty.
Megamind manages to grant the formerly meek camera super powers, with the intent that Tighten would be a “good guy”, allowing Megamind an enemy to again fight on to the heights of joyous victory.
Only it doesn’t quite turn out that way.
Tighten does not quite do what Megamind had in mind. Metro Man, the movie’s original “good guy” really didn’t die, Roxanne does not know that mild-manner museum attendant is really Megamind and despite his intent toward evil, well….it doesn’t quite turn out this way.
It’s a good movie, one of the better animated films I’ve seen this past year. 7-year-old granddaughter adored the film and in due course a happy ending was had by all.
Except, perhaps, for Tighten.
Accusing the Conservatives-Who’s the Biggest Asshole?
We’ve all heard that it was either any of the following: Sarah Palin, Tea Party, Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck, Fox News or all of the above….that made that nutjob Jared Loughner get a gun and shoot a bunch of people.
This time the liberal assholes (and there is no other kind) really outdid themselves. This zero burger turned out to be a leftist of the highest order. It’s not worth the effort to list this guy’s bonifides as part of the loony liberal left (and there is no other kind) and frankly, it’s not even the FAULT of the loony liberal left that the nutjob did what he did. For Jared Loughner pulled that trigger and Conservative types understand this.
But oh weren’t various and sundry Democrats all out and about this past weekend, all of them stupidly pointing their fingers at the Tea Party or Sarah Palin for causing Jared Loughlin to go nuts?
Never mind that this guy had been stalking Congresswoman Griffords since 2007, a time when only Alaskans ever heard of Sarah Palin.
The American public ain’t buying this for a minute, but just for the record, here’s a listing of those with absolutely no conscience who were out and accusing honest and quite innocent Americans of being behind Loughner’s crazed killing spree: Nutball Florida congress critter, Washerwoman Schultz, Charlie Rangel, CNN’s Christine I’msopoor, NY Time’s traitor to his religion, Paul Krugman, the very dumb and honorable Congressman Clyburn….and the winner of this week’s biggest asshole pointing the finger at innocent people….Arizona Sheriff Clarence Dupnik.
The way the left went after trying to pin this guy as an enraged right-winger was really pathetic. And may we remind that when that Arab nothingburger killed a bunch of soldiers in Fort Hood Texas all we heard was how we needed to keep our mouths shut and not pre-judge until all the facts were out.
But it’s okay if the murderer is a leftwing nutjob to get right on TV soon as possible and point the fingers at the vast majority of innocent, honest and hard-working Conservative Americans.
This Loughner guy didn’t even vote in 2010! He’s a dopehead of the highest order and even his liberal nutjob (and there is no other kind) friends were scared of him. Anybody thinks this guy was all busy reading Sarah Palin’s Facebook page or listening to Rush Limbaugh, I got a bridge to sell, cheap.
But hey, they showed their stripes and you can only do this so often before they get your number.
Arizona Sheriff Dupnik is, GUESS….A DEMOCRAT….imagine this. This guy spent all of last weekend looking for cameras so he could get a lens to focus on his handsome face as he went on about “hate speech” and right wing vitriol.
What really makes it even worse for this Democrat piece of crap to do what he did is this is a guy supposed to be enforcing the law, NOT PASSING JUDGEMENT! I’d be scared to death to have this guy as any kind of law enforcement officer in my area. It’s not like he’s fair or anything.
Oh, and this is the sheriff who went on record as stating he will NOT enforce Arizona’s legally passed law re illegal immigrants. What a piece of work this man is.
The jig is up with this liberal liars (and there is no other kind). They ‘ve been pulling this stunt since Bill Clinton bit his lower lip and swore that Rush Limbaugh made Timothy McVeigh bomb that building.
Like Abraham Lincoln said, you can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time (this would be the dumb liberals for which there is no other kind), but you can’t FOOL ALL OF THE PEOPLE ALL OF THE TIME!
So the Asshole of the Week award, out a field of many, of lying liberals trying to blame this past weekend’s massacre on the right wing goes to….Arizona Sheriff Clarence Dupnik!
