Quote of the Day- Charlton Heston

Today, we quote the late actor Charlton Heston (1923-2008), as we continue quoting actors who played real-life presidents. Heston had the distinction of playing three presidents: One as Andrew Jackson, the seventh American president, in the feature film "The Buccaneer" * (1959, dir: Anthony Quinn) and he played Thomas Jefferson in the tv movie "The Patriots" and later in life he played Abraham Lincoln in the tv mini-series "The Great Battles of the Civil War."

Today, on our other blog, we have a quote from Nick Nolte who played Jefferson in the 1995 film "Jefferson in Paris." 

The following quote is a bit ironic in that Heston was not only one of the few Republicans in Hollywood, he also became a right-wing icon when he headed the controversial, but powerful gun lobbying group The National Rifle Organization (NRA). Here is indeed referring to a president who was a Democrat:

"Jackson was one of my favorite presidents. One mean son of a bitch."

*-Heston actually plays a young Gen. Andrew Jackson in the film

SIDEBAR: In sports, we mentioned the Durham Bulls, a popular minor league baseball team in Durham, NC, a few nights ago. Well, as it turns out, they did finish their series against the Rochester Red Wings in spite of their home game being rained out on Saturday. On Monday night, the Bulls beat the Red Wings 4-0 as shortstop Tim Beckham and outfielder Jose Feliciano hit a pair of doubles in a game which saw a much-heralded Australian prospect Liam Hendricks (7-1) taking the mound for the visitors.

http://www.charltonhestonworld.homestead.com

http://www.twitter.com/durhambulls

10 People Who Will Decide the Presidency (3 of 10)_ Termite Inspector in Tampa, Fla.

Name: Ahmet Jones

Job: Termite Inspector

Residency: Tampa, Florida

Age: 39

Race: Mixed

Will Likely Vote for: Obama

Note: The top photo is of termites; the bottom one is of cockroaches.


Today, we are profiling Ahmet Jones, 39, a fictional termite inspector who works for Bug Busters in Tampa, Fla. (note: there is a real company by that name in Portland, Oregon, but we thought of Bug Busters before googling them). He is one of the people who could well decide who will in November as President Barack Obama or his Republican challenger Mitt Romney.

Tampa, Fla., is also the city which is hosting the 2012 Republican Convention. WUSF-FM, the NPR station in Tampa, says that Tampa Police chief Jane Castor says her department is prepared for the tens of thousands who will come to town when the convention meets from Aug. 27-30.

Obama won Florida, which is considered to be among the key swing states in this year's election, by a 2.8 % margin; though John McCain lead in the Sunshine State until September. Florida was the state which also allowed George W. Bush to prevail over Al Gore in the most highly disputed, controversial election in American history in 2000.

"The Young Turks with Cenk Uygur," a liberal political talk show on Current TV said during the program's broadcast last night that Obama is currently narrowly winning in Florida.

The Hispanic vote, including the generally partisan right-wing Cuban-American community in the Miami area, will likely have a huge impact in the election, especially in Florida. Most non-Cuban Hispanics are strongly supporting Obama.

Obama won Broward County (Ft. Lauderdale), Miami-Dade and Volusia County (Daytona Beach) in 2008; McCain won Polk County (Lakeland), Seminole County (Orlando suburbs) and Lee County (Fort Myers) that same election cycle.


http://www.wusf.usf.edu

http://gopconvention2012.com

http://www.current.com

Virtual Postcard from Virginia- The Big Pencil

Today, we send you a virtual postcard from my home state of Virginia with this image of The Big Pencil in Wytheville, a southwestern Virginia town that is one hour west of Roanoke. Wytheville is also known as the place where highways I-77 and 1-81 intersect, and the town is reportedly exactly half-way between New York and Miami.

