Hollywood is a business. While many people think of the engine of America’s movie industry as a sparkling gold-plated driver of dreams in bright spotlights, it is a catalyst of and victim to capitalism at the end of the day. It employs millions of people, funnels billions more into economies around the world, and needs money-making product to sustain its gross, bloated chassis. Nowhere is Hollywood’s dependency more evident than the mainstream movie, a calculated product of famous actors/actresses, by-the-numbers plots and screenwriting, test-screenings and marketing push for awareness.
All of these components are whittled down into something palatable to the masses, a bland concoction of beige that goes down smooth and doesn’t upset stomachs or sensibilities. A prime example: Couples Retreat.
Couples Retreat is a movie with bankable stars, well-worn plotlines and cliches up the yin-yang. The story of four married couples at a resort to work on their relationships seems like territory that has been traveled long before, and could stand to be shaken up. With comedic talents like Jason Bateman (Arrested Development, Extract) and Fred Claus’s Vince Vaughn (somehow branching out from flavorless Christmas comedies like Four Christmases) and a screenplay co-written by Jon Favreau (Iron Man, Swingers) and Vaughn, it’s amazing how banal AND offensive this movie looks. Want to see the object of ire? Check this out:
Vince Vaughn looks like he's afraid for his life. Or his waning credibility. Whatever.
From this 30-second clip, there are examples of:
- Fish out of water syndrome: witnessed by the couples arriving in the tropical paradise and meeting Stanley “with a C.” We sho’ ain’t in Kansas no mo’!
- Beautiful women: The Charlie’s Angels-like shot of three of the female leads (there should be a fourth; more on that later) walking towards the cameras is designed to bring on instant wood in the male population. “Ooh, they have on bikini’s! Time to ditch that Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue!” Yawn.
- Aloof natives: Jean Reno, actor of better films like Leon, is cast as the zen-like, culture-clashing employee, talking about the “circle of life” when our heroes are surrounded by sharks in the water. Oh, foreigners. They will never understand America’s love of xenophobia.
The Asian-inspired prisoner jumpsuits are a reminder: this movie is torture.
- Homophobia: With the bellow of “Who is ready to stretch their limits?” it is the male viewer’s warning to suck their sphincters tight! The greased-up yoga instructor (Carlos Ponce?, Deuce Bigalow: European Jungle), clad in a Speedo and air-humping Bateman’s face, practically begs the viewer to gasp in disgust and hold their fingers to the screen in a cross symbol. We get it, marketers: suggestive male-on-male humping is yucky!
- Black Stereotypes: Nothing spells olive branches of racial inclusion like black penis jokes! When the couples are asked to disrobe by Reno (also wearing a Speedo), it’s time to once again go to the well for tired jokes. Veteran comedic actor and token black lead Faizon Love mentions that he doesn’t “have any draws on” (Get it? Because black people only refer to their underwear as “draws!” It’s like they speak another language!), which leads to eventually being coaxed into removing said “draws.” Cue WASP-esque Kristen Bell to gasp in shock at the sight of unleashed anaconda, white males (Bateman, Favreau and Vaughn) discomforted in their supposed penile inadequacy, and Vaughn later rolling with the punches. BOOM: THAT’S how you pander to middle America!
Two of those fabled colored people
- Party Over Here!: Since it all takes place on a jumpin’ tropical island, the last few seconds show vacationers bumpin’ and grindin’. What a way to polish over the last 27 seconds of monotony: “Hey film-goers, this movie is tedious and lazy, but there’s a party over here!”
- Lack of People of Color: Forget that most mainstream Hollywood movies shoehorn in a few people of ethnicity to appeal to those colored demographics: where the hell is the wife of Faizon Love’s character, Tasha Smith (Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns, You, Me and Dupree)? In between shots of pasty, flabby guts, enough fire for a Michael Bay movie and blue water, there are no mentions that half of the fourth couple is absent. With a strong black woman like Michelle Obama as First Lady of the United States, there should be no reason for America to fear those scary Negro ladies. (*Psst: they still do.*) Hey, maybe she’s invisible! Maybe she doesn’t like the sun, which would be even funnier if this movie had any sense of irony. But nah, she’s not there, like the marketers were like, “She won’t sell to the non-blacks.” Did you know that up-and-coming comedic actor Ken Jeong (The Hangover, Knocked Up) is in this movie, too? You wouldn’t know it by the commercial.