I’ll know I’ve really arrive as a pundit when that lying loser liberal (which there is no other kind) Washwoman Schultz goes on TV and blames some kind of crime on that Delaware Facebook poster, PAT FISH!
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Sussex GOP, Parliamentarians and the Revolt of the Base
Everywhere we turn we’ve got either the gubmint, our children’s schools, local investigators and the Lamestream media telling us what awful people we are. By “we” I mean Tea Party types and by Tea Party types I mean Conservative types and by Conservative type I mean the ordinary, average, law-abiding American who carries this country on his or her back. The LAST thing we expect is for our own political party to treat us like dirt, to spit upon us, to mock candidates we lawfully nominated, to send ridicule through the emails mocking a person who stepped up to the plate to notify of an intent to challenge the party’s elected.
Last year we gathered en masse to peacefully assemble as we are guaranteed by our constitution. We might have congregated by the many thousands on the DC mall or by the handful of individuals at our local Town Halls. There was no violence anywhere, no one was shot, there were accusations by the congress critters so intelligent such as Clyburn that we called him racist names but no proof, no video, no sound….poof, nothing.
Today in Salem, Mass. A local school held a meeting. All parents and children were REQUIRED to attend or a punishment would be meted, but NO media was allowed and get this, PARENTS WEREN’T ALLOWED TO SPEAK. This past weekend a total nut job shot a bunch of people, including a precious darling 9 year old child who was born on 9/11/01, who just made her first communion, who was recently elected to her student council, who attended a local political event to learn more about this wonderful country’s political system.
All weekend we watched local sheriffs rant and rave about how we hear “hate speech” by the likes of Sarah Palin and Rush Limbaugh and it is US, the Tea Party types, who caused this nut to grab a gun, a gun that Pima County Sheriff Dipstick didn’t prevent the perp from obtaining even though he’d made death threats prior.
This last year us Tea Party types in Sussex County lawfully nominated Christine O’Donnell as our GOP nominee to run against the Dem. Nominee for Delaware’s open Senate seat vacated by Joe Biden. The Chair of Delaware’s Democrat party publicly said our legally elected nominee couldn’t win dog catcher, the House incumbent and O’Donnell challenger, Mike Castle, refused to endorse the nominee we legally elected, this after we’d regretfully voted for him time and again as he kept voting with the Democrats over and over.
So we follow the rules and we try to take back our local Republican party, at least here in Sussex county. Only in late November 2010, a motion made to censure Tom Ross, the GOP chair who so publicly mocked our own nominee, was ignored and put down by the Sussex county Republican chair. All of a sudden there were rules about quorums, bylaws no one’s ever seen, only certain folks could legally vote even though I myself have voted many times at these same monthly Sussex GOP meetings even though I’m not an RD or an ED or whatever you suddenly had to be for a motion made that our local Blue Blood Ruling Class GOP did not like.
So okay, a bunch of local Sussex county Republicans form a Conservative coalition and still following the rules, DAMN WHY DO WE KEEP FOLLOWING THE RULES?...we write NEW bylaws, ones that we all know about, modernized, more in keeping with today’s political scene.
On 1/10/11 I attended a Sussex county GOP meeting. A few days before this meeting an email passes by my in-box. It is from, get this, Sussex county’s NEW Parliamentarian!
Well hey, there’s nothing wrong with having a Parliamentarian. All kinds of organizations have Parliamentarians, they serve a purpose.
But bear in mind that the Sussex county GOP has NEVER followed any kind of bylaws, rules for a quorum, or hell, even knew what a proper quorum count was or where the hell the bylaws were.
All of a sudden we got a Parliamentarian called to service for what should be an innocuous and ordinary monthly meeting?
Still, well we can read between the lines and it’s apparent that a Parliamentarian would be the guy who would shut us up, prevent any silly calls to censure a state-wide chair who spit in our faces, not that we aren’t members of the Republican party of Delaware or anything and have a right to vote on such things.