The Big Pencil was once featured in a "Zippy the Pinhead" comic strip, that is the brainchild of Bill Griffith. The town is in the congressional district of Cong. Morgan Griffith (R), a Republican from my hometown of Salem, Va., whom I know personally. But......well, I am not a Republican, but of course one should not say negative things about a friend in spite of political differences. It would be great if I could challenge him to a game of chess, bowling or mini-golf, but we doubt the freshman congressman has time for that. We should also point out that the cartoonist and the congressman are not related.

SIDEBAR: Whether you are a Republican or a Democrat, you probably can not spell the words Gladiolous and Crustaceaology, those are two words that were once used as Spelling Bee championship words in 1925 and 1955 respectively. Gladiolous, hope we spelled that right, is a type of flower; the other term was once used for the study of all things crustacean.

SIDEBAR: We are 'taking off' until Tuesday....We hope....!

http://www.zippythepinhead.com

Quote of the Day- Dick Cheney

 

 Ironically, given that we are of the center-left ideology, we are quoting Dick Cheney today as part of our new series of quotes from American vice presidents. Last week, we quoted Richard Nixon, who was also once a veep himself.

Here is Cheney's quote:

"Except for the occasional heart attack, I never felt better."

Quote of the Day/Week-Barry Goldwater

Today, we continue our series of quips from men who tried to become American presidents, but didn't quite get enough votes to pull it off.

Barry Goldwater (1909-1998), the Republican candidate who lost to Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1964 presidential election is widely believed to be most conservative Republican to have ran for his office, though some may argue that Ronald Reagan, who was president from 1980-88 was just as or even further to the right.

Goldwater actually lost many states that Republicans have won in recent election cycles, including Oklahoma. Goldwater was a U.S. senator who represented Arizona.

One of the great political ironies is that Hillary Clinton, who came from a conservative family in suburban Chicago was a 'Goldwater girl.'

Here is his quote:

"It's a great country where everyone can grow up to be president except me."

Top 10 Countries to Run To If GOP Whacko Becomes Prez

We will probably have better things to do on March 5th, when the remaining Republican candidates have yet another debate at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, Calif. One of those even better things to do might be to watch a marathon of the British '70s sitcom "Are You Being Served?" (the show airs on PBS stations in North Carolina on Saturday nights at 9:30 p.m.) on dvd.

Here is a list of possible countries to run to if the likes of Rick Santorum (pictured), Mitt Romney or Newt Gingrich becomes president:

1. Norway (pictured)

2. Argentina

3. Australia

4. Honduras

5. Chile

6. Greece

7. Denmark (yes, we like the idea of seeking political asylum in a Scandinavian country)

8. Canada (yeah, this is a bit of an easy choice)

9. Croatia

10. Poland

Yeah, we aren't quite zany enough to put North Korea on this list.

PSA_ No Newts in 2012

It is possible that at this very moment as we are blogging to you live from the Salt Lake City Library on 210 East 400 South Street (not really where we are at, but I hear it is one of the best public libraries in the country), that Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich is stumping at the Golden Corral in Rock Hill, SC, where Fred Thompson stumped four years ago (this part is actually true).

Hopefully, like Thompson, Gingrich will be defeated by a more moderate Republican. Though it seems like current front runner Mitt Romney may be too mainstream for the gunsGodncountry folks in the Palmetto State.

In the Sunday, Jan. 15th edition of the comic strip "Doonesbury," Garry Trudeau cited the following actual quote from Gingrich in reference to the Democratic Party: "As great a threat to America as Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union."

At age 69, Gingrich is the second oldest candidate in the field of what is now four candidates behind Ron Paul, who is 76. Interestingly enough, Gingrich, who became House Speaker in 1994 when he was in the House of Representatives as a Congressman from Georgia, was also a House Minority Whip as was former Vice President Dick Cheney, who is also out of favor with 99.9 percent of us on the center-left.

Today's "Washington Post" reports that in response to a comment from a man who is or was a Marine at a rally in Florence, SC, which said that 'I would like to see someone bloody Obama's nose,' Gingrich had the gumption and indignity to respond something to effect of: 'I don't want to just bloody his nose, I want to knock him out.'