A 30-second commercial is not a lot to go on for judging a 107-minute movie, and yet it says a lot. As commercials are made and broadcast to sell a product, the TV spot for Couples Retreat shows a movie that will not challenge the average moviegoer’s preconceptions. This is comfort food for the mainstream audience, and a theoretical box-office slam dunk for a movie studio, because of those reasons stated above. And every dollar that goes towards viewing it supports that Hollywood machine that churns out these offerings of banality. Enjoy!
Today President Obama took another great leap toward destroying the security of America and her allies when he abandoned a planned missile defense system in Eastern Europe. Planned installations in Poland and the Czech Republic are being abandoned.
I’m no longer sure his actions are the result of the naivete I once believed. His recklessness in exposing our nation and our interests to the dangers in our world reeks of a far worse odor than that of naivete. I’m about ready to concede that his irresponsible actions are part of an elaborate plan to destroy our superpower status and dismantle the structure of our society.
His inaction to the threats and belligerence of North Korea this spring, his refusal to stand up for (or even speak on behalf of) freedom fighters in Iran earlier this summer, his blaming America for every wrong in the world and apologizing to corrupt dictators around the world on behalf of our country, and now his bending to the will of Russia to ensure their missiles will have no problem reaching us and our NATO allies if they ever decide to launch, are evidence enough that only a blathering fool could believe all this is good for America.
And Obama’s no fool. I’m more inclined to believe this is a planned destruction of America’s superpower status. An attempt to level the world playing field by bringing us down to the level of our adversaries.
The Heritage Foundation points out several reasons this decision makes absolutely no sense at this time.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the Obama administration is justifying its decision on their determination that Iran’s long-range missile program hasn’t progressed as rapidly as previously estimated. This despite the facts that:
On February 2nd, Iran successfully launched a satellite into orbit using a rocket with technology similar to that used in a long-range ballistic missile.
On May 20th, Iran test-fired a 1200-mile solid-fueled two-stage ballistic missile.
On July 15th, Germany’s foreign intelligence service, BND, announced that Iran will be able to produce and test a nuclear weapon within six months. BND also stated that it has “no doubt” that Iran’s missile program is aimed solely at the production of nuclear warheads.
On August 3rd, The Times of London reported that Western intelligence sources concluded that Iran has not only perfected the technology to build and detonate a nuclear weapon, could assemble a weapon in just six months, and could deliver the weapon on Iran’s Shebab-3 ballistic missile.
Just yesterday French President Nicolas Sarkozy said: “It is a certainty to all of our secret services. Iran is working today on a nuclear [weapons] program.”
The only country other than Iran that is happy with President Obama’s decision is Russia. State Duma foreign affairs committee head Konstantin Kosachev told the Associated Press: “The U.S. president’s decision is a well-thought (out) and systematic one. Now we can talk about restoration of (the) strategic partnership between Russia and the United States.” But, in fact, the missile defense capitulation is just one in a long line of Obama surrenders to Russia.
That’s bad enough, but an AP story out today creates more doubts as to the wisdom of the President’s decision.
VIENNA — Experts at the world’s top atomic watchdog are in agreement that Tehran has the ability to make a nuclear bomb and is on the way to developing a missile system able to carry an atomic warhead, according to a secret report seen by The Associated Press.
The document drafted by senior officials at the International Atomic Energy Agency is the clearest indication yet that the agency’s leaders share Washington’s views on Iran’s weapon-making capabilities.
It appears to be the so-called “secret annex” on Iran’s nuclear program that Washington says is being withheld by the IAEA’s chief.
The document says Iran has “sufficient information” to build a bomb. It says Iran is likely to “overcome problems” on developing a delivery system.
There’s no doubt the White House is aware of this if the IAEA is, yet still Obama abandons our ability to defend against it! And just for good measure, let’s point out yet another White House lie concerning this issue. The Moscow Times is reporting, “The decision to shelve the project is linked to Iran’s slower than expected progress in developing long-range missiles, the Pentagon said.”
Now it’s obvious somebody’s lying, either the AP story is completely wrong and The Heritage Foundation was mistaken when it reported on Iran’s advances in securing nuclear weapons and their delivery systems or the President is lying. Based on his recent track record and proven willingness to lie to get his way, I’m betting the White House has ordered the Pentagon to lie for it.