Still, again, no problem. What with this group all busy re-writing bylaws and a Conservative Coalition working to change the things we’d too long ignored as Mike Castle and his band of merry men turned our party into Democrat lite, okay, a Parliamentarian…it’s okay. Rules are Rules and us Tea Party types, we like rules, we follow rules, America would be nowhere without us.
One member of this new and neat Sussex county “Conservative Coalition” writes an email notifying the powers that be that he intends to challenge Delaware GOP Chair, Tom Ross, the fine, fine man who so supported us boobs who dared to finally give traitorous Mike Castle the boot. But fair, hey, we want to be fair, we want to follow the rules. So we got someone to step up just so they can’t say “nyah, nyah, nyah, who you gonna get to do all the work Tom Ross does?” So we get somebody, the election isn’t until late April this year, the guy notifies of his intent to run, all fair, and neat like.
Below, the text of an email sent by this glorious Parliamentarian, who had never before even been involved in Sussex County GOP activities, at least I never seen him.
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Don Et all
1. You all are outside of the rules
2. Don you have to take care of your bride & son How can you do this in a NON PAID JOB
3. How are you able to be a spoke person for ALL of Delaware ?
4. Why & under what premise do you think you have the POWER & WISDOM to as you said to UNITE when you & your crowd have tried to KILL SUSSEX ?????
So to sum up. go get a beer with Vance
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How’s that for a real heartfelt welcome? Here’s a guy coming out of nowhere and in response to a lawful member of the Republican party of Delaware notifying the powers that be of his intention to lawfully, legally and within the boundaries, run to replace the Delaware Republican Chair we so despise for his shabby treatment of the Delaware base after last year’s primary, at the direction of Mr. Sore Loser Mike Castle, I’ve no doubt.
I don’t know this fellow from nobody but I was horrified at what he wrote!
On 1/10/11 at the normal monthly meeting of the Sussex county GOP, a motion was made to throw this guy outta there for writing this letter.
Now right here and now, as of an earlier time on the day of this writing, I have learned that Bruce Fitzgerald has resigned from his position as Parliamentarian and expressed that he was wrong to write such a letter.
I debated even bringing all this up in light of Mr. Fitzgerald’s resignation but first, it’s for the record but mostly, it’s how we have to fight to LIVE A PEACEFUL AND LAWFUL LIFE IN THIS COUNTRY!
They mock us, the impartial investigators who should not be prejudicing a jury pool call us violent with no justification at all. EVEN OUR OWN SIDE FIGHTS US TOOTH AND NAIL should we try to change things, even working within the bounds of their rules.
The story doesn’t end here. The Conservative Coalition of Sussex county still works as a sort of caucus to take back our own political party. I suppose we’ll have to get a new Parliamentarian.
But there’s now the matter of the Sussex county GOP chair.
Ron Sams.
I know Ron Sams, know him very well. Like, respect and admire him a lot. I spent many an afternoon in dusty Georgetown’s GOP office talking with Ron, discussing politics, of course, current events. Ron’s as conservative as any member of Sussex county’s Conservative Coalition, on that I’d lay money.
Due to the rather strange configuration of Delaware’s Republican party, with the purse string held tight by northern Wilmington folks dressed up as Republicans but really Democrats, Ron had be a, well a “different” kind of chair. For he, like the Sussex chairs before him, was led and orchestrated, of course, by Mike Castle and let’s not kid ourselves folks, Joe Biden.
Ole Joe and Mike had themselves a good thing for yay many years. Joe was able to get the Democrats out and voting for Castle and Castle could vote with the Dems time after time after time, allowing them to call the vote “bipartisan” by the actions of that weasel, as us truly Conservatives sat and fumed that we had no representation at all here in Delaware.
I can only write for me, but I thank God every day that even though Communist Coons sits in the senate on behalf of Delaware, thank you God, at least Coons is a Democrat who doesn’t lie and deceive us by calling himself a Republican. What’s the difference, I ask, if Coons votes for Cap & Trade, or Mike Castle does the deed?