In the current issue of the liberal magazine "The Nation," Ben Adler, who is covering the GOP race for the publication from places like Charleston, SC, on the campaign trial, said that the pit-bull tactics of Gingrich actually seemed to be helping him appeal to arch conservatives who might well want to hit people in my political spectrum over the head with a bowling trophy (my words, not Adler's).

Stephen Colbert, who is originally from Charleston, has even gotten into the Republican race discussion as the late night tv political comic told residents from his native state to vote for Herman Cain to throw a curve-ball into the race.

South Carolina allows Democrats and independents to vote in the Republican primary. Conservative radio show host Rush Limbaugh pulled a similar stunt four years ago when he encouraged right wingers to vote for Hillary Clinton in the Indiana primary to help prevent Barack Obama from winning the nomination; an effort which 'worked' in the short run, but in the end, Obama still won the nomination and if, of course, now president.

The South Carolina Democratic Party has actually told its members not to vote in the Republican primary as by doing so they will get a steady stream of campaign literature and phone calls for Republican candidates.

As for the reason, why we are highly opposed to Gingrich getting the GOP nomination, it is just mere political differences, but the venom and vitriol that he would bring into the Oval Office.

Many people from both parties as well as independents complain that it is agonizing to watch Democrats and Republicans not get anything accomplished on The Hill. Though no one person is to blame entirely, the conquer and divide mentality that Gingrich brought to the forefront of American politics when he became House Speaker in 1994 still remains in effect to this very day.

Highlights from My 24 Things to Improve My Life List

It seems to be a slow Saturday night, and I can tell that from Twitter where I saw that people as diverse as right-wing evangelical acivist Nathan Tabor, from Winston-Salem, NC, moderate conservative pundit David Frum and liberal journalist Suzy Khimm were all watching the Republican debate from Michigan tonight.

So, perhaps this will mean more blog traffic than normal.

A funny thing happened the other day as my mom and I were browsing through an independent bookstore in Roanoke, Va. I stumbled across a copy of a self-help book entitled "Clean Like a Man" by Tom McNulty. I saw on the back jacket that comic/actor Richard Lewis ("Curb Your Enthuiasm") had strongly endorsed it as he confessed to being an Oscar Madison-type.

My mom looked when I showed her the book, which I should probably read_twice, and said (paraphrase): "Oh come on. You know you'll never read the thing; sorry son, but you are a hopeless cause."

So, with that, here are highlights from a list I made today on ways I could improve my life:

1. Lose weight

2. Get a good-paying job

3. Write a short story or even a short, short story

4. Clean house (hence, the reason for the vacuum cleaner image)

5. Try to get more hits on the two blogs; surely there is someone in a hut in the jungles of Burundi who cares about what I have to say.

6. Develop more confidence around attractive women; some guy found a way to ask Anne Hathaway out on a date.

7. Go on more long walks

8. Read Leo Tolstoy's "War and Peace" or at least the first chapter.

9. Watch more Jean-Luc Godard films (we would've gone with Ingmar Bergman, but his films make me feel very depressed, especially "Fanny and Alexander," it's more gut-wrenching than "Schindler's List").

10. Listen to more Turkish psychedlic music from the 1970s.

11. Save up money to buy a $500 antique Swiss cuckoo clock.

12. Drink more Counter Culture* coffee instead of Starbucks.

*-Company based in Durham, NC. Reportedly, they use beans from farms in Rwanda and/or Uganda.

Things We Learned on Google Today- IFK Goteborg Lost to Another Swedish Soccer Team

NOTE: Normally, in this slot, we have our series dedicated to the 15 former republics of the Soviet Union. But, we thought it would be keen and neat to switch the entries around today with our other blog "The Daily Vampire"..........ok, we did sort of mess up and hence Javier the Intern has once again been fired.


Steven Levy, a writer for "Wired" magazine, has a new book called "In the Plex" which is about how Google shapes our minds and the ways we think. All of which has made me think that perhaps we should change the name of this series to "Things We Learned on Bing Today."