And how about Obama’s promise to improve our relations with our neighbors in the world. From The Moscow Times article, “The decision to shelve the missile defense plans angered many politicians and statesmen in Poland and the Czech Republic, who had fought for the bases despite public disapproval.” Add to that the insult of the President making the announcement on the anniversary of the Soviet Union invasion of Poland in 1939, and we can see a distancing of ourselves from our relatively new alliances with the old members of the Eastern Bloc that crossed over to NATO when the Iron Curtain fell.
It’s almost as if Obama is setting the stage for a return to the Cold War.
Once again, this President believes we make ourselves stronger by displaying weakness. Or does he? It’s beginning to look more and more like he really just wants us to be weak.
And some people act like they’ve never even been house broken. Rush Limbaugh is just that kind of person. He’s the kind that you don’t even want in your house but if he has to come in, you want to make sure you’ve put some newspapers down because you know that he’s just going to run around yapping and pissing all over your nice clean hardwood floors.
“Progressive” is becoming more of a dirty word, but all political labels – except “being like Ronald Reagan” – are falling into disfavor with many U.S. voters, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.
“Liberal” is still the worst and remains the only political description that is viewed more negatively than positively. Being like Reagan is still the most positive thing you can say about a candidate.
So says the latest Rasmussen polling on the subject. Now for conservatives, “like Ronald Reagan” has been the only acceptable position for a politician to have, for a long, long time.
I’m sure the David Frums, Peggy Noonans, Colin Powells, and Kathleen Parkers of the world are hyperventilating right about now, as they are the ones always telling us the “era of Reagan is over.” I guess they are wrong once again! Shocking, huh?
It’s been twenty years since the great Renaldus Magnus, as he is affectionately known, has sat in the Oval Office, so why is he just as appealing today as he was back in his prime? I think it’s because Reagan was such a strong leader, and just a great man, but that is probably way too simplistic.
Ronald Reagan was part of the American consciousness for most of the last century. I won’t attempt to write a biography here, there are plenty out there for folks to read and enjoy, but some of the highlights of Reagan’s career and how we came to love the man are certainly something to talk about.
Reagan was an actor, and while some called him a “B-Movie Actor,” he also gave us one of the most memorable characters of all time when he played George Gipp in the movie “Knute Rockne, All American.” While the movie itself was about famed Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne, one of the most memorable performances was Ronald Reagan playing George Gipp. Gipp was a great football player who died too young of a strep infection.
Now I’m going to tell you something I’ve kept to myself for years. None of you ever knew George Gipp. He was long before your time, but you all know what a tradition he is at Notre Dame. And the last thing he said to me, “Rock,” he said, “sometime when the team is up against it and the breaks are beating the boys, tell them to go out there with all they’ve got and win just one for the Gipper. I don’t know where I’ll be then, Rock,” he said, “but I’ll know about it and I’ll be happy.”
Pat O’Brien as Knute Rockne
Win one for the Gipper became part of the American lexicon. As for Reagan, the Gipper nickname stuck, and became just another affectionate name we know him by.
Reagan was much more than just an actor though. He was President of the Screen Actors Guild, and a solid spokesman. He was also a democrat, who famously said: “I didn’t leave the democrat party, the democrat party left me.”
And Reagan, who had a sharp wit, never missed the chance to have fun with that:
In fact, one of the things that we all loved about Ronald Reagan was his ability to speak well and deliver great one liners as well as funny stories.
But Reagan was more than a good line and a bright smile. Reagan was also someone who loved America with all of his heart. He saw America as a “shining city on a hill” the world’s last best hope. Reagan was always concerned that Americans understood our great gifts of freedom, and kept a constant watch for things that would cause Americans to lose those freedoms.
“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”
Ronald Reagan
What really sets Reagan apart, at least for me, is how not only were his warnings appropriate for their time, but can be applied to today’s events as well. In fact, it’s uncanny how the same things Ronald Reagan warned us about, communism and the slightly less oppressive socialism, are still real threats today.
For example, no one understood the danger to freedom and liberty that socialized medicine posed better than Ronald Reagan. Back in 1961 as they had been trying for decades, the democrat party was trying to shove socialized health care down an unwilling America’s throat. Reagan took part in the “Operation Coffee Cup Campaign” and went on a speaking tour, forcefully warning about the dangers of allowing the government to control health care.
Anyone who has actually read H.R. 3200, the most likely version of Obamacare to pass, knows Reagan was right then, and even more right now! Obamacare is nothing less than a complete and total usurpation of the Constitution. It totally remakes American society, turning it into a communist state, with a centrally controlled government, and centrally planned economy.