But they’re not going down easy. For while us Tea Party types were busy carrying this country on our backs, sending our children off to wars, contributing to 401-K’s that helped make our country economically strong, obeying laws that kept the country relatively crime free, the GOP Blue Blood Ruling Class in Delaware, and in DC…think Karl Rove….got all comfortable and happy and soon they too began spending money like drunken sailors, condemning our children and grandchildren to endless debt.
And the mostly one county in Delaware DARED to finally boot out one of the absolute worst examples of the GOP Ruling Class Blue Blood GOP, we are to be punished, squashed, mocked, ridiculed.
It’s time for Ron Sams to go. Hey, I really like the guy. And I know how hard he’s worked for the Sussex county GOP.
But we’re not backing down. We’re not giving up. This is OUR political party too, and no matter what it takes, we’re going to hang in there.
For I’ve got a precious granddaughter who, like that little Green girl is what America is all about. I will fight for her to have the America I had. I will fight for her to not be mistreated, especially by her own political party. I will fight for her right to vote in new legislators should the ones currently in office not do right by her. This, of course, would require that those in power don’t become part of some elite Ruling Class more concerned about cushy offices and chairmanships than what they were elected to do.
I wish, if I had my way, for Ron to stay active in the party, perhaps to train a replacement.
On that note, below what’s coming up next month at the monthly GOP meeting. Tom Ross, that wonderful guy who mocked our candidate, will be there. That alone is enough to bring out the gang.
Below, a letter detailing the plan, and reasons, on removing Ron Sams from chair of the Sussex county GOP.
Any Sussex county Republicans who care about how we are represented, BE THERE!
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Bill,
As a member of the Executive Committee of the Sussex County GOP, I plan on making the following motion at the next regular meeting. This side-show has gone on long enough, and the division it has caused in the Republican Party of Sussex County will be hard enough to heal as it is. We have only a short time before the next election, and we need time to heal these wounds before going to battle against the Liberals and Progressives in the Democrat party. I appreciate Mr. Sams’ service to the Republican Party of Sussex County; however, in order for us to move forward as a party I feel that he must resign his position immediately.
Best Regards,
Christian Hudson
Lewes, Delaware
THE SUSSEX COUNTY REPUBLICAN EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, MOTION ASKING FOR THE FORMAL RESIGNATION OF THE CHAIRMAN OF THE SUSSEX COUNTY REPUBLICAN COMMITTEE BASED ON THE FOLLOWING GROUNDS:
WHEREAS, The Chairman’s primary duty is to preside over regular meetings to provide for an orderly environment for the Sussex County Republican Executive Committee to conduct its business. Chairman Ron Sams has consistently failed to abide by the official rules by:
1. Failure to take Roll Call to ensure that there is the necessary quorum per the official by-laws for the Committee to conduct any business whatsoever.
2. Failure to ensure order at the regular meetings thereby preventing the Executive Committee from conducting necessary business,
3. Failure to allow New Business to be brought before the Executive Committee by having pre-arranged Motions to Adjourn in order to intentionally and prematurely conclude the meetings.
4. Failure to recognize Executive Committee members, thereby preventing them from officially making a motion.
5. Failure to count the results of the “Yeas and the Neas,” resulting in a failure to officially resolve seconded motions on the floor.
WHEREAS, The Chairman’s position is one of an executive, for the express purpose of directing meetings at the pleasure of the Executive Committee; however, Chairman Ron Sams uses the power of the position to further his own personal agenda. The Chairman runs the meetings as though the Executive Committee is there at his pleasure, as if his position was one of a tyrant or sovereign king by:
1. Granting official appointments to the party in opposition to the rules clearly stating that the said positions have to be duly elected by the Executive Committee.
2. Failing to announce and approve the Treasurer’s Report.
3. Granting non-voting members a vote on matters exclusively the privilege of the Executive Committee such as voting on new members of the Executive Committee and Officers of the Executive Committee.
4. Intentionally omitting whole portions of the Official Agenda for the Executive Committee Meetings so as to suit his own political purposes against the will of the majority.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Executive Committee of the Republican Party of Sussex County Delaware hereby demands the formal and immediate resignation of Chairman Ron Sams effective immediately
Below, the link to my photobucket account with the videos of this event.