At any rate, we had high hopes that our feature soccer team of the week, IFK Goteborg, a Swedish powerhouse which has won 18 national championship titles, five national cup titles and two UEFA cups, would come through for us as they face Mjallby AIF, a Swedish soccer team in the southern Swedish fishing town of Mjallo, but alas they choked. Hence, the final result was Mjallby AIF 1 IFK Goteborg 0. The winning goal was scored by David Lofquist, 25, for Mjallby.

But, there are supposedly some good players for IFK Goeborg, including Stefan Sleakovic, 34, a Swedish national player who has been a star for the team, and IFK's captain Adam Johansson, 28, a fellow Swede.

Goteborg or Gothenburg is Sweden's second largest city as it ranks between Stockholm and Malmo.

SIDEBAR: In the "Gosh, We Didn't Get To It" department, we were hoping to rib Cong. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.) as he is ironically a good friend to me personally, though I'm not sure if he shares that opinion of my blog. He is from my hometown of Salem, Va., and he represents the ninth district of Virginia from western Salem to Bristol, Va.

Apparently, Griffith, who should not be confused with an attractive young woman from Georgia on Twitter who shares his name (yes, this is actually true), addressed the need for deregulation so southwest Virginia could get more jobs in response to President Barack Obama's speech, yesterday.

We were going to say these minimum-wage jobs might well pollute the air and water, and they would be probably be shipped out to El Slavador or China so some Cuban cigar-chomping mine boss could cut living wages, but out of respect for Griffith and our time contraints, we are going to avoid making such a satiric claim which could easily be misinterpreted.

And, to actually be fair and balanced, we should add that we have yet to read what Cong. Griffith actually had to say as of 5:00 p.m., New Haven, Conn., time.

PS: The country we are featuring today in our series which will be on "The Daily Vampire" wil be Lithuania. If it wasn't obvious, Javier the Intern does not really exist!

Quote of the Day: Anton Chehkov

Los Angeles Theatre Works (LATW) is releasing an audio production of Anton Chehkov's very famous play "The Three Sisters" this week. The cast includes Jon Hamm from AMC's "Mad Men."



Here is the quote from the Russian legend:



"One usually dislikes a play while writing it, but afterward it grows on one. Let others judge and make decisions."



THE DON"T TRY THIS AT HOME DEPT: As someone who got into the bad habit of 'spying on the enemy' a few years ago, I actually get emails from right wing groups I hate and despise. One of these groups is the pompously-named Campaign for Liberty, based in Bristow, Va., outside Washington, DC. I got a chain email from the group leader John Tate, and I simply responded (and, I am not going to retract it!) by saying: "You bozos have moved so far right that Barry Goldwater would be a hippy now."



This actually made me realize that I wasn't sure how to spell hippy. The Urban Dictionary spells the term which is in reference to '60s era pot-smoking beatnicks 'hippie,' but both spellings exist at various places on the net.



SIDEBAR: I've definitely lived in a unique life as a human secularist with Muslim heritage (I am a Turkish-American) living in a very Christian fundamentalist part of North Carolina. But, during Ramadan, when Muslims have to go without food and water until sundown, I both appreciate what Muslim endure and I take delight in the fact that as a human secularist I am not subjected to their religious rituals. Of course, people like the Rev. Terry Jones, the Koran-burning minister in Gainesville, Fla., hates people like me just as much!



Last week, NPR's signature show "All Things Considered," reported that Omar Shahin, an imam (Muslim cleric) in Phoenix said that many people from his mosque were asking him if they could drink water given that it was 105 degrees outside. Shahin told NPR that if one was feeling sick from the dehydration, that it was indeed acceptable to go for the Dasani bottle.



In the same report, Johar Abdul-Malik, who is the director of an Islamic center in Falls Church, Va., near Washington, DC, said that he missed his soy tea green lattes at Starbucks.