America was designed to be a lose confederation of states, coming together as a Republic for mutual benefit, but with each remaining sovereign. It’s what the 10th Amendment to the Constitution is all about. Once Obamacare is passed, states rights, and most individual rights go right out the window.
If we as Americans are to retain our freedoms and liberties, it is imperative that we listen to Ronald Reagan. It is imperative that we stop the government’s attempt to “reform” health care.
Now I am not saying health care doesn’t have it’s issues. It does. But health care in America is still the best in the world, and has the highest quality, and is available in the most timely manner, to the greatest number of people.
There are common sense plans out there. Plans that include major tort reform, and the ability for Americans to shop for insurance nationwide rather than just within their state. There are thousands of insurance companies nationwide. The Obama regime claims to want “more competition” for the consumer’s dollar. What better way than to open the door for all Americans to shop all of the various insurance companies nationwide?
Ronald Reagan didn’t just warn us about socialized medicine though. Few understood better than Reagan that liberalism was a losing proposition. That liberalism made absolutely no sense whatsoever. That liberalism was a contradiction all unto itself.
“Well, the trouble with our liberal friends is not that they’re ignorant; it’s just that they know so much that isn’t so.”
Ronald Reagan
In another speech that absolutely applies today, Ronald Reagan speaks out on the dangers of allowing liberals to be elected to positions of responsibility.
In 1964 Reagan gave this speech at the Republican National Convention in support of Barry Goldwater, the candidate for President. The speech, titled “A Time For Choosing” is one of the most iconic of all time. In fact, it has come to be known simply as “The Speech.”
If I had my way, this video would be required viewing by every school kid in America. It would be a required course, in fact, to get a high school diploma, and there would be advanced teaching on it in colleges and universities nationwide.
It’s just that important!
What is rather chilling, is how we can listen to Ronald Reagan 45 years later, and apply absolutely everything he is saying to our current situation.
This might help explain why “like Ronald Reagan” is still the best thing you can say about a politician!
Here’s a bit of an exercise for you. After watching the video, write down just how many things Reagan was talking about, that not only exist in our current climate, but are even a greater threat today. Reagan understood all too well just how dangerous it was to allow government to grow too large and too powerful.
Ronald Reagan also warned that the “once honorable democrat party” was on a strong march towards socialism, or Marxism, as he called it. Today, we understand it as communism, plain and simple. We now have a President who was raised by communists, mentored by communists, and is now surrounded by, and seeks advice from, self avowed communists.
“A socialist is someone who has read Lenin and Marx. An anti-socialist is someone who understands Lenin and Marx”
Ronald Reagan
We are left asking ourselves just how in the hell this happened!
Ronald Reagan was an inspiration to America at a time when we needed it the most. America was in a slump. The American moral was as low as it had ever been, and current national embarrassment, Jimmy Carter, had all but destroyed the economy forever. Carter had also allowed our military readiness to become dangerously low.
Our foreign policy was a joke. Under Carter, radical Islam was able to come to power in Iran and the greater Middle East. We are all suffering to this day because of Carter’s failures in this area. And frankly, our current White House occupant is following Carter’s lead.
I always laugh at the imagery surrounding Barack Obama. We were told when he was elected that the sea levels would lower, the skies would be brighter, and it would be rainbows and unicorns for all.
Well, I remember just how defeated Americans felt during the Carter years. Just how bad it was. We actually had a “misery index” concocted by the media just to tell us how bad our life sucked on any given day. Double digit unemployment, double digit inflation, and double digit interest rates on loans was the way of life in America.
Ronald Reagan represented real hope. It truly was “morning in America” once Reagan was elected. Reagan brought an intangible, an “it” factor with him that many leaders will never have. Reagan exuded optimism. He was our oldest President ever to take office, and yet he was the very picture of virility. Reagan was both a strong and forceful leader and America’s father figure, a kind man with a reassuring smile that simply told you everything was going to be just fine.
In no time America’s moral was high. America’s confidence was on the rebound. People were very proud to be Americans again. I remember those days well, and they were simply electric. The new feeling of optimism was amazing. You honestly felt like you could achieve anything.
I was a young man back then, but the feelings of this energy effected me greatly. Reagan had so much confidence that it spilled over onto the rest of us. It made us all see that absolutely anything was possible.