TV-Review-Grey's Anatomy/Private Practice
We review TWO TV shows in this review. First, they are both on the same night, and second, they are both medical type of shows.
"Grey's Anatomy", ABC Site for this show HERE, is a series based on a bunch of medical types working in a hospital known as Mercy-Grace or some such. This show is very much about the many characters on this show, and make no mistake, "Grey's Anatomy" has more characters than most any other show on TV today.
Below, just a FEW of the characters and the actor playing the part.Alex Karev Justin Chambers
Cristina Yang Sandra Oh
Miranda Bailey Chandra Wilson
Derek Shepherd Patrick Dempsey
Meredith Grey Ellen Pompeo
Richard Webber James Pickens Jr
Callie Torres Sara Ramirez
Marc Sloan Eric Dane
I have mixed emotions about medical type shows. Although they are very popular shows, combining high drama with medical intrigue. "Grey's Anatomy" takes the medical show one level higher in that the actual medicos are very much part of the story.
The doctors and nurses are always, of course, part of the story but never on any level as in this show. The likes of "Ben Casey" and "Dr. Kildaire" might have centered around the doctors but usually as to how they interacted with the patients. "Grey's Anatomy" has all these medical types and we've got all kinds of drama, sleeping together, sleeping with others, married, divorcing, Alzenheimers and last season, one dramatic episode that had a disgruntled husband of a former patient come into the hospital and methodically shoot at a whole bunch of people, killing some, severely wounding others, traumatizing all.
THAT was quite a show and this year the psychological ramifications of this episode continue on.
Miranda Bailey is probably the most colorful character in this series, the part is very well acted. Bailey is a surgeon at GA's hospital and she's a no-nonsense, tough-as-nails, tender-as-clouds kind of person. Dr. Shepherd, played by Patrick Dempsey, is the dreamy doctor we'd all love to administer to our wounds. Dempsey won a best looking person of the year type of award recently.
Of course there is, as there always has to be in any ongoing series, a homosexual angle. In GA we have Calle Torres who is in lesbian love with another GA doctor type who left to go minister to little African children but returned in the last episode I watched before this writing. Torres, played by Sarah Ramirez, is a big nothing burger of a character, not attractive in any sense of the word, not colorful, not much of nothing except she who will sleep with most anyone, male or female, doesn't matter, all for a bit part of the storyline that adds nothing to the story.
Cristina Yang, played by Sandra Oh, is a good character in the series and Oh plays it well. Yang was very traumatized by the assault on GA's hospital and so far this year there's been endless storylines involving Yang and her inability to function medically for her horrid memories of that incident.
Seriously, it's a good story, but to the writers of Grey's Anatomy, time to move on.
I do quite like Grey's Anatomy, love the many characters on the series, like the storylines if they'd get rid of all the lesbian nonsense, love how the stories of the patients are artfully interwoven with the stories of the medicos.
It's a great, well-written, well-acted series and I urge yon readers to sit down and watch an episode or two if you haven't already.
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”Private Practice”-A Medical Show With No Discernible Story Line
So okay, the show is about a bunch of physician types who opened up a private practice. But beyond this, well hey, the characters are interesting, there’s the underlying medical stories, everyone at some point has slept with everyone. So far there’s no homosexual storyline but give it time.
The character stories are interesting; it keeps my attention. There’s even a carry-over from this story to “Grey’s Anatomy” in that Addison, the practice’s OB/GYN, was once married to Dr. Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey). The stories aren’t all that unique or riveting. A new viewer would need to watch a couple of times before getting into it is what I’m saying here.
Currently there’s an ongoing story of a doctor who was raped on the show. Writers tend to wear down these sorts of stories to death but we, finally, have resolution to this female’s distress.
I enjoy this series but am not convinced that it’s any great piece of medical drama.
The bigger bulk of this show’s appeal is it’s schedule placement right after “Grey’s Anatomy”.
And, so far, no homosexual story line. “Grey’s Anatomy” has enough of that.
A Brain Infection? A Medical Journey Surpassed by Few
A Medical Odyssey to a Quadruple Heart Bypass
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