Status Update_ I Wish I Could Go to NYC Just to See a Movie

The Film Forum in New York is currently screening the original 1968 gem "Planet of the Apes" with a rare print, but they are only showing the film until Thursday!

I am a huge fan of the original film, and even like some of the kinky seuqels. And, I must give Tim Burton credit as the 2001 remake was better than I expected. Still, nothing compares to the original.

Closer to home (I live on the Virginia-North Carolina border), Joe Scott will be screening the 1987 film "The Lost Boys," a teenage vampire saga, at the Carolina Theatre in Greensboro, NC, on Thursday night.

And, my good friend Jason Garnett will be presenting "Jaws" at The Shadowbox Cinema in Roanoke, Va., on July 23rd.

SIDEBAR: I was wondering just how many Republicans were trying to run for president. As it turns out, the official number, which does not include possible candidates like Sarah Palin, is 17. The most established candidates at this juncture appear to be Mitt Romney, Jon Huntsman, Newt Gingrich and Tim Pawlenty.

But, there are plenty of secon-tier candidates, including the radical, far-right Michele Bachmann who has supposedly promised to ban pornography and 'cure homosexuality.' This batch also includes former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum, who is also known for making over-the-top statements regarding gays. Then, there is the Godfather's Pizza baron Herman Cain, one of two African-Americans in the running.

This brings us to the no-name candidates, which includes the other African-American Jimmy McMillan, a Vietnam vet who established an activist group called The Rent is Too Damn High. There is also Tom Miller, a career flight attendant with no political experience (we're not making this up!) and the radical lunatic activist Anyd Martin who tried to sue the state of Hawaii in regards to President Barack Obama's birth certificate.

Finally, there is a gay rights activist (?!) named Fred Karger who may very well have eggs thrown at him, given the extreme nature of today's Republican Party. But, we wish him well.

Of course, it will be up to a car mechanic in Sioux City, Iowa, and a janitor in Manchester, New Hampshire, to determine who gets the party nomination.

Even though I'm a Democrat, I have no doubt that it will 'get interesting.'

Our Best Person for 2010 Is.....

.............Lisa Murkowski, the Republican senator from Alaska. Yes, we are a liberal-leaning blog, and we are choosing Sen. Murkowski!


The reason for this is that while she may officially beaten Tea Party favorite Joe Miller and the mostly not-talked-about Democratic candidate Scott McAdams on the ballot, the person she really defeated was mama grizzly Sarah Palin, or Palinzilla as we like to call her.

At age 53, Sen. Murkowski is rather attractive for an elected official. Someone from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, might well think she was in the cast of "Charlie's Angels" in her younger days. Politically, her father Frank Murkowski put her in the U.S. Senate after he vacated his U.S. senate seat to become the governor of Alaska (he was later toppled by Palinzilla).

This did not go over well with many folks in Alaska, and it actually gave her 2004 Democratic opponent Terry Knowles, who was also once the governor of Alaska, a fighting chance in the very red state.

But, in spite of losing the GOP nomination to Miller, a far right nut who is gunsGodncounty radical who actually cited the former East Germany as a country which could control their borders (they did this by shooting people trying to leave the country) by a 51-49 margin, Murkowski put up a good fight with a write-in campaign.

And, in spite of lawsuits and court hearings and even disputes about ballots in which Murkowski's last name were not spelled correctly, she emerged as the victor in the close election. Thus, Murkowski was able to give the Tea Party a left jab that few Democrats were able to deliver, and it was indeed a knock-out punch.

Murkowski is considered one of the most moderate Republicans in the Senate. She is pro-choice, favors stem cell research and opposed Don't Ask, Don't Tell. While she has opposed President Barack Obama on federal health care legislation, she should be a hero to anyone who thinks this country needs more people like David Brooks and fewer right-wing idiots like Glenn Beck.

Thus, in a Republican year, it only seems fair to break form and choose Murkowski as our person of the year. Take that, mama grizzly!