Now it took more than a few years for America to start to recover from the Carter fiasco, in fact, almost all of Reagan’s two terms. If a person were to go back, and just look at raw numbers, they would see that much of Reagan’s presidency saw economic numbers, that until the Obama presidency, wouldn’t have been all that stellar, but compared to where we had been, there were great.
The greatest affirmation of the difference Reagan made, and the love for him back then, was his 1984 re-election. Now Reagan won an absolute landslide when he defeated Jimmy Carter in 1980. Reagan won 44 of 50 states in a three way race that saw Republican John Anderson run as an independent. Anderson being what we would call a RINO today. Reagan got 50.7 percent of the raw vote and Carter got 41 percent.
In 1984 though, the American people rewarded Reagan with an incredible 49 state win against former Vice President Walter Mondale, who barely won his home state and carried D.C. The Electoral College victory was 525 to 13, raw vote 58.8 percent to 40.6. To me that says it all about the confidence America had in Ronald Reagan.
History tells us that Reagan wasn’t a perfect man, but he was a great man. Reagan was able to shepherd American through some tough times. He defeated the Soviet Union without firing a shot. He brought new confidence to America, something that had been lacking. In time, it was the Reagan revolution that would end the 40 years of disastrous democrat party control of Congress, leading to a stunning victory for congressional Republicans in 1994.
It was truly Reagan’s moral compass though, his strength and integrity, that made him such a great leader. A man among men. It was the moral clarity he had that allowed him to look into the eyes of the American people and tell them liberalism, communism, and socialism were evil. It was that same moral clarity to allowed him to stand at the Berlin Wall and demand “Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”
It was that same moral clarity, that same strength and integrity Reagan had then, that still makes being “like Ronald Reagan” so desired today.
So where do we take it from here? Who is “like Ronald Reagan”?
Some names that come to mind are people like Dick Cheney. Say what you will about the former Vice President, when he speaks, he speaks with moral clarity, strength, wisdom, and with the love of our nation in his heart.
Liz Cheney is her father’s daughter. She is sharp, tough, and has a solid footing. There is Michelle Bachmann. While not as well known, she is certainly cut from the Reagan cloth. Strong, forceful, and unwavering in her beliefs and values.
But one simply cannot talk about leaders who are like Ronald Reagan without bringing up Sarah Palin. The comparisons are easy to make. Like Reagan, Sarah Palin is a strong leader with moral clarity.
Sarah has shown this clarity throughout her career. From battling her mentor on the Wasilla city council over his attempt to use his position to set up a monopoly for his company, to her legendary battle with Frank Murkowski’s “Corrupt Bastards Club.”
For those that don’t know the story, Sarah had been appointed as Chairman of the powerful Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, the agency that regulates oil and natural gas in Alaska. Sarah had been appointed by Governor Murkowski after she had lost her bid for Lt Governor. She was charged with overseeing ethics in her position.
Before long, Sarah realized she had a really corrupt shop. After being told to back off by her boss, the Governor, Sarah stepped down, “quit” as they say. Had to be a really tough decision. This was a high paying gig, six figures, and a powerful position from which to launch herself to even more powerful positions. After all, Sarah’s star was on the rise!
After Sarah “quit” she made it her project to go after the bad actors. As a result, she went after pretty much the entire Republican party leadership, a profile in courage in itself, and a sure fire case of political suicide. In the end, some went to prison, some paid fines, others were forced to resign. Then she ran and won the governorship.
Once in office, she was a strong leader. She was able to bring about sweeping changes and one by one fulfilled her campaign promises.
Claude Sandroff over at the American Thinker talks about the virtue of Sarah Palin. We all know the story of her post election experiences. Before Sarah ran for Vice President, the Republican party wasn’t exactly pleased with her, still smarting from the reforms she brought in, and the folks she took down, but she had a fairly cordial relationship with the Alaskan democrats in the legislature.
Then came the campaign. It has been well documented that Barack Obama brought Chicago style politics to Alaska through his campaign chief-of-staff, Pete Rouse, and Rouse’s longtime friendship with Alaska State Senator, Kim Elton. Their attempt to derail Sarah with the phony “Troopergate” witch hunt is also well documented
After Sarah lost her in her effort to be Vice President, no one would have thought the Alaska Mafia would have remained so dedicated to the Chicago masters, but how many times has a losing vice presidential candidate become even more popular and sought after!
The word came out from on high to keep the pressure on, and the Mafia started recruiting folks to file phony ethics complaints against her. There was already one misguided woman, Andree McLeod, who made a career out of filing outrageous complaints. But the rest were all manufactured to damage Sarah, a favorite democrat/communist tactic, right out of Saul Alinsky’s “Rules.”
This is where Sarah’s strength, courage, and moral clarity came into play. It would have been very simple to sit still and fight this stuff. I mean these charges were all nonsense, and all thrown out. But the more she resisted, the more the Mafia filed, and at a quicker pace. And these leaches on society had not cost Sarah personally, they had also effectively stopped her government from functioning, and cost the taxpayers almost $2 million processing this mess. And if the pace of the complaints stayed the same for the rest of her term, these thieves were on track to cost the Alaska taxpayers as much as $10 million.
A lot of politicians would have stayed. They would have clung to power at all cost. Not Sarah Palin. As Sandroff puts it, this was:
“The very essence of virtue. It was Sir Thomas More resigning as Lord Chancellor and George Washington returning to Mount Vernon. It showed how rare virtue has become in our politics. It shows why we adore Sarah Palin and why we need her. And it explains why, even without office, she has become the most important political figure in America.”
One can only imagine the struggle Sarah had with this, or maybe, it wasn’t a real struggle at all. Earlier in the year, just before a trip to visit her troops in Kosovo, Sarah Palin introduced Michael Reagan, the son of Ronald Reagan, at an event in Anchorage. While talking about how bad her critics wanted her to shut up and go away, she said this:
“They want me to sit down and shut up. But I won’t sit down, and I won’t shut up. Politically speaking, if I die, I die, but I will know I have spoken up! Stand up, speak up, be bold! Forget political correctness!”
History shows that Sarah has not sat down, and is not shutting up! Many, at the time, could not understand what Sarah was doing when she “quit.” These people simply didn’t understand her unwinnable situation. These are the types who would have “fought to the end” costing their constituents more tax dollars, and damaging their state.
This was a stroke of genius though, and one I believe Ronald Reagan would have understood. Sarah, a star basketball player, was simply passing the ball off to someone, Sean Parnell, who could continue on with her policies, and not be hassled.
“He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight. He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces. He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks. He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.”
Sun Tzu, the Art Of War
Now that is a nice story, as far as it goes. A compelling one in fact. But it is not only the reason why Sarah Palin is “like Ronald Reagan”
No one can argue she is powerful. Who in the world, but Sarah Palin can change the entire national debate with a few paragraphs posted on a networking website?
Sarah Palin, not only had the moral clarity to understand exactly what Obamacare is, she was also able to distill it all down to a level of basic understanding. Her “death panels” said it all. And it wasn’t just the fact Sarah understood that Obamacare would most certainly lead to the rationing of care, she had the courage to say it the way she said it. She knew full well the wrath of both political parties, as well as the fringe media, Obama’s media, would come at her with full force. Sarah called Obamacare “downright evil.”
We all know Ronald Reagan had moral clarity regarding the Soviet Union. He called them an “evil empire.” His critics, in both parties, lost it every time he did this, but it didn’t stop him from saying it.
Before Reagan’s famous “tear down that wall” comment in his speech in Berlin, his advisers were telling him “no way” and to steer clear of that sort of thing. They had to be resuscitated after he said it! But Reagan knew in his heart it needed to be said.
Reagan lived to see the Berlin wall come down, and see millions of East Germans become free.
Before Sarah took up the fight, critics of Obamacare might as well have been talking to their houseplants. They were trying to nuance things. Trying to be “statesmen,” at least in their minds.
Sarah looked at this mess, saw great evil. She saw a situation, that if continued, would lead America to certain disaster, and cause all Americans to lose precious liberties and freedoms. It’s that ability to not only recognize evil, wherever you see it, but to also have the courage to do something about it.
While the other so-called leaders in the Republican party were saying “slow down” Sarah wrote, “Not no, but HELL no!”
Because of Sarah Palin, and her inspiration to others, Obamacare is in shambles. And that gives us another “like Ronald Reagan” trait. Sarah Palin inspires people.
Sarah has been inspiring people for a long time, but her speech at the 2008 Republican National Convention was huge. Expectations were high, and she hit a home run. As Michael Reagan wrote days later in a column titled “Welcome Back Dad“:
“I’ve been trying to convince my fellow conservatives that they have been wasting their time in a fruitless quest for a new Ronald Reagan to emerge and lead our party and our nation. I insisted that we’d never see his like again because he was one of a kind.
I was wrong!
Wednesday night I watched the Republican National Convention on television and there, before my very eyes, I saw my Dad reborn; only this time he’s a she.
And what a she!
In one blockbuster of a speech, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin resurrected my Dad’s indomitable spirit and sent it soaring above the convention center, shooting shock waves through the cynical media’s assigned spaces and electrifying the huge audience with the kind of inspiring rhetoric we haven’t heard since my Dad left the scene.”
After Ronald Reagan lost his presidential primary bid to Gerald Ford in 1976, most considered him washed up, a has been. Critics, in both parties called him stupid, lazy, naive, inexperienced, even though he had been Governor of California! He was a B-Movie actor. Some even said Reagan was dangerous!
Reagan was from tiny Tampico, Illinois. He went to the “wrong” school, Eureka College. And Reagan was a small town, country boy at heart, his whole life.
The democrats hated Reagan with a passion, and so did the blue blood, country club elite, Rockefeller Republicans. The American people loved Reagan though, and obviously still do. God bless Ronald Reagan, and may his spirit always remain the spirit that inspires us all.
One week after President Obama spoke to the nation about health care reform, polls are showing the speech had no effect and opinions are returned back to pre-speech levels. However, polls should not drive legislation – facts should. One can review an article from today’s Wall Street Journal, “Mandated Heath Insurance Squeezed Those in the Middle” for a real story about middle-America getting put in dangerous situations. Also in the original article are identified flaws that Massachusetts is dealing with and real eminent risks they have not yet cracked the code on:
Massachusetts has tried to prevent people from dropping private insurance for state-subsidized plans, something federal lawmakers also want to avoid. The state disqualifies people whose employers offer coverage from getting subsidies. That’s caused another group of uninsured to fall through the cracks.
Nestor Nunez, a 53-year-old driver for a private bus company, earns between $35,000 and $40,000. That would qualify him and his wife, Aymara, for a state-subsidized plan with $232 in monthly premiums, something he could afford.
But he has access to coverage through his employer. The problem is, those premiums would cost between $381 and $588 a month, more than he can pay, he says, so he goes without coverage. “The state doesn’t make me pay a penalty, so they admit I can’t afford this,” he says of the automatic waiver he gets based on his income and the premium he’d have to pay.
Joe Wilson, a U.S. Rep from South Carolina, has done an unspeakable thing. He’s done what anyone in the entire nation is guaranteed the freedom to do, in writing, in our Constitution. He has called the President a liar, on national television, to his face. Personally, I love it. But, I don’t love it because I believe the President is a liar. I love it, because it proves the stupidity of the government. Think about it. We’ve gone to such great lengths to preserve the Constitutional right of free speech, and then when someone uses that right in a way we don’t like, we crucify him. Joe Wilson has been demanded by Congress to apologize for his actions. He’s been all but branded a racist by former President Jimmy Carter. People have suggested he’s boorish and crude.
So what? He’s not the first, or even the four hundredth to call Barack Obama a liar. A lot of people have called the President a liar. In fact, even the press has done so. Unbiased “watchdog” agencies have done so. Even members of his own party have, at times, done so.
They claim it’s not about the message, but about how it was delivered. But, let me ask you this. Is there a respectful way to call someone a liar? I certainly cannot think of a one.
The President has lied to us, and has even admitted to doing so. Remember when his figures for recovery didn’t add up? He subsequently was forced to admit they were “doctored”, to appear optimistic (meaning he lied in presenting them as fact). He has lied about details of the health care reform project. I’m quite sure as a person you can’t lie “a couple of times” and that’s all. When I was younger there was this little commercial ad aimed at children, where it reveals that when you tell one lie, it leads to another. Well, Obama has told quite a few lies in his short Presidency. Everyone who keeps abreast of things knows this is fact.
“The lady doth protest too much, methinks.” It’s by William Shakespeare. Shakespeare was a very wise man. He surmised here that sometimes an overly vigorous defense can indicate guilt. I’d tend to agree. Look at what we have. Joe Wilson simply said that the President lies. Yes, he said it in a very crude and direct way, but should that really result in the majority of Congress condemning him, and personal insults, cries of racism? All when the message has indeed been delivered before? I think they’re worried. They’re worried that some guy on a talk show scoffing is one thing, but that someone in Congress saying it carries more weight with the voters. Voters that can choose not to re-elect them.
But, aside from all that. It is embarrassing in a country that touts free speech when a public figure is assaulted for practicing it. We have become a nation of hypocrites and liars. I’m sorry that Joe Wilson has to deal with this bullshit.
Barack Obama, you owe Joe Wilson a Presidential apology for his mistreatment.
Jakarta, Presiden AS Barack Obama beberapa kali terbidik kamera sedang minum bir baik ketika menonton basket atau menjamu tamunya di Gedung Putih. Kegemaran Obama minum bir ini kini mulai diteliti pakar nutrisi untuk melihat adakah manfaatnya untuk kesehatan.
Asal tahu saja, bir identik dengan perilaku tidak sehat karena konsumsi alkohol dalam jumlah besar bisa merusak organ-organ dalam tubuh dan bisa membuat kecanduan.
Adalah pakar nutri nutrisi, fitness dan kesehatan Julie Upton yang kerap menjadi narasumber dan penulis di American Dietetic Association dan beberapa media yang mengulik rahasia di balik minum bir seperti dilansir dari Health, Selasa (11/8/2009).
“Saya lebih tertarik adakah bir itu dapat jadi sesuatu yang baik,” kata Upton.
Ketika anggur dikatakan bisa membantu masalah kesehatan jantung, bir jarang sekali dibahas dari sisi itu karena kandungan alkoholnya yang diklaim lebih berbahaya. Akibatnya, anggur kerap didaulat sebagai minuman yang lebih sehat ketimbang bir.
Namun dalam beberapa tahun terakhir penelitian yang dilakukan menunjukkan bahwa semua minuman alkohol baik bir, anggur, maupun jenis minuman suling lainnya tenyata juga memberikan manfaat kesehatan.
Berikut adalah beberapa alasan seseorang termasuk Obama atau pun para dokter menenggak bir: 1. Bir minuman yang rendah kalori
Beberapa bir memiliki jumlah kalori yang rendah sebesar 64 kalori per 12 ounce per botol. Bahkan untuk jenis reguler hanya memiliki 100 kalori per 12 ounce per botol. Dalam sebuah negara yang menyukai kadar kalori yang rendah, bir menjadi alasan untuk diminum termasuk oleh Obama tentunya.
Sebagai perbandingan satu ounce semua jenis minuman yang disuling atau 4 ounce anggur hanya mengandung 100 kalori. Sedangkan minuman campuran yang dikemas memiliki kalori lebih tinggi yakni 250-500 kalori. Bir favorit banyak orang ketika musim panas adalah mencampur setengah jenis bir extra light seperti MGD 64, Beck’s Premier Light, atau Michelob Ultra Lime yang kadang dicampur dengan setengah minumuman Diet &-up.
2. Bir mengandung antioksidan
Sedikit orang yang tahu ada fakta bahwa bir mengandung antioksidan. Kajian di University of Scranton menghitung zat asam antioksidan di dalam bir dan sebagian besar bir jenis keras seperti jenis lagers, light beer, dan bir non alkohol juga memiliki antioksidan ini.
Berdasarkan temuan itu, beberapa peneliti memasukkan bir yang memiliki banyak antioksidan ke dalam pola diet di AS ketimbang anggur. Para peneliti yang melakukan penelitian dengan memberikan bir kepada binatang yang memiliki kolesterol tinggi menemukan bahwa bir hitam atau jenis lagers membantu melindungi arteri dari timbunan plak. Bir yang mengandung antioksidan juga membantu mengurangi peradangan saluran darah yang berkaitan dengan penyakit jantung.
3. Bir juga bagus untuk otak
Etanol selain diketahui melindungi kardiovaskular dan membantu mengurangi risiko serangan jantung dan stroke, dalam kajian terbaru menunjukkan bahwa ada kandungan yang terkait dengan sistem saraf. Para peneliti menemukan alkohol bisa melindungi protein yang dibutuhkan untuk melindungi otak atau ancaman Alzheimer.
Namun Upton menggarisbawahi, bir bisa menjadi minuman yang baik asal dikonsumsi dengan aman dan benar. Satu gelas untuk wanita atau dua gelas untuk pria per hari masih menjadi batas toleransi. Anda yang hobi minum bir juga sebaiknya tidak memiliki catatan keluarga kecanduan alkohol atau risiko terkena kanker payudara